Which brands are the strongest of 2022? This secret will be revealed on February 28, 2023, at the Best Brands Awards, Germany’s only study-based brand ranking. The top 10 brands in three of this year's categories have already been determined. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary year of the Best Brands Awards, the festive evening gala at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich, once again hosted by Linda Zervakis, will be opened by a keynote speech from Sebastian Steudtner, world record holder in big wave surfing. Further programme highlights are special guest Sebastião Salgado, the internationally acclaimed Brazilian photographer and environmental activist, and the legendary musicians JAN DELAY & DELAYDIES feat. DJ MAD, who will perform during the ceremony.

Munich, 6. February 2023 — In its 20th anniversary year, the Best Brands Awards – the marketing industry's highlight event at the start of the year – will once again honour the strongest brands of the year. The Best Brands Awards are unique because the winners are not decided by a jury panel, but by the consumers themselves. The award-winning candidates are determined in a representative study conducted by the research institute GfK based on two criteria: actual commercial market success and the attractiveness of the brand as perceived by consumers.

The Best Brands Awards are jointly organized as a partner event by GfK, Seven.One Entertainment Group, Markenverband, WirtschaftsWoche, DIE ZEIT, RMS Radio Marketing Service, Media Impact and the Serviceplan Group.

As well as the annually recurring "Best Brand Overall", brands from certain areas of life that were of particular importance to consumers in the respective year have been analyzed since 2021. This year there will be a "Best Corporate Sustainability Brand" category. In addition, the "Best of the Best Brands" will be presented in honour of the particularly successful brands of recent years.

“For 20 years, we have been accompanying Germany's most successful brands with the survey for the Best Brands Awards." comments Michael Müller, President Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, GfK. "A lot has changed in that time: At the beginning of the Best Brands survey in 2004, for example, there were no smartphones, which have since had a major impact on the lives, information and purchasing behaviour of consumers. The attitudes and behaviour of consumers have changed just as radically. However, some success factors for brands remain unchanged: Values such as quality and trust combined with innovative strength and close contact with the relevant target groups."

Based on the GfK study, the following top 10 of the three categories were determined (nomination top 10 in alphabetical order. Please see below)

The winners in the three categories, will be honoured during the evening of February 28, 2023, at the Best Brands Awards ceremony at the Bayerischer Hof, and announced afterwards with a press release.

The gala, presented by Linda Zervakis, will be opened by keynote speaker Sebastian Steudtner with a fascinating success story: he holds the world record for the highest wave ever surfed. Growing up in Nuremberg, far from the sea and waves, he has defied all odds and setbacks to fulfill his lifelong dream of being among the best of the best. The evening's guests can also look forward to an encounter with Brazilian photographer and environmental activist Sebastião Salgado as well as a performance by JAN DELAY & DELAYDIES feat. DJ MAD.  

To underline the informative nature of Best Brands, the evening awards ceremony will be preceded by a specialist daytime congress: As part of the Best Brands College, top-class speakers will hold lectures and workshops on this year's main topic "Best Brands never stop moving: Successful brand management in times of change". This year, the College will once again take place live in Serviceplan Group’s new House of Communication in Munich, with the daytime sessions kicking off at 9.30am. In addition, there is the possibility to follow the digital live stream. The moderator is Daniel Boschmann.

More information about the lecture programme is available here.

About Best Brands:           

Since 2004, the Best Brands Awards have become the industry event of the year for business, retail and media. The brand award is now also presented annually in Italy, Belgium and France. In 2022, Best Brands was also held in Poland for the first time. Best Brands is the only marketing award to measure the strength of a brand on the basis of a representative empirical study by GfK using two criteria: the actual economic market success – the so-called "Share of Market" – and the attractiveness of the brand as perceived by consumers, the "Share of Soul. This means that it is not the subjective judgment of a jury that decides on the winners, but exclusively the consumers.

For more information on Best Brands, please visit the website.

For impressions and information on Best Brands you can also visit Facebook (@BestBrandsRanking) and Twitter (@BestBrands)

The accompanying hashtag is: #BestBrands