The Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands™ proprietary research study is recognized as one of the most representative and objective branding surveys in the region. Now in its 11th year, the survey is carried out in eight markets across Asia (China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand) to determine the brands most trusted by consumers in 43 different product and service categories.

“The ultimate measure of success for any brand is the level of consumer trust and confidence it enjoys,” says Simon Cholmeley, Group Advertising Director for Reader’s Digest Asia. “The winners of the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Awards are the leaders in their categories – the top choices of consumers. These brands have proven their commitment to quality, value, innovation, and to answering consumers’ everyday needs.”

“The Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey enjoys unparalleled respect because its results are based entirely on consumer voting,” he continues. “This thoroughly objective methodology means our results are accepted and trusted by consumers across the region.”

The survey is based on responses to questionnaires distributed via Reader’s Digest copies as well as telephone interviews of randomly selected, upscale consumers. All survey work is carried out for Reader’s Digest by the Nielsen Company, a world leader in consumer research and analysis, to ensure results are compiled in an objective manner using proven statistical techniques. The findings reflect affluent adult consumers’ most preferred brands among the thousands available in the market.

“Having a research partner like Nielsen involved in the compilation and analysis of results ensures the objectivity and credibility of the Trusted Brands Awards,” says Cholmeley.

“Buying a brand you’ve never tried before is fraught with risks,” he says. “In today’s increasingly complex market, consumers value having an objective benchmark to refer to when making a purchase decision. It helps to know which brands are most trusted by other consumers.”

Awards are made in each of the eight surveyed markets, as well as on an Asia-wide basis. For the regional award, each market is weighted equally in determining standings.

Malaysian award winners for 2009 will be announced by Reader’s Digest in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, May 5 and will appear in the May issue of the English and Chinese editions of the magazine in Malaysia. Winners include both homegrown Malaysian brands as well as international names that appeal to Malaysian consumers.

In addition to naming their most trusted brand, consumers are asked to rate the brands they choose on six qualitative criteria: Trustworthiness & Credibility, Quality, Value, Understanding of Customer Needs, Innovation, and Social Responsibility. Scores given by consumers for these attributes are combined with the number of people choosing the brand to produce the final rankings in each product category and so determine the awards.

Gold Trusted Brand Award winners are those which stand out clearly above their competitors. In cases where the top brand achieves a mathematical ranking at least double that of its nearest competitor, it receives a Platinum Trusted Brand Award.

In Asia, Reader’s Digest is the largest-circulating international magazine (more than one million copies are sold each month), with multiple editions published in English, Chinese, Thai, Korean, and Bahasa Indonesia. Worldwide, the magazine is published in 50 editions and 21 languages. In Malaysia, Reader’s Digest is the top-selling English language magazine, with an ABC-audited average circulation of 125,255 copies per month.

Reader’s Digest is the flagship product of Reader’s Digest Association Inc., a pre-eminent global publisher and direct marketer of magazines, books and home entertainment products that inform, enrich, entertain and inspire people of all ages and all cultures around the world.
 

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