AAG relaunches Gong Gong Awards­­

The Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) has relaunched its flagship industry event, the Gong Gong Awards, to celebrate the best in advertising, branding and creative communications.

The awards event, rebranded as the Gong Gong Festival of Creativity & Awards, is scheduled to take place from Monday, April 28 to Saturday, May 3, this year.

It will be held on the theme: “Disrupt & Inspire: Recognising Brands and Agencies that Challenge Norms and Redefine Creativity” and is aimed to honour those who push the boundaries of innovation and storytelling in the country’s advertising industry.

The President of the AAG, Andrew Ackah, said the relaunch was in response to enormous changes that had taken place in the industry, including digital and artificial intelligence advertising.

The Executive Director of AAG, Isaac Cudjoe, said after a two-year break, the awards ceremony was rebranded to align the event with global trends in advertising, branding and creative communication, and would honour the most impactful advertising campaigns and creative works spanning 2023 and 2024.

He said the week-long festival would feature an exciting line-up of activities, including a brand and creativity exhibition at Accra Mall, where industry players and consumers could experience cutting-edge advertising and branding excellence.

“The festival will also include  panel discussions, masterclasses and networking sessions to foster collaboration and innovation in the advertising industry,” the statement said.

The Gong Gong Awards, the statement added, had been a hallmark of the country’s advertising industry for nearly three decades and would now include 17 award categories.

It would recognise not only creative agencies but also companies that own award-winning and outstanding brands.

Under each award category, it said there would be, at least, three different awards to be competed for. 

Categories

The categories include Radio Craft Gong Gong, TV Craft, Out of Home (OOH), Social & Influencer, Digital Excellence, and Brand Experience & Activation Gong Gongs.

Others are Gong Gong for Good (honouring socially responsible campaigns) and Platinum Gong Gong (the festival’s highest honour).

A new addition this year is the “Gong Gong for Clients” category, which would include sub-categories such as Best Company in Media Strategy, Best Company in Social Media & Influencer Marketing, and Best Creative Brand for 2023 and 2024.

Importance

The statement further said the Gong Gong Festival of Creativity & Awards was more than just an awards event, but a platform for disrupting the status quo and inspiring the next generation of creatives.

“As Ghana’s premier advertising industry celebration, the festival aims to spotlight groundbreaking ideas, celebrate innovation and honour the brands and agencies that push the boundaries of creativity,” it stated.

Call

The AAG, therefore, called on all stakeholders in the advertising and marketing industry, corporate brands, creative professionals, media houses, and the public to be part of the festival.

It urged them to submit their best creative work for consideration.

“Any advertising, marketing or PR agency that has some creative work worth celebrating should access the Gong Gong awards portal on AAG’s website on www.aag.com.gh and follow the entry instructions”, it added.

It stated that each entry would cost GH¢1,500 and agencies with more than five entries would pay only GH¢1,000 for any additional entries beyond the first five.