Marketing Excellence, Shoppers Choice Awards etc. (Bogus or Not)?

[vipvip68]

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@st@rr

The only way I can convince you guys would be to provide proof... so here's the proof

A friend of mine told me that his relative was approached by Phil Marketing excellence awards. The representative told them that they had won the award but they needed to pay a certain amount. After refusing the payment, he threatened them saying that he would go to their competitor and give them the award instead.

The next thing you know.. .their competitor ends up with the award and has a very lavish award ceremony attended by politicians and business leaders (after paying the amount of course). This incident proves just what kind of BS these companies are about.

Going back to the story, to make matters worse.. the next year, the company again approached the store saying the same thing (that they had won) and asking for payment.

All Consumers need to know this! Don't be fooled by these schemes that mislead the public. This is a deplorable practice by this dishonest company and an equally disappointing reaction from companies who have supported their scam just so that they can get a leg up on their competitors.

I am sorry to let you know this but these award companies are a SCAM. Whether your company benefited or fell victim to these companies, please do not support them.

[AlecZander]

this is horrible. With all due respect to everyone concerned, does that mean that a company who was "hand picked" to win such award... PAID for the AWARD? like bisan mga way ayu makadaug? (like wat vipvip said, the other competitor won coz they payed)... wa namani credibilidad oi...

[bojams]

@aleczander: this is horrible. With all due respect to everyone concerned, does that mean that a company who was "hand picked" to win such award... PAID for the AWARD? like bisan mga way ayu makadaug? (like wat vipvip said, the other competitor won coz they payed)... wa namani credibilidad oi...

THAT'S True bro... one company will be willing to pay for the award... for COMPETITION

[vipvip68]

this is horrible. With all due respect to everyone concerned, does that mean that a company who was "hand picked" to win such award... PAID for the AWARD? like bisan mga way ayu makadaug? (like wat vipvip said, the other competitor won coz they payed)... wa namani credibilidad oi...

Yes, that's very true.. they (awarded companies) just don't want to you to know it.. To them it is just "Marketing Expense". To me, its deceiving the public.

The worst part about this is the criteria for selecting the winners. The names of the award (Marketing Excellence, Shoppers Choice) implies that a company excelled in its Marketing Efforts (Product, Price, Promotions, Place/Location / Placement) and was the common choice among consumers (Shoppers Choice). With no surveys to speak of and the incident i mentioned above, it is clear that these awards are indeed bogus.

Companies who paid for the award are victims of this practice. For every company who won.. there are more who were not able to receive the award. These companies are victims of this also as their competitors can advertise having won these awards. So, it doesn't really help anyone except the award company and those who paid for an award that they MAY or MAY NOT have deserved.

@ Ryan and Starr

Please stop defending these award companies. I know your companies received the award. I was offered also but I did not pay for it. TAKE NOTE that this in no way means that your companies do not excel in Marketing and Consumer Preference, it just means that the award company who let u pay for it was bogus. Instead of defending these award companies, you should be mad at them especially now that they are asking for more money. If you wont/can't pay the amount, they will give that award to someone who can afford it as the incident I mentioned above shows.

You guys don't need these awards. If you believe that you are the best at what you do, I say let the consumers decide,.. Not some company who's making a lot of money out of this.

[st@rr]

We are not defending them because we got the award, it is just better to have evidence first before you accuse someone of doing something wrong, thats all we are saying. If you do find something more concrete than just a friends word, we will be behind you for sure. Maybe you should bring this up to DTI or something, Im sure theyre company is registered. maybe they can help you and answer all your questions.

[vipvip68]

No offense but a testimony from a trusted source is enough to convince me.

These companies ARE doing something wrong.

The evidence I presented came from an "awardee to be's" first hand experience on their practices. If you are looking for proof/physical evidence such as surveys, this is an impossibility since no such document exists or has been reported to have existed.

Think about this ... out of the 100s of awardee's not one company or person has seen or known anyone who has answered surveys. If these awards are supposed to be a consensus from consumers, then at least a handful of people should have seen surveys.


Infact, the closest statement about any form of survey was from Ryan who mentioned people with counters doing a headcount below his office.

This case should be brought to the Media... .The only way for this to end is for the public to know what's really going on and for the companies to stop paying them for awards.

Here are my points:

Bogus because: 1) Giving award to highest bidder 2) No polls, surveys or witnesses thereoff 3) Increasing fee to unreasonable amounts

@St@rr.. just a question, since you turned down their Marketing Excellence award because of the (now 12k) subsidee fee, did they still recognize your company as having excelled in Marketing?

Given that actual surveys were conducted, your company has been chosen/voted on by consumers. Not paying the 12k shouldnt make a difference from you deserving the award. Did they post this on their website or do they only award those who pay for it?

The fax I received from them (Phil Mktng. Excellence) indicated that I had won an award. Since I did not pay = No recognition / No award...not even on their website...

What does that say about these companies now? I really hope you get my point.

~Peace~

[droid]

has anyone else noticed that these awards are *very* specific, to the point that there are only 1 or 2 companies in that category?

[O.C.]

has anyone else noticed that these awards are *very* specific, to the point that there are only 1 or 2 companies in that category?

As far as I can remember, these awards were specific. I think there were only 2 companies who won under our category.

[muzikfreakah]

Istorya is the right place to air out your feelings towards this and we respect that. But if you really want to accuse them of something, present it to someone official. Again that is all we are saying and that is also just our honest opinion on the subject matter. We ourselves requested for survey sheets and they presented them to us. We cannot blame them for marking up a little on this becuase atleast they did the hardwork of doing the surveys, someone has to get compensated for the service provided right? if I count the all the expenses involved in giving an the award, the dinner, the venue, the entertainment, the guest speakers etc.., the cost would of course be high and who will pay for it? You are right, they are making money out of this because how will they survive? But there is nothing wrong with it. There are so many computer repair shops on Cebu so in my case the category part doesnt apply to our company.

[vipvip68]

Istorya is the right place to air out your feelings towards this and we respect that. But if you really want to accuse them of something, present it to someone official. Again that is all we are saying and that is also just our honest opinion on the subject matter. We ourselves requested for survey sheets and they presented them to us. We cannot blame them for marking up a little on this becuase atleast they did the hardwork of doing the surveys, someone has to get compensated for the service provided right? if I count the all the expenses involved in giving an the award, the dinner, the venue, the entertainment, the guest speakers etc.., the cost would of course be high and who will pay for it? You are right, they are making money out of this because how will they survive? But there is nothing wrong with it. There are so many computer repair shops on Cebu so in my case the category part doesnt apply to our company.

How is increasing the fee from 6k to 12k marking up "a little"?

Regardless, the money making part is not the main concern. It is the methods they use (Ask payment from company A, if refused, threaten to go to company A's competitor) ... call it business ethics if you will.

Ryan, you're right, Istorya is not the venue to accuse these companies.. BUT, it is the venue for letting people know what others have experienced so that they may be better equipped to make a judgement on this issue. To backup my claims, I have presented my evidence as you have requested in your replies. If you want to disprove these claims or If you have other opinions, you can also present evidence to support your views as well.