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Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo: Versatile marketing practitioner
As a nod to her ability to incorporate creative concepts and ideas into her marketing strategies to make insurance a lifestyle, she was recently adjudged the Marketing Practitioner of the Year (2021) by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana Awards (CIMG).
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Cynthia is currently responsible for formulating and driving the implementation of strategic communications and marketing initiatives at an insurance company, Hollard Ghana, a multinational group with life and general insurance businesses.
Marketing communications impact
With over 14 years of experience, Cynthia is a professional whose career has focused on corporate communications, marketing (traditional and digital), brand development, strategy, public, media and government relations, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and events.
Currently as a marketing lead, she aims to enhance her company’s brand, identify new market opportunities, increase brand profitability and sustainably grow the business.
In under three years, she is credited for building the Hollard brand in Ghana, resulting in significant brand awareness and revenue increases.
It is no wonder she was listed as a top innovator in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the global communications media group PRovoke Media in its 2021 Innovator 25 list: an essential barometer of marketing and communications innovation across the world.
In addition, Avance Media named Cynthia among the 50 most influential young Ghanaians in leadership and civil society. For three years running, Women in PR Ghana has ranked her among the Top 10 PR Women in Ghana. In 2018, working at Ogilvy Ghana and West Africa, she was named a Rising Star by Ogilvy Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Cynthia described herself as a self-diagnosed workaholic and curious person interested in culture, people and the little things. These traits, she believes, contribute to a marketer’s ability to craft stakeholder-relevant marketing initiatives.
She told The Mirror that it took consistent effort to be impactful, and that consistency strongly depended on one’s interest in the task. As a driven leader, she encourages her team by building a “we’re all in this together” mentality to ensure consistent delivery despite constraints.
She added, “I love my profession, and I believe this love forms a basis for my energy to do more. My career has been hectic but fulfilling so far. Along the way, I have achieved favour by winning various awards. It’s great to know people watch what you do and appreciate the effort.”
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Under her leadership, Cynthia’s employers and clients have won international and local awards, including prestigious awards by Provoke Media – SABRES (Global, Europe Middle East Africa and Africa Region), Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana, Ghana Insurance Awards, Chartered Insurers Institute Ghana, Institute of Public Relations Ghana PR Excellence Awards, Gong Gongs among others.
Past experiences
Cynthia has worked extensively with several international organisations holding leadership roles at top advertising and communications agencies and managing projects for multinational and local clients across West and Central Africa.
Some agencies include Ogilvy, Now Available Africa and Global Media Alliance.
She also worked in the USA, notably for Vox Global, a Fleishman Hillard public affairs company and in the UK.
“Early in my career, I honed my skills in strategy at a reputable Ghanaian management consulting firm called Shawbell Consulting.
When asked how she managed to secure these multinational companies, Cynthia said “it was not deliberate”.
“I was privileged to have travelled abroad when young, which taught me to be independent with an admirable work ethic. Through my travel holiday work experiences, I got the exposure that others my age did not have. This created the hustler in me,” she smiled.
“You know, when you first travel abroad, your parents might help you with plane tickets, but once you figure things out, you take over that responsibility and grab every opportunity that comes your way,” she added.
Sharing her first-time work experience after completing senior high school, Cynthia said one day, she told her parents she wanted to work.
After being granted permission, she jumped into a trotro from Kanda to Tema to apply for a job at the headquarters of Woodin. “That experience got me started,” she said.
Variety of engagements
In consulting capacities, Cynthia has coordinated local and international non-profit projects, some funded by Rockefeller Foundation in Italy, CGAP/World Bank financial inclusion projects in Ghana, as well as marketing communications for fintech, IT and FMCG companies such as SupaCem Cement, expressPay, Dominion TV and Enterprise Computing Limited.
Among other periodic think pieces, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK published Cynthia's "No More Suits" feature on marketing insurance in their Catalyst Magazine this year.
Cynthia once taught first-year university students and athletes in the USA and is a published author in the Journal of College University Student Housing (USA). She had the opportunity to give a USA TEDx Talk on challenging stereotypes about Africa, a Guest Speaker at the prestigious PR Holmes (now PRovoke) and African Public Relations Association (APRA) in 2019 in Rwanda, among others.
She currently teaches the IPR’s Digital PR accreditation course and conducts training in marketing and communications and agency operations, including sessions in Sierra Leone.
Cynthia is the Board Chairperson of the Springboard Road Show Foundation, board member of the Gold Money Market Fund (GMMF), Executive Council member of the Institute of Public Relations Ghana and Chairperson of its Digital and Research Committee, among others.
Besides her marketing and public relations activities, Cynthia is passionate about sports and has dabbled in modelling for some brands. She co-founded Ghana’s first private basketball league, dubbed the Rush Community Basketball Tournament and fronted a Printex advertising campaign last year. The corporate lady was on the fabric company's billboards, trucks and social media.
Cynthia loves to go hiking and travels as much as she can. She’s done some daring things. “One day, a friend and I decided to travel to and through Burkina Faso by public transport. The motivation was for us to see Ghana from a different perspective. From trotro to trotro, chickens under seats and goats behind our seats, through crazy canoe rides at Yeji because we missed the ferry, to getting detained by Gendarmes at the Hamile border and fighting Francophone taxi drivers; it was a memorable adventure,” she recounted.
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Education
Cynthia is an accredited Public Relations Professional by the Institute of Public Relations Ghana. She has a Master of Arts degree in Professional Communication from Clemson University, USA (2012) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with a minor in French from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. In addition, she has a Consulting Specialist Certificate from the Ghana Institute of Consulting.
According to her, she had her primary, junior and senior secondary education at Akosombo International School, rising to become the Girls’ Head Prefect. However, she also spent part of her education at Services Basic School at Burma Camp, Accra.
Cynthia was full of praise for her mother, Winifred Arthur, a former employee of the Volta River Authority (Human Resource Department). She also mentioned her stepfather, Suleman Alhassan of UNDP, as an instrumental person who shaped her perspective on life.
Cynthia looks forward to a future where Ghanaians will appreciate the importance of insuring themselves and everything they love.
hadiza.quansah@graphic.com.gh