Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Systematic approach to branding advocated

Ms. Esther Amba Namuba Cobbah, Chief Executive of Stratcomm Africa, has advocated a systematic and professional approach to branding and brand identity in the country, rather than just a casual approach.

She said it is about time companies and individuals realised that effective branding adds enormous value to products and services - adding that without systematic approach to developing a brand, what a company/product communicates may simply be confused fragments of messages.

Ms. Cobbah speaking at the ‘Branding and Identity Conference 2010’ organised by Oxygen, a brand-consulting firm, to brainstorm ideas that will change the face of branding in the country, she expressed surprise at how multinational corporate bodies are quick to transpose adverts they have created in one environment into a completely different one and assume that expected outcomes would be the same.

She said branding has been an integral aspect of culture, citing the use of ‘adinkra’ symbols by our forefathers to represent a particular meaning or activity during their time.

Mr. Reginald Laryea, Chief Executive of MMRS Ogilvy, a brand consulting firm, on the challenges, development and future of branding in Ghana said lack of trained personnel and certain specialised disciplines within the marketing communication sector is one major challenge to the development of brands in the country.

He appealed to business owners to employ the right calibre of branding experts that are able to add the right value to their brands.

He said the country is fortunate to have the human resource base in the areas of brand management and identity, and that a multiplicity of training workshops and seminars would enable such resource persons to bequeath some of their expertise in the field to upcoming brand promoters as well as industry players.

‘’Effective branding also serves as a magnet to attract new customers while providing motivation to employees, increasing productivity and reducing employee turnover,’’ he added.

In a related, development, Nana Kwadwo Duah, the Principal and Creative Director of Oxygen, the branding & identity firm, the organizers of the conference, paid a courtesy call on the deputy Minister of Information, Mr. James Kwadwo Agyenim-Boateng in Accra, last week.

Mr. Duah is currently the proud winner of the global search for the most dynamic and innovative young communications entrepreneur by the British Council, a competition that pitted him with nine other outstanding young entrepreneurs from Armenia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Latvia, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia and Slovenia.

He said the award offers him an opportunity to educate the youth about the enormous prospect in the country.

“I am thankful for the opportunities that have come my way; this will enable me to fulfil my greatest desire by way of giving back to the next generation of young, creative professionals - through the setting up of a facility offering practical training and seminars aimed at developing their creative, technical and business acumen in the communications industry.”

Mr. Agyenim-Boateng while receiving the delegation emphasised government plans to embark on strategies to ensure the country is well-promoted through effective national branding strategies.

The strategy, which will be aimed at attracting global investors and enhancing business opportunities for the country, will be directed toward embracing the youth.

He indicated that the youth will form part of the main policy programme and that government cannot afford to let the youth down.

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