Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for marketing, and Nielsen Sri Lanka, the local arm of the largest information and research company in the world, have joined hands yet again to conduct SLIM - Nielsen People’s 
Awards 2017.
Now stepping into its 11th edition and firmly established as one of the most awaited events in the corporate calendar, SLIM - Nielsen People’s Awards 2017 will be held on March 10, 2017, at Waters Edge from 6:30 p.m. onwards, rewarding brands which have made a powerful impression in the minds of 
the people.
Speaking ahead of the event, SLIM President Upul Adikari highlighted the uniqueness of the event, which sets it apart from other awards ceremonies.
“There are various awards ceremonies where companies, personalities or brands submit an application, build a case and have themselves evaluated by a panel of judges. But the unique factor here is that the judging panel is the public. We believe that winning a People’s Award is the ultimate recognition of your standing, as you are being recognized directly by your end consumer. In fact, while the award is certainly a matter of prestige, even a nomination is an indication of a strong emotional bond with the public.”
The winners of the competition are picked through a comprehensive nationwide research conducted by Nielsen Sri Lanka, under the leadership and direction of its Managing Director Sharang Pant.
Pant elaborated on the research carried out by the company for the People’s Awards.
“Every year, Nielsen conducts a large-scale survey across all 25 districts of Sri Lanka, with people interviewed to record spontaneously recalled brands, personalities, media and programmes for various award categories. The random selection of individuals ensures we represent all socio-economic classes in Sri Lanka. The winners and nominees are those receiving the highest percentage of nominations. The survey for this year’s awards was conducted between September 2016 and December 2016.
He further discussed the quality control measures in place to ensure that the competition produces the most deserving winners.
“Nielsen uses tried and tested research techniques and processes to ensure unbiased data collection. The survey is conducted in a random manner and technology is used to aid the interviewers. The ‘Right Hand Rule’ is used by the interviewers to select households in each street to be interviewed. From all eligible members who can participate in the survey in the selected household, the member to be interviewed is again chosen randomly using a method called ‘Kish Grid’. This helps minimize any bias. 
While the selected respondent is interviewed for their favourite brand, personalities, media and programmes, the interviewer makes sure the respondent is not aided and that responses are truly spontaneous. As a standard Nielsen deploys stringent quality control measures which include accompaniments and back checks to ensure the validity of data.”