The jury have decided!

The best Hungarian brands have been named for the eighth time within the framework of the MagyarBrands programme. This prize expresses the recognition of the public and the trust of the people in Hungarian brands. It is real value which can be converted into business profit, due to the role it plays in shoppers’ decision making.

The results of dedicated brand building work

Tamás Barna
managing director
Republic Group

Consumer expectations are becoming higher year after year, and this trend influences the brand building process too. In 2018 the market needs to react to the attitude changes caused by the new generation of consumers and digitalisation. I think that Hungarian brands have made serious progress and some of them have even entered the international market. The SME sector developed well in the last 2-3 years and more brands do conscious brand building work than before.

When it comes to evaluating young brands, what I focus on is product quality, whether the brand is exciting enough and the communication is done professionally. MagyarBrands winners have one thing in common: the top quality and reliability of the product or service. I am happy to take part in the jury’s work as I can learn a lot from other members – all of them are great marketing and branding experts.

The nationality of a brand

Zoltán Fekete
general secretary
Magyar Márkaszövetség

What is the worth of a brand if it is Hungarian? Or we could also ask: What makes a brand Hungarian? The nationality of a brand isn’t a value in itself, it is just a product characteristic. For instance excellent Hungarian brands are manufactured abroad. However, the nationality of a brand can turn into value if we take into consideration those ‘components’ that can transform a product into a strong brand: the emotional ties between the brand and consumers. All in all, the Hungarian origin of a product isn’t enough in itself, it needs to be told as a story to consumers, preferably in the form of a true story. The MagyarBrands programme rewards this kind of work and professional excellence.

What is the value of a brand if it is Hungarian?

Zsuzsanna Hermann
managing director – chief editor
Trade magazin

The MagyarBrands programme puts exemplary Hungarian products in the spotlight. This is very important as Hungarian consumers show growing demand for good quality domestic products. When evaluating, one of the most important factors for me is the long-term reliability of the brand, but I am also happy to see young brands making a breakthrough. Good Hungarian brands measure themselves with international standards and do development work accordingly. In an optimum case each Hungarian brand should reach a level of development where they compete for this prize.

Brand is how consumers feel about a product or service

Bálint Hinora
managing director
Hinora Group

I think what we call a brand is basically how consumers feel about a certain product or service. The end result is the brand and branding is the process. I usually differentiate between five stages here: awareness, consideration, trial, repertoire and main brand. In the case of B2B brands the 3rd stage is often missing.

Comparing the present situation with what things were like five years ago, I don’t see any positive change. There has been some kind of development, but corporate culture and thinking are still very often an obstacle to proper brand building and marketing strategy formation. May be it is my fault, but there were many companies that I didn’t know at all; still, it can also be that it is their marketing strategy that isn’t efficient enough.

It is ours, we like it and are proud of it

Zsófia Lakatos
president
Magyar PR Szövetség

We examined Hungarian brands from the following perspective: identity, reputation and brand building. Since we do this in several categories and many other characteristics are also considered – such as innovation, traditions, reliability and social usefulness – being a jury member is sometimes isn’t easy at all. At the same time it is a great feeling to see that we can be proud of a growing number of brands.

Neuzer, Cserpes, Takler

Kázmér Nyomárkay
chief editor
K&K Kis és Középvállalkozások magazinja

The Magyar Brands programme is eight years old and many things have changed by now, new brands appeared on the scene and old ones disappeared. What matters to me the most is that there are more and more family businesses among the competition entries. Why is this important? Because without family enterprises no economic battle can be won in the long run. The three brands in the title are emblematic Hungarian brands in my opinion – but they are just the tip of the iceberg.

A high-prestige competition

Dr. János Serényi
owner, managing director
Értéktrend Consulting

It seems to be a very good decision that the organisers have added the category of ‘innovative brands’ to the competition’s programme. Shoppers have always paid special attention to new and new-type products and services. However, in recent years consumers have become even more attracted to brands with a company behind them that is well-known and prestigious because of the innovation work that they do.

Buying decisions are influenced by the ‘science’ behind the new product or service. What is more, innovative brands are also building the personal brands of many consumers who are open towards them: more and more shoppers say ‘My place is among the first who try the new products’. It is the interest of each country’s economy to talk as much as possible about novelties and exciting innovations. This is why it is great that Magyar Brands now also rewards innovative brands. 

Adapting to the changing environment

Dr. Gedeon Totth
college professor and head of department
Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetem

We, jury members can feel that the environment is changing, and adapting to the new conditions is characteristic of a large part of competition entries. Brand dynamics is an important factor in my decision, but one also needs to judge those brands realistically which aren’t so trendy or easy to build.

My view is that the marketing work of companies is improving in general. Adapting best practices is happening, but I also think that to a certain extent market competition forces companies to do this. From a brand management perspective I also see the efforts of companies to make progress. Let me add that I really like the work I have to do as a jury member!

A Hungarian identity

Mihály Vágvölgyi
managing partner
DeepInsight

I like to see when a brand is making progress – in evaluating entries brand dynamics is an important factor for me. There can be mistakes in brand communication, but in the case of a new enterprises these mistakes aren’t judged so harshly. On the contrary, I simply can’t tolerate mistakes made in the field of advertising ethics. What connects Magyar Brands winners the most is their Hungarian identity. The difference between them can be whether they can enter the international market or not.

One has to win more matches than they lose

Dr. András Vértes
president
GKI

In branding those are the real winners who can stay at the top for decades (e.g. Tungsram, Medicor, Pick). Brand dynamics is very important in the case of a relatively new company but it isn’t necessarily so with older companies. A new Hungarian brand should aim at conquering markets. This takes experimenting which can result in losses, but only the end result matters: one has to win more matches than they lose. Brands have value these days and this is really good news to consumers. I urge Hungarian companies to try to overcome obstacles, because it really pays off!