Koo stages a brand coup

Canned foods brand Koo took the honours in this year's Sunday Times Top Brands awards.

Koo, which has been around for 70 years, overtook famous brands like Coca-Cola and KFC, which were ranked second and third respectively.

Coca-Cola took home first prize for the brand that has done the most for community upliftment, and was voted SA's favourite soft drink in the consumer section.

Pick n Pay took first place as the brand that has done the most to promote green awareness - followed closely by Woolworths and Nedbank.

In the business categories, top honours went to BlackBerry, British Airways, Vodacom and Santam.

Investec was the top business bank and Discovery the leading medical aid.

In the consumer categories, Nokia, SAA, MTN and OUTsurance won their respective categories.

The top retail bank was Absa, the top chocolate was Cadbury and Hansa was the top beer.

"It is evident that particular brands tailor-make their services to appeal to different market segments," said Mark Molenaar, executive director, TNS Research Surveys, which conducted the research.

Ogilvy won the Robyn Putter Brand Agency of the Year Award, now in its second year.

Vodacom's managing executive of marketing Enzo Scarcella won the marketing personality of the year award.