All the 2011 Sunday Times Top Brands

Overall favourite

Overtaking youth-targeted brands Coca-Cola (first runner-up), and KFC (second runner-up) the household, canned foods brand KOO jumped from second overall in 2010 to take top honours as Overall Favourite Brand Grand Prix winner.

This year's top three Overall Favourite Brand Grand Prix contenders have been in the top three for two consecutive years (All the 2010 Sunday Times Top Brands winners and (2009 Sunday Times Top Brands winners, which in part bears testament to their marketing and advertising prowess, according to the organisers.

Advertising and marketing

Full-service advertising and communications agency Ogilvy South Africa walked off with the 2011 Robyn Putter Brand Agency of the Year Award. Now in its second year, this new award recognises the country's most prolific advertising agency during the course of the year. Last year, the inaugural award went to Ogilvy Johannesburg.

Enzo Scarcella, Vodacom managing executive for marketing, scooped the 2011 Sunday Times Top Brands Marketing Personality of the Year Award. This award, which identifies the strong individuals behind some of SA's leading brands, is open to industry and peer voting. Last year, the inaugural award went to MTN CMO Serame Taukobong.

Green and uplifting

Although only taking second place in the Overall Favourite Brand Grand Prix category, Coca-Cola took home first prizes for the brand that has done the most for community upliftment, as well as being voted SA's favourite soft drink in the Consumer section.

Environmentally conscious Pick n Pay took first place as the brand that has done the most to promote 'green' awareness, closely followed by Woolworths and Nedbank, both 'green' stalwarts.

Other favourites in the Consumer categories saw Cadbury, Absa, Coca-Cola, MTN, Shoprite and KFC, among others, given the nod by its consumer-based-buying-force.

In the Business categories, top honours went to cellphone BlackBerry, domestic airline British Airways, telecoms service provider Vodacom, and short term insurance provider Santam. On the other side of the spectrum, the Consumer categories saw the brands Nokia, South African Airways, MTN and OUTsurance outstrip its competition in those respective categories.

"Particular brands tailor-make their services"

"It is evident that particular brands tailor-make their services to appeal to different market segments," says Mark Molenaar, TNS Research Surveys executive director. "We will continue to see this trend as businesses and business owners look at the best deal or service that will either save on overall costs or time spent on a particular task."

Grand Prix winners

Business

Consumer

For more on the research methodology, download this document.