The winners as chosen by Canadian Consumers will be unveiled in January
2010.TORONTO, May 26 /CNW/ - The accolades given to brands such as Procter &
Gamble, Nestlé, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and L'Oreal will soon be decided
by some of the world's most sophisticated shoppers: Canadian consumers.
After two decades of being the market standard for consumer confidence in
Europe, POY is building its business and its reputation in North America, with
its new Canadian headquarters based in Toronto.
Product of the Year is one of the largest and most representative
managed-access consumer polls on product innovation. Each year, dozens of
companies compete to win in specific categories including skin care, pet food,
hair care, beverages, cereal, oral hygiene, and household cleaners.
"Product of the Year is a very simple yet powerful initiative," said Mike
Nolan, Global CEO of POY. "We use a huge consumer panel to decide what the
best innovations are in the stores and then we give that information to the
shopper for free."
Dr. Alan Middleton, Executive Director of the Executive Education Centre
at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto is Chair of
the POY Jury panel. "The idea is to give extra attention to successful new
products in order to encourage their development," says Middleton. "Better and
more innovative new products serve both the consumer and the marketing
industry well. This important award and the extra recognition it provides will
help stimulate better product and service development."
This year, TNS Canadian Facts, the largest leading custom research firm
in the world, will conduct a study of over 12,000 Canadian consumers to
determine which companies will be honored for creating products introduced
within the last 18 months that demonstrate innovation and deliver quality.
"Consumers are bombarded with dozens of similar products with very little
information on which are comparatively superior and which are worth their
money. Product of the Year is a critical peer-group identifier of which new
products are the most innovative on the market," says Dennis Glavin, CEO of
Product of the Year Canada.
Winning companies value the POY accolades they receive and often launch
print, television and in-store ad campaigns based around their victory, and
many incorporate the POY logo into product packaging.
Overall, companies report an average increase of 10% to 15% in sales
after winning, but much larger increases are not uncommon. For example, in
2005, the hair care category winner, Pantene, saw a 120% year-over-year
increase in sales and Calgon soap saw an increase of 106%. In 2006 hair care
winner Herbal Essences saw a 135% year-over-year increase in sales.
Submission for this year's consideration opened in May and close July 31.
For more information visit www.productoftheyear.ca/
Rogers Publishing has joined Product of the Year Canada to act as the
exclusive media sponsor, and will provide a variety of in-depth coverage of
the process and announcement of the final winning products.About Product of the Year:
--------------------------Product of the Year is both a powerful set of words and a simple idea.
Every year, thousands of consumers vote on the most innovative products
launched in the previous 18 months and pick winners in each product category.
With offices in more than 25 countries and a 23 year track record, we're now
ready to launch in Canada. We're here for three simple reasons: We want to
help consumers make the right decisions about the products they buy. We want
companies to make better products. And we want to help brands make money.
Product of the Year does all three by letting consumers vote on which products
they like best and giving the winners a powerful marketing message. As a
result, winners are happy to see their sales go up an average of 10-15% and
consumers are happy to buy a product that 12,000 other shoppers like them said
was the best. For more information visit: www.productoftheyear.ca/.About TNS:
----------TNS Canadian Facts www.tns-cf.com is one of Canada's most prestigious
full-service marketing, opinion and social research organizations. TNS, who
recently merged with Research International, is the world's largest custom
research agency delivering actionable insights and research-based business
advice to its clients so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS
offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology,
Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique
product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and
business issues, specializing in product development & innovation, brand &
communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative
research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 70 countries, TNS
is part of Kantar, the world's largest research, insight and consultancy
network. Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.About Rogers Publishing:
------------------------Rogers Publishing Limited (RPL) (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), a division of
Rogers Media Inc., produces many well-known consumer magazines such as
Maclean's, Chatelaine, Flare, L'actualité and Canadian Business, and is the
leading publisher of a number of industry, medical and financial publications.
Rogers Publishing also offers a complete suite of marketing solutions for its
advertising clients, including BzzAgents word-of-mouth marketing campaigns and
custom publishing solutions. All media properties are integrated with their
own popular websites. For further information about the Rogers group of
companies, please visit www.rogers.com.