Indiantelevision.com Team

(19 July 2006 7:00 pm)

BANGALORE: India has voted for its most preferred brands through the Awaaz Consumer Vote 2006 -- a nation-wide research. The winning brands were awarded at the Awaaz Consumer Awards 2006 at a felicitation ceremony held in New Delhi.

The awards initiative spanned 21 widespread locations and 39 product and service categories this year. The 21 locations represented the heterogeneous nature of India in terms of geography (zones) and population size (town classes: metros, mini-metros and class I towns). 10,000 consumers participated in the survey conducted by international market research firm AC Nielsen ORG-MARG, states an official release.

"This is the second year that Awaaz Consumer Awards have been recognising preferred brands amongst the Indian populace and awarding them. The category list this year has increased from 22 last year to 39 to include paints, watches, mobile phone services and lifestyle retail. This is the only study of its kind which captures a wide range of demographies and geographies and is extremely robust in sample size and product category width. The verdict of the consumer will not only become every consumer's guide – a 'ready-reckoner' to choose India's most preferred products and services - but also the benchmark of excellence for every product to come," says TV18 Media Networks CEO B Saikumar.

"Awaaz, with its innovative and highly interactive programming, excellent editorial team, and wide network, is the fastest growing channel and second most preferred channel amongst decision makers in the country today. Awaaz, India's only consumer channel, has continuously strived to reinforce its commitment towards consumers with a plethora of far-reaching initiatives, the most successful of which is the Awaaz Consumer Awards," says TV18 Group CEO Haresh Chawla.

AC Nielsen ORG-MARG executive director Sarang Panchal, while commenting on the survey said, "The systematic and rigorous manner in which the research for the Awaaz Consumer Vote was conducted, to judge the most preferred brands, has led to a very unbiased and fair evaluation of results and insights of what really drives the consumer preference."

The winners of the 'Awaaz Consumer Vote Awards 2006':

Banks: State Bank of India (SBI)

Mutual Fund: State Bank of India (SBI) Mutual Fund

Insurance: LIC

Non-Life Insurance: LIC

Mutual Funds: UTI Mutual Fund

Credit Cards: ICICI Bank

Auto Loan: ICICI

Housing Loans: SBI

TV/Washing Machines/AC/PC: LG Electronics India Ltd

Refrigerator: Godrej

Music Systems: Sony

Wrist Watches: Titan

Detergents: Rin

Tea: Tata Tea

Coffee: Nescafe

Soft Drinks: Pepsi

Branded Atta: Annapurna

Toothpastes: Colgate

Toilet soaps: Lux

Shampoo: Clinic Plus

Employers: Tata Group

Two wheelers: Hero Honda - Splendor/ Splendor Plus

Cars: MARUTI 800

Automotive fuel: Hindustan Petroleum/ HPCL

Landline Service Provider: BSNL

Cellular service: Airtel

Handset provider: Nokia

Large food and grocery super market: Big Bazaar

Large Lifestyle stores: Globus

Fast food outlet: Café Coffee Day

Branded readymade garment: Lee

Domestic Holiday: Kashmir

International holiday: Switzerland

Domestic Airline: Indian Airlines

International Airline: Air India

Hotels: The Taj Mahal Hotel

Paints: Asian Paints

Cosmetics: Lakme

The results of the 'Awaaz Consumer Vote Awards 2006' will be documented in the AWAAZ – AC Nielsen ORG-MARG Research Handbook.