A number of 82 companies received the Gold Mercury prize and medals at the Trademark of the Year 2012 contest. The contest is organized by the Chamber of Trade and Industry and AGEPI within the “Made in Moldova” exhibit, Info-Prim Neo reports. The projects presented by the companies were assessed both by consumers, through a questionnaire that was filled out by 1,200 respondents, and by a group of experts. In the end, there were selected 97 trademarks. They competed in nine nominations: Consumer Approval; Debut of the Year; Export; Internal Trade; Favorite of the Year; Socially Responsible Trademark; Rebranding; Reputation and Confidence, and the Republic’s Patrimony. “The results of the competition allowed us to identify the popular trademarks and to determine consumers’ preferences,” said the head of the Chamber of Trade and Industry Gheorghe Cucu. Attending the award ceremony, Prime Minister Vlad Filat said it is evident that the companies care about their trade name and these brand names should be protected and promoted. According to him, the improvement of the quality and competitiveness of the Moldovan services represent a precondition for achieving the European integration objective. As many as 880 brand names presented by companies from 15 districts, the municipalities of Balti and Chisinau, and the Autonomous Territorial Unit Gagauzia took part in the tenth Trademark of the Year contest. 240 of them won the top prize, the Gold Mercury.