The World Branding Forum is a global nonprofit organisation based in London, England. The forum runs various programmes and organises conference, workshops and seminars. It operates a newsroom and publishes industry news on its website. It is also a media partner for various industry events. The forum's industry recognition programme is the World Branding Awards, which it organises annually.[1]

World Branding Forum
AbbreviationWBF
Founded atLondon, United Kingdom
TypeNonprofit organization
Legal statusCIC
PurposeTo raise the standards of branding for the good of consumers and the industry
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Region
Worldwide
ProductsNews publication, conferences, workshops and seminars
ServicesBrand and market research, best-practice standards development programme, student education programmes and awards programme
FieldsBranding, advertising, marketing, public relations, communications, graphic design, product design and market research
Official language
English
Richard Rowles
Peter Pek
Websitebrandingforum.org

Background

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The World Branding Forum's offices in Covent Garden

The World Branding Forum is a global non-profit organisation.[2] Its aims and activities are to raise the standards of branding for the good of consumers as well as the industry,[3][4] including those who work in the branding, design, marketing, advertising, public relations and communications disciplines worldwide.[5] Its chairman is Richard Rowles,[6] and the brand strategist Peter Pek, is its chief executive.[7][8]

The forum's headquarters are in Hudson House, a Grade II listed building[9] in London's Covent Garden.[10]

Programmes

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The forum runs various programmes including brand and market research, a best-practice standards development programme, and other student education programmes. It organises various conference, workshops and seminars. The forum's industry recognition programme is the World Branding Awards, which it organises annually.[11]

Sponsorships

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In 2014, it sponsored The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) conference in Keio University,[12] Tokyo, Japan.[13] One of the Asia’s largest business and youth leadership gathering organized by students, the conference has featured speakers such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, director of the Earth Institute Professor Jeffrey Sachs, former President of the Republic of South Korea and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kim Dae Jung, and the Asia director of the World Economic Forum Frank Jurgen Richter.[14] In 2016, it sponsored the HPAIR conference that was held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[15]

In 2015, the World Branding Forum sponsored the education programme at the Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising. In 2014, the museum had over 10,000 students attending sessions.[16]

The forum also provides a sponsorship grant to the Oxford Union, the debating society of the University of Oxford.[17]

World Branding Awards

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The World Branding Awards trophy is on display at the Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising in London

The World Branding Forum is the organiser of the World Branding Awards, an international award presented to some of the best global and national brands for their work and achievements in branding.[18][19] It is also the owner of the award's "Brand of the Year" logo, which is a registered trademark.[20]

There are three tiers of awards: a Global Award is presented to international brands that have a presence in ten or more countries, on three or more continents, limited to the top 100 global brands in any particular year; a Regional Award is presented to brands who are top in several countries in a particular geographic region; and a National Award which is presented to the very top brands in participating countries at the awards. Brands who are global winners are not awarded again on a national level.[21]

The awards trophy is on display at the Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising in London.[22]

The first awards were held in both London and Paris, with the first ceremony taking place in the One Whitehall Place in London in 2014.[23] The second ceremony took place at the Hilton Paris Opera.[24]

The 2015, 2016 and 2017 award ceremonies were held in Kensington Palace in London.[3][25] In 2017, an Animalis edition, which focused on pet and animal brands, was held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.[26] The Americas edition, which included brands from the Americas and the Caribbean, was held in 2018 at The Plaza on Fifth Avenue in New York City.[27]

Media and partnerships

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The forum operates a newsroom, employing a team of writers[10] who publishes industry news on its website. It is also an official media partner for various industry events including the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,[28] Real-Time Advertising Summit,[29] the CMO Asia Summit,[30] and CHARGE, an energy branding conference in Iceland.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Canadian Pet And Animal Brands Triumphed At The 2019 Animalis Edition Of The World Branding Awards". Windsor Star. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. ^ Huang, Jennifer; Wu, Jeffrey (27 Oct 2014). "Taiwan's Chatime wins 'Brand of the Year' at World Branding Awards". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Seven Thai Brands Win Big At The 2015 World Branding Awards at London's Kensington Palace". Reuters. Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Maybank awarded 'Brand of the Year' at World Branding Forum". Borneo Post. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Chatime hits big time with 'Brand of the Year' award". Want China Times. 28 Oct 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Apple, Coca-Cola, HSBC and Louis Vuitton Named "Brand of the Year" at the 2014 World Branding Awards". Boston Globe. 28 Oct 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  7. ^ "World Branding Forum Sponsors Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising Education Project". Chicago Business Journal. 9 Feb 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  8. ^ Goh, Gabey (6 June 2016). "Brands need to break free for global dominance". Campaign. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Planning Application" (PDF). Westminster City Council. City of Westminster. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Newsroom". World Branding Forum. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Programmes". World Branding Forum. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Asia Conference 2014-Tokyo". Keio University. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  13. ^ "World Branding Forum Sponsors Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Conference 2014". The Telegraph. 5 Aug 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  14. ^ Fojas, Sara Grace. "Problem solvers". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Sponsors". Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  16. ^ "World Branding Forum sponsors Educational Materials". Museum of Brands. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  17. ^ "Sponsorships". World Branding Forum. World Branding Forum. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Taiwan's Acer and Chatime Honoured at the 2014 World Branding Awards". Taiwan Trade Review. 29 Oct 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  19. ^ "Maybank awarded Brand of the Year at World Branding Forum". The Star. 29 Oct 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  20. ^ "World branding Awards Brand Of The Year". EUIPO. European Union Intellectual Property Office. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  21. ^ "[edit] Nomination & Voting Branding Entries & Public Voting". World Branding Awards. World Branding Forum. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  22. ^ "World Branding Forum Sponsors Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising Education Project". Herald Online. 9 Feb 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  23. ^ "Highland Spring Wins 'UK Water Brand of the Year' at the World Branding Awards". Highland Spring Group. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  24. ^ "SBI Wins Bank of the Year Award at the World Branding Awards Held at Paris". Sarkari Mirror. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  25. ^ Sellers, Dennis (21 September 2016). "Apple among 210 winners of the 2016 World Branding Awards". Apple World Today. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  26. ^ "UAE brands among winners of 'World Branding Awards'". Arab News. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  27. ^ "Banco Popular among 81 winners at World Branding Awards". Caribbean Business. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  28. ^ "THE 2016 MEDIA SUPPORTERS". Cannes Lions. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  29. ^ "3rd Annual Real-Time Advertising Summit". WPL Group. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Media Partners". CMO Asia Summit. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  31. ^ "Media Partners". Branding Energy. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
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