Second annual Icon Brand awards in July

To be eligible for icon status, brands need to show growth and consistent relevance to consumers from diverse backgrounds, characteristic of the South African market place. "Brands earn TGI Icon status by being loyally used by South African consumers and defining a common experience," says Dustine Tobler, TGI's marketing director. "South African's love icon brands, use them often and will even search for them outside our borders when they are not at home."

Categories evaluate 8000 brands

To determine winners, the usage of over 8 000 brands is measured across 41 product categories and through 15 000 face to face interviews.

Categories include: airlines; hotels; food; banks; casinos; medical aids; short term insurance; telecommunications; alcoholic drinks; tinned food; cold drinks and medicine among others.

"Icon brands need to be celebrated as they have overcome the complexities inherent in emerging markets and have also successfully dealt with the multifaceted mix of South African consumers," says Tobler. "By doing so these brands have expanded their horizons, and in the process have attracted a diverse nation of loyal brand ambassadors. These are brands that speak to the hearts (and wallets) of a multicultural nation."