Design campaigns to promote nation-building - Oppong Nkrumah urges advertising practitioners
THE Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has implored members of the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) to use their perception-shaping skills to design nation-building campaigns to promote positive values among the public.
He said a deliberate effort by the advertising industry to include nation-building campaigns in its scope of work would whip up the public consciousness for values such as patriotism, sacrifice and selflessness needed to build a formidable country.
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At the eighth investiture ceremony of the association in Accra last Friday, Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that the government had launched campaigns against indiscipline and for patriotism but they did not yield many sustained results, hence the need for the industry to help the government sustain that effort.
“It is my fervent belief that if the industry itself leads, sustains, owns and pushes a nation value-building campaign, it will achieve sustained results,” he said.
The newly elected executive council of the AAG, led by its president, Andrew Ackah, was sworn into office by a High Court judge, Justice Samuel Oppong Twumasi.
The other members are Clarence Amoatey, Vice-President; Russel Eni, Treasurer; Akua Owusu-Nartey and Mansa Amoah-Awuah, an ex-officio member for being the immediate past President of the association.
The others are Munkaila Akuamoah, Orlando Baeta, Nash Fenuku, Bright Ladzekpo, Mr Kwaku Danso Misa, Grace Andoh, Aziz Amankwah, Joseph Andoh and Sharon Mills.
Collaboration
Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed the need to deepen the collaboration between the association and policy makers.
“We must commit to regular collaborative dialogue to explore how we can regularly work together and share best practices to develop a vibrant and strong industry.
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“The job of policy makers is to facilitate your work, and it is through regular dialogue that policies which make your work easier will be fashioned,” he said.
That, he said, would serve as a catalyst for the collective effort of ensuring that the Ghanaian economy recovered quickly.
Advertising Bill
Mr Ackah called on the government to help pass the Advertising Bill which would help regulate and establish the standards of advertising and stop substandard practices
The bill, he said, would also stimulate revenue to support the government during difficult times.
The illicit placing of billboards along the country's roads, he said, was one of the issues that the AAG had tried to regulate but could not bring out a satisfactory result.
"In fact, you don’t need to look hard to see that a number of the billboards on our roads are a nuisance and danger to road users.
Although the AAG, the metropolitan authorities and the Ghana Highway Authority have done a great deal of work to solve this, the problem persists and worsens by the day.
It still beats my imagination how the 10-km Spintex Road could have 1,500 faces of adverts on billboards and signages," he said.
Mr Ackah said per the standard of the AAG, there should be 80 to 100 metres of spacing between billboards for a compelling visual impact, adding that the issue could only be solved when members renewed their commitment to rid the cities of all unauthorised installation of billboards.
He further called on all practitioners to join the association and help use the current economic downturn to build incredible brands and solutions for clients.
"I call on all activation and experiential gurus, media experts, creatives, techies, fashion, music and entertainment curators, filmmakers and everyone connected to this creative web to come together and build this industry.
A lot of dollar opportunities and a fantastic exploration lie ahead," he said.
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He also urged practitioners to strive to influence clients with a purpose-driven agenda at the core of their strategies, saying that in itself could resolve social injustice and protect human dignity.