Bulgarian companies won a number of high marks and recognition at the 2012 edition of the prestigious International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards.

Alpha Bank Bulgaria won a golden statuette in the Product Development/Management Department or Team of the Year category and a bronze one in the Best New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Services.

Mobiltel won gold for Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event, while the PR agency APRA Porter Novelli won bronze for PR campaign of the year in the categories Community Relations, Marketing – Consumer Products and Reputation/Brand Management, bringing the number of statuettes to a total of seven.

The news about the high assessment was reported Friday by M3 Communications Group, Inc.

The Stevie Awards are the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program. Nicknamed the "Stevies" from the Greek word for "crowned," they are designed to honor the efforts, accomplishments and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide.

The awards are bestowed in over 100 categories and give Bulgarian business the opportunity to measure up to the best companies in the world.

This year they will be given at an official ceremony on October 15th at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

In addition to the seven statuettes, Bulgarian businessman and PR expert Maxim Behar has been awarded as a Distinguished Honoree in the Executive of the Year in the Advertising, Marketing, and PR category.

The Stevie Awards are divided in four programs: American Business Awards, International Business Awards, Women in Business Stevie Awards, and Stevie Awards for Customer Services and Sales.

Standing out in terms of their variety and scope, and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize great business achievements globally. More information about the Stevie Awards is available at www.stevieawards.com.

The Bulgarian PR company M3 Communications Group, Inc., is an associate of the largest global PR company, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, part of WPP Group PLC.

M3 Communications Group, Inc. Provides a wide range of public communication services – communication strategies, media relations, web services, creation and printing of advertising materials, medial planning and purchase, corporate event planning and organized, crisis management, lobbying, marketing concepts, and media monitoring.

The company's founder Maxim Behar has rich experience of more than 25 years in public communications, and is a widely recognized communications and journalism expert, known as a creative personality with influence in Bulgarian political and business life.