Unilever Sri Lanka bags ‘Marketer of the Year’ at Effies

Unilever Sri Lanka walked away with the coveted ‘Marketer of the Year’ award for the second consecutive year at the recently held Effies 2015.In a year that saw the Effies hand out two Golds for the first time,Unilever became the first company in the country to win both, including being the first FMCG company to win Gold in Effie history.In total Unilever took home two Golds, one Silver and three Finalist awards.

Marmite’s Mealtime Magic campaign and Knorr’s Seven Ways of Dhal campaign won Gold and Silver respectively in the Packaged Foods category. Sunlight’s Festival of Lights campaign won Gold in the Media category. Vim’s Avurudhu campaign was a Finalist in the Home Supplies & Services category. Fair and Lovely Max Fairness’s #MaxPora 2015 Unbuyable Bikes campaignwas a Finalist in the Personal Care Category while Vaseline Healthy White’s Sheshadri’s 10,000 Vaseline Bottles campaign was a Finalist in the Beauty category.

“A FMCG company winning not one but two Golds at the Effies is an unprecedented achievement. It is an amazing honour to be recognized at the Effies, which are the global benchmark of effectiveness in marketing communication. These awards speak to our commitment and the tireless effort our team and marketing partners put into executing innovative, engaging campaigns driven by powerful local insights,” said Makshoodh Meerasaibu, Marketing Director for Home Care, Foods & Water at Unilever Sri Lanka.

“We are so proud and privileged to be awarded the Marketer of the Year for two consecutive years. It is a validation ofthe ways in which we work closely with our marketing partners to place the consumer at the heart of everything we do. With this award, our team is proving its passion and might in creating iconic brands that are ingrained into the daily lives of Sri Lankans,” said Sharmila Bandara, Marketing Director for Personal Care at Unilever Sri Lanka.

With these history-defining wins, Unilever Sri Lanka has stormed into an elite circle of winners as only two other Gold Effies have ever been awarded in Sri Lanka, an emphatic testament to the effectiveness of Unilever Sri Lanka’s marketing efforts across its portfolio of 29 beloved brands.
These awards came on the heels of Unilever stealing the spotlight at the recent SLIMNielsen People’s Awards. The company bagged the most number of awards for the night and completely dominated the ‘International Brand of the Year’ category with Knorr, Vaseline and Closeup taking home the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards respectively.

A global symbol of achievement with award programmes honouring effective marketing communications in 42 countries and six regions, the Effie Awards have been held in Sri Lanka in partnership with the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) since 2008.