Donny Ray Evins performs for The 2007 Brand Laureate in Malaysia

The winners of The BrandLaureate Awards 2006 – 2007, Malaysia’s inaugural Branding Awards were announced at the Gala Dinner held at Shangri-La Hotel on 8th January 2007.

Guests started pouring in as early as 6.30pm for the pre-dinner cocktail. Tuxedo clad gentlemen and elegantly dressed ladies were entertained by a guitarist and saxophonist while Davidoff treated the guests with their signature cigars, adding a touch of grandiosity to the affair. The pre-dinner cocktail gave guests a chance to mingle and loosen up before the dinner.

The grand ballroom was filled with romance, class and grandeur. The proceedings commenced with a rendition of the Malaysian National Anthem, Negaraku, beautifully performed by the 7-piece orchestra led by Robert Clark of Robert Clark Creative. Dr. K.K. Johan, CEO of The BrandLaureate then gave an excellent speech on the importance of branding.

Donny Ray Evins, an entertainer from Las Vegas crooned his way into our hearts with his rendition of Nat King Cole’s famous numbers. Guests were seen smiling and some were even swaying along to his tunes. Donny Ray sang briefly but gloriously. The Award giving ceremony started with the Corporate Branding category with 38 awards. Among the winners were Public Bank, TM, Astro and Westport.

The Product Branding category came next after a short interlude from Donny Ray. A total of 33 awards were given away for this category. The winners for this category include Davidoff, Mercedes Benz, Munchy’s, Nokia Eseries, McDonald’s and SUPER Coffeemix.

The Guest of Honour, Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz then gave his speech and announced the winners of The BrandLaureate Brand Personality Awards to 3 outstanding Malaysians who have contributed to promoting Brand Malaysia. The winners are; Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, Tan Sri Dr. Francis Yeoh and Tan Sri Dato’ Professor Dr. Lim Kok Wing.

The Gala Dinner ended with Donny Ray Evins wishing the guests goodnight.