KEEP UP WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SPREAD)

A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, has called on the advertising industry to brace itself for innovation in order to remain relevant in the information technology age.
He said because of information technology, interactive services were fast replacing those which were one-way communication channels.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng, who gave the caution at the Seventh Gong-Gong Awards Night in Accra over the weekend, said best products as well as innovation were the only ways of assisting manufacturers to remain in business in the era of economic downturn.
He, therefore, urged manufacturers and advertising agencies to undertake research to understand what consumers required of them instead of attempting to capture the market with price cuts and inferior commodities which could not sustain their leadership in the market.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said loyalty from the consumer was one of the only guarantees for manufacturers and the marketing departments to reap returns on their investment.
The deputy minister pointed out that branding of products, therefore, was the surest way to capture a notch in the commodities market on a sustainable basis and admonished advertisers to desist from promoting products that had not undergone certification by the regulatory agencies.
He noted that such products, especially drugs, could have serious health implications.
Mr Reginald Laryea, President of the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), explained that the association instituted the Gong-Gong Awards Night seven years ago to recognise and reward talents in creativity.
He said over the past decade, the advertising industry had grown by leaps and bounds because of the relative peace and stability prevailing in the country, adding that development and advertising moved hand-in-hand so where there was no stability and peace, advertising was stifled.
He said the theme for this year’s awards centred around brand names and urged the manufacturing industries to rely more on their brand names to stay in business.
Mr Laryea suggested the formation of an ethics committee comprising the advertising association and major stakeholders such as the mass media and consumer groups, which would come out with well formulated regulations to check the activities of the advertising industry.
In all, about 182 advertisements were selected in the four categories of Print, Television, Radio and Outdoor Advertising for the competition in creativity.
Origin 8 Saatchi and Saatchi won the best overall advertisement in the Television Category, known as the Platinum Award.
The Platinum Award in Radio Advertising was won by Originate Publicity while Overall Best Award in Print went to Lowe Lintas.