Kumon UK awarded Brand of the Year!

Jun 2014

The British Franchise Association awards celebrate "the country's most exceptional franchisors, who are driving business growth and development through their strength of brand, innovative practices and effective business strategies".

Kumon UK was awarded Brand of the Year at the 25th annual ceremony!

The award recognises businesses that can demonstrate how they have developed their brand. Our entry detailed the work we have been carrying out to strengthen the Kumon brand through the implementation of a dynamic and content-driven online marketing strategy.

Of the BFA awards, Brian Smart, Director General of the BFA, said: "We have been extremely impressed with the level of this year's entrants. It's been a pleasure to see the broad range of franchisors stepping forward and celebrating their successes in the industry. We have seen an exceptionally high standard of franchising throughout this year's application process and have been particularly inspired by the levels of commitment and dedication that franchisors are going to, to carry out best business practice."

Cathryn Hayes, Head of Franchising, HSBC, said: "We are always impressed with the high calibre of entrants for these awards but this has been one of the toughest judging processes I can remember, reflecting the quality and depth that is found in today's franchise brands. This year's finalists have demonstrated exceptional business practice and successful implementation of strategies to support their franchisees."

As part of the judging process, representatives from Kumon presented to a judging panel including Brian, Cathryn and also Sean Hammond, Head of Franchising at Express Newspapers. Of Kumon's entry, they said: "The outcome has been impressive Independent research shows brand awareness is up, way ahead of nearest competitors, and Kumon's values are understood by consumers. The timely modernisation of Kumon's established brand has had significant, measurable impact at national and local level and positions the business to capitalise on modern communications platforms."

Kumon's Brand and Communications Manager, Gemma Holmes, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have been honoured with the accolade of Brand of the Year! Our dedicated network of Instructors and Associates continually strive to strengthen awareness and understanding of our unique brand, to enable even more students to benefit from the Kumon programmes. It is wonderful to receive recognition for our student-centred content strategy, which through platforms like our blog, we get to share the achievements of our amazing students and franchisees.

"It has been an exciting year to see our new website take off, our social media communities grow and our brand awareness increase. We are very grateful to the panel for their kind words and for choosing Kumon as the recipient of this award for 2014."