The Herald reaffirms market dominance

The contest was dominated by the Zimpapers stable, with sister paper, The Sunday Mail, placing third. Zimpapers' printing and packaging arm Natprint came out tops in the printing and packaging category.

Superbrand of the Year Awards is an annual event which recognises and rewards outstanding brands in the country.

The Herald's success follows its dominance as the most widely-read daily in Zimbabwe, with close to a million adult urban readers, according to the latest independent media survey.

While the latest report has confirmed the papers dominance in the urban market, the previous independent Zamps survey also placed the newspaper as the most read among rural adults. This time the rural market was not sampled.

Zimpapers group chief executive, Justin Mutasa said, "Our brands are national like what The Herald has done since 1891.

"CEOs come and go, but The Herald remains the flagship of Zimpapers.

"We will be moving a gear up to make sure that we add value to our shareholders, readers, advertisers and other stakeholders associated with the group."

Mutasa said Zimpapers was proud of Natprint which managed to withstand competition.

"The market has spoken as to who is the number one newspaper in the country, The Herald, which is our flagship," he said.

Managing editor of The Herald, Isaac Zulu said, "We have worked hard to remain at the top and we are gratified that the market has constantly placed us in pole position."

Consistency

"We would like to acknowledge the important role that the advertisers have played in our continued success story. But most importantly, we are proud to say we are the leaders because of our readers. Consistency is the bottom line."

Deputy prime minister, Arthur Mutambara, who officiated at the awards ceremony, said consistency was key to the success of a brand.

"Consistency should be in the following, look, feel, identity, service and full delivery as in every time, everywhere and at the right price," he said.

A brand is...

Mutambara said a brand was just more than a name, sign or logo.

"A brand sets the standard as to what customers should expect," he said.

"A brand is, therefore, a promise to the customer of what they should expect and that promise must be met, every time...a brand becomes an expectation and is built through consistency."

Mutambara said Zimbabwe needed homegrown brands that hold their own against international brands. He said it was important for companies to help in establishing a good country and a strong economy.

"When we have a strong brand, we have a strong country and a strong economy," he said, "You can never be respected as a company CEO unless your country is equally respected."

Mutambara said organisations should avoid shortcuts in building a strong brand to avoid compromising their reputation. Adding that it was important for brands to outlive the founders.