Graphic is greatest brand for 2014

The Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) last Friday emerged as the greatest brand in Ghana for the year 2014.

In a competition with 25 other top brands in the country, the GCGL stood out with excellence at the impressive second edition of the Brand Excellence award held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra. 

The event  was on the theme ‘Building a Strong Brand for Business Growth’ organised by the Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA).

Part of the citation accompanying the GCGL award extolled the rebranding drive of the company which had produced an enhanced outlook and revitalised the bond between the company and its publics.

Other winners

Ten other top brands made it to the list of Ghana’s top 10 brands. They are Ghana Commercial Bank, GHACEM, MTN, Frytol, Pepsodent, Golden Tulip, Peace FM, Omo and Voltic.

The rest who made it to the Premier Brands category were Aviation Social Centre, Japan Motors, WESTAFCO, Medlab Ghana Limited, L’aine Services Limited, Bayport Financial Services, Mediacom and Efiewura.

The others are Glico General, Dark & Lovely, Zoomlion, Afrodan, VEFA Africa, Around the Clock and the Ghana News Agency.

Innovation

Receiving the award, the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, observed that with the turbulence that currently exist in the newspaper industry, the newspapers that were going to survive the competition were those that  innovate.

This, he said, had led to the team at Graphic  to think outside the box in order to come up with innovations that would keep the bond between the institution and its numerous consumers intact.

He bemoaned the decline in the reading habit of Ghanaians and stressed that the only means of attracting and maintaining the loyal customers was to challenge the team to create possibilities that resonated with the institution’s customers.

Mr Ashigbey said the award was a challenge to corporate Graphic and that it would spur the team on to do more to the satisfaction of all.

Earlier, Mr Ashigbey and the Managing Director of Millward Brown Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Soumya Saklani,  delivered addresses to mark the occasion.

Advertising beyond borders

Speaking on the theme ‘One size fits all? Advertising beyond borders’, Mr Saklani said among emerging markets, Africa was different when it came to advertising.

That, he said, was so because of the several cultural differentiations that abound on the continent making advertising preferences peculiar and limited to defined geographic locations.

Consumers, he observed, preferred advertisements that dovetailed into their relevant everyday life. He, therefore, advised on the need to inculcate emotional connectivity in advertising messaging.

With happy optimism being exhibited in the projection of positive images, a sense of fun and drama, and simplicity in messaging that focuses on brand benefits, he said it should be possible for adverts from one African country to have a high rate of transference within the continent.

Premier Brands

The Chief Executive Officer of Premier Brands, Mr Eric Affaidu, said the essence of the award was to celebrate the success stories of the men and women who built compelling brands in the country.

Branding, he said, should be a must-do activity for any forward-looking organisation, adding that a brand could account for about 80 per cent of an organisation’s value.

He urged institutions to make branding a core organisational value asking them to care about measuring the way people saw them as organisations.

“It is important to spend time in researching, developing and introducing your brand,” he entreated.

Award winners’ feedback

The General Manager in charge of Marketing at MTN, Mr Richard Acheampong, dedicated the award to the 30 million customers on their network, saying they were the reason for the award.

Mr Emmanuel Odoom, Media Director at Mediacom, described it as “an awesome experience”, while Mr William Azietsi-Bokor, Marketing Manager at the Aviation Social Centre, said it was a recognition of their efforts, and, thus, expressed his appreciation to their customers.

Mr Koo Fori of Efiewura fame, who received the award with members of the production team, said they were elated, considering the fact that there had been other awards in the past they should have won but did not due to some bizarre circumstances.

“This is a recognition of what we have been doing for Ghana for the past 13 years. We promise to entertain Ghanaians to our graves,” he said.

Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh