The 12th edition of Best Brand Award Bangladesh honoured the most loved brands of the country through a virtual programme on December 30 and recognised 105 brands across 37 categories.

In the overall top 15 brands rank, bKash won the status of the number one brand this year while Closeup and Ispahani secured the second and third places.

Radhuni and Grameenphone became the fourth and fifth most loved brands of Bangladesh, followed by RFL Plastics, Sunsilk, Parachute Advanced, Pran Frooto, Shwapno, Maggi, Walton, Coca-Cola, Lux and Lifebuoy.

For the first time, the event was organised virtually by Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF) powered by American International University-Bangladesh, in partnership with Nielsen Bangladesh and in association with The Daily Star.

To inspire the brands of the country, BBF has been honouring the most loved brands through Best Brand Award for the last 12 years, BBF said in a statement yesterday.

The objective of the Award is to demonstrate and celebrate the success of the brands, achieved through tough and effortful initiatives, according to the statement.

Best Brand Award started its journey with Nielsen Bangladesh in 2008 based on a global model done through a direct consumer survey of 7,600 consumers across the country which included self-administrated reviews.

At the event, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, director of BBF and president of Women in Leadership and founder of Bangladesh Creative Forum, delivered the welcome speech.

After that, Prashant Kolleri, leader for customised intelligence of Nielsen South Asia, gave a detailed speech to describe the methodology of Best Brand Award 2019.

This year's Best Brand Award kicked off shortly after the closing ceremony of "Brandfest - The Next Bangladesh", the country's largest brand and marketing festival, according to the statement.

"As we are preparing to welcome 2021, I urge everyone to give their best at advancing their personal journey, but also actively play their individual role in taking the nation forward," said Salman F Rahman, lawmaker and prime minister's adviser on private sector and investment.