The EFFIE/THE BEST BRAND award ceremony was held last week with the Dengi magazine as its traditional general media sponsor. As in previous years, there was not enough "bagels" (the endearing name the award received for its ring shape) for every nominee, and thus only every third entrant got one.

For nearly a dozen years the advertising and PR community has been organizing pompous events to celebrate various professional causes. It is possible to see the development of the marketing communications sector from the quality of these functions. Behind the scenes of EFFIE/THE BEST BRAND, Boris Krasnov, a famous stage designer and owner of Forum Hall, where the ceremony was taking place, was distressed and very emotional about the event which was about to start: 111 people waiting to be presented with their awards does not leave much room for fooling around! However, he worried in vain: ceremony hosts Yana Churikova and Anton Komolov enthusiastically presented all the winners. In intermissions between award presentations, spectators had a chance to see a performance from the opera quartet Amici Forever, and even hear a song from Russian pop star Valeria. It is a pity, however, that the grandiose fountain spectacular Aquatic Show, which was advertised as the highlight of the evening, actually began late into the night, after most of the brand operators had gone on home. Either way, it could still be said that the ceremony was organized on a level that was quite worthy of the business it represented.

The results of the competition have shown clearly that brands are flourishing in Russia. The Best Brand award itself is beating its previous records: more than 300 submissions were received and judged by the country's most respected PR and advertising experts. Obviously, Russian companies are looking forward to winning the competition above all, though they are having to compete with transnational holdings. Notably, Russia's Uralsib Financial Corporation took home the gold award in one of the most revered categories of "Financial Organizations", leaving behind the international giant American Express, which won a silver "bagel." This is even more honorable in the opinion of the award winners because the judges were objective, and did not give any advantageous treatment to the national company. "One of the most appealing things in the Best Brand competition is the composition of the jury," said Alexander Vikhrov, Uralsib's Executive Director for Public Relations. "They are highly professional people - those that truly set the market in motion. The professional community's evaluation of our work is very important to us, and the recognition of our merits by our colleagues in the same field means that we are on the right track."

Meanwhile, not all winners felt as confident. The gold award in the "Entertainment Sphere" category went to the "Ne Rodis Krasivoy" ("Better Born Lucky") soap opera. The star of the show, actress Nelly Uvarova, went up to the stage to receive the award. When asked if it was hard for her character Katya Pushkaryova to be a brand, the actress replied with an air of coyness: "I don't think it has struck me yet. It feels to me like I'm going out of my senses…" You could only feel compassionate for this delicate little creature holding this heavy award in her hands and dreading the prospects of posing for the camera once again after the ceremony.

Like last year, the Best Brand Grand Prix was given in three categories. The highest award for Reputation and Trust, which should probably be considered the most prestigious, went to MegaFon. The Malina loyalty card scheme was named the breakthrough brand of the year - it took home the Grand Prix in the "New Name" category. At the same time, a series of this year's much publicized rebranding campaigns did not garner the jury's applause, and the last award of the competition "For Image Change" did not go to a telecom, but the flagship Russian air carrier Aeroflot-Russian Airlines.

As for other categories, in which gold, silver and bronze "bagels" were given out, the intensity of emotions quite often reflected the actual acuteness of competition on the market. The struggle was the hottest in categories related to perfumes, cosmetics, health products and children's goods. Like soccer fans that get ecstatic about each point scored by their team, the attending Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson employees showed support for their winners with excited cheers and applause. Nonetheless, the outcome was nothing out of the ordinary: Procter & Gamble won 8 to 5, affirming its position on the corresponding markets.

Meanwhile, some "bagels" were won literally without striking a blow. Four golden prizes "capitulated" to Samsung. This brand's achievements were deemed exceptional in the categories "LCD TV", "Mobile phone", "mp3 player", and "Business-oriented multi-functional devices". Euroset chief executive Yevgeny Chichvarkin presented one of the awards. Quite unexpectedly, he uttered a flood of compliments for the winner, calling Samsung mobile phones just about the best in the world, having thus publicly put an end to the much publicized conflict between his retail chain and the renowned South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer.

Clearly, competition organizers could not disregard journalists, with whose invaluable help target audiences get exposed to the vibrant creative efforts of brand managers. Automotive industry magazine Top Gear, Russkoye Radio, and Kommersant Publishing House won in the Mass Media category. Boris Yeryomin, President of International Advertising Association Russia and one of the jury members for this category, commented: "The main criterion for me is the work's analyticity - be it a brand, a PR project, or an advertising campaign. One can invent all kinds of things, and may hit the nail on its head or not. At the same time, there isn't a harmony in the world that cannot be put to a test by algebra. Branding is a trade that models the level of loyalty far in advance. Kommersant's advertising campaign was cleverly made. And even now, I don't have to be reading Kommersant to know very well that it's a real brand, and, as the young people say, that it's "cool."

Unfortunately, in talking to the nominees and winners, I could not get a clear answer about what winning the competition amounted to for their business, except the prestigious "bagel" on their packaging and in advertising of their products and services. Nonetheless, winning the national competition does open new doors for the companies, such as the right to compete for an international EFFIE award. "For Russian companies, our competition is a door to the world of global brands," RBC General Director Yury Rovensky said assuredly. "But in order to compete on the global market, they need experience. This competition gives such an experience: here, everyone is granted an opportunity to get a fair evaluation of their achievements from professionals and learn from their rivals. I wish that our companies can take a worthy place in the global EFFIEs."

We can only join the organizers in their hopes and wish national brands success on the global arena, if only in the field of creative technologies.