SLIM-Nielsen Peoples’ Awards 2015 to introduce online category for first time

Monday, 9 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The SLIM-Nielsen Peoples’ Awards 2015 has taken leaps forward in ensuring that the true voice of the Sri Lankan people is reflected in the recognition of the most appreciated brands and personalities islandwide. In light of the consistently growing online community known as the ‘netizens’, SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards has introduced a first-ever mutually-exclusive and independent online survey that targets four categories specifically; People’s Online Media Institute, Online Brand, Online Celebrity and Website of the Year.

This new initiative aims to further amplify the true reflection of the pulse of the people, as the Sri Lankan ‘netizen’ community, across all borders are also extended with a platform to express their views on brands that are closest to their hearts.

Speaking on the introduction of the online survey, Project Chairperson, SLIM-Nielsen Peoples’ Awards 2015, Thilanka Abeywardena commented, “SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards 2015 aims to go above and beyond in the nationwide attempt to gauge into the most popular brands and personalities. The online community, also known as the ‘netizens,’ is substantially strong in a local market context, with over 2.3 million Facebook users and around five million internet users (source: published stats in December 2013 by ITU). As such they undoubtedly have a strong impact on the perception of brand positions in today’s dynamic market conditions. It is for this reason that we have spearheaded a first of its kind online survey that primarily targets this growing 11.5% online community in the country. This platform also gives us the opportunity to reach out and connect with the online brand perceptions of the Sri Lankan community that lives beyond the boundaries of Sri Lanka. It is therefore, a credible and purely independent platform that emphasises SLIM-Nielsen’s attempt to be an award show that is judged by the people, for the people. We at SLIM-Nielsen are proud to be the first institution that has taken a much needed step towards voicing out the opinion of the online networking community.” The online survey will be in the format of an online questionnaire that is available athttp://peoplesawards.lk/survey/.Anyone will be able to login into and answer a few simple and easy-to answer questions. In order to ensure the authenticity, respondents will need to log in through their personal Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn or Twitter profiles. Further commenting on the online survey, Vice President for Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) Projects, Upul Adikari stated: “The introduction of the online survey to SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards 2015, not only enhances the credibility associated with the awards, but also provides an unprecedented opportunity for corporates to understand where the consumers’ perception of them lies, on an online platform. It fosters the engagement with a broader social network of people through platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. “The selection for the specified criteria is purely based on statistical validation. It is therefore, the ideal avenue for the general public and already active social media brands and personalities, to comprehend what really clicks in the minds of an online consumer. Since SLIM-Nielsen is an award show that truly attests the opinion of the Sri Lankan population, we feel that it is only fit that the growing voice of the Sri Lankan ‘netizen’ community, is also reflected in the choosing of the country’s favourite brands.” SLIM-Nielsen is the only award show in the country where the majority decides the majority’s favourite. The addition of the online survey to the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards portfolio is yet another value proposition that further amplifies this positioning.