MillwardBrown research inaugurated in Ghana

Mr. Charles Foster, Managing Director, MillwardBrown, Africa says Ghana has enormous pool of marketing research talent which can best serve the needs of the West African market.

He stated that the country’s stable business atmosphere coupled with the prevailing business philosophy has attracted multinational firms.

Ghana has therefore become the 78th host of the company and the 51st country in the world and that Accra will serve as the West African hub office of the research agency which expertise in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research,” Mr. Foster told B&FT after the official inauguration of the company in Accra.

Millward Brown is a leading global research agency specialized in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research. It has been in the business of brands for more than 35 years. The company started in the UK in 1974, it located to South Africa in 1984 and Kenya in 2008.

Mr. Niger Hollis, Chief Global Analyst of Millward making a presentation on the theme: “Winning on West Africa's Brand Battlefields” urged marketers to apply more local understanding, thought and action as cultural diversity increases.

“Companies that have moved too far in the direction of global brand consistency may be ill-equipped to do this.”

“They may have little alternative but to hold their ground as best, they can by leveraging their advantages of scale. But those advantages will need to be significant if they are to stave off competition in developing economies.”

Mr. Hollis indicated that quality and price will not offer an advantage, only effective innovation and marketing combined with local knowledge and insight will make an impact in current competitive market.

He urged marketers to pay much attention to innovation which will allow promising brand to stay ahead of their competition.

“Innovation must be targeted at supporting the brand’s point of differentiation, strong availability and effective communication.

“Promotion of a value brand eventually pays off, rather than the mere reduction of the cost of services by rival brands, which affects quality,” Hollis remarked.