Google, bTV Awarded as Strongest Brands in Bulgaria

Google is the strongest global brand in Bulgaria, while private bTV channel is the best Bulgarian brand, shows a survey of the local consumer segment by Superbrands, the world's largest independent arbiter of brands.

The prestigious survey was conducted for the third time in Bulgaria and culminated in a glitzy awarding ceremony on Wednesday evening. Representatives of the selected companies were recognized for making it up to the highest level of Superbrands at the ceremonial hall of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

This year the popular search engine toppled the former two-time champion Coca-Cola, while the private national TV channel convincingly beat Bulgaria's first and biggest mobile operator M-Tel. Google is also the undisputed favorite among the thousands of users, who voted online.

For the first time since the launch of Superbrands survey in the country yet another Bulgarian brand - Bulgaria's leading water bottling company Devin - made it to the Top 20 brands.

The international independent brand arbiter picked the top 500 brands operating in Bulgaria out of 1500 nominees in different categories and sectors.

In other interesting developments this year BMW defeated Mercedes-Benz in the automobile manufacturers category, Todoroff winery gave in to Domaine Boyar and Apple overtook Nokia in the technology section.

The Bulgarian fast food chain Happy managed to topple the leader so far McDonald's.

Unicredit Bulbank, part of the UniCredit Group, was named leader among financial institutions.

Bulgaria's largest PR аgency M3 Communications Group, Inc., an associate of the global PR consultancy Hill & Knowlton, was recognized among the country's strongest business brands for the fourth time.

"Successful branding in a time of crisis - these are the stories of 35 of the most powerful consumer brands on our market, collected in the fourth edition of the global organization Superbrands Bulgaria. No doubt they paint the picture of the country's economy in a difficult period, when the business and the society as a whole face many challenges. No matter what word we use to describe it - a crisis, recession, slowdown, stagnation, decline, there is no better time than this to invest in branding. Because the brand is the face of a company," said Mila Behar, Superbrands manager for Bulgaria.

The project is part of the global program Superbrands, which is operating in more than 80 countries, identifying and promoting the most powerful brands and business practices on the market.

A luxurious edition, tracing the history, success and latest achievements of the strongest brands in Bulgaria 2012-2013, was presented at the ceremony at the Sofia University. For the second year in a row it is accompanied by a special supplement - Responsible Superbrands – to draw attention to the importance of socially responsible business.

The selection and assessment of brands are universal around the world and consist of two stages - secret vote of the Superbrands board and a representative nationwide online vote, which was conducted this year by GFK Bulgaria.

This year the independent Superbrands board in Bulgaria was chaired by Venelina Gocheva, President of the Publisher's Editorial Board of Media Group Bulgaria Holding.