UPSA Vice-Chancellor, SIC Life MD are Marketing Man, Woman of the Year

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Prof. Abednego Okoe Feehi Amartey, and the Managing Director of SIC Life, Rev. Dr Mrs Elizabeth Wyns-Dogbe, are the new Marketing Man and Marketing Woman of the Year, respectively, for 2018.

The two were honoured and presented with their awards at a gala to mark the 30th anniversary of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) Marketing Performance Awards night in Accra last Friday.

Other personalities and organisations which excelled in 2018 were also honoured.

UPSA

This is the second time in six years that a Vice-Chancellor of the UPSA has been bestowed with the Marketing Man of the Year award. In 2013, Prof. Joshua Alabi, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the UPSA, was declared the Marketing Man of the Year.

The citation for Prof. Amartey (PhD, Marketing), who became the UPSA Vice-Chancellor in January 2017, applauded him for the innovation and drive he had brought to bear on the university, which has been ranked among the top universities in sub-Saharan Africa, and for promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The introduction of a business incubator, free vacation classes for senior high school students within the university and the UPSA’s infrastructure drive also received praise.

Rev. Mrs Wyns-Dogbe

The citation for Rev. Dr Mrs Wyns-Dogbe, a chartered marketer and holder of a doctorate degree in Theology who was appointed Managing Director of SIC Life in September 2017, also commended her for her innovation, corporate social responsibility initiatives and investment in staff training and customer centrism which culminated in increasing the company’s shareholder value from GH¢65 million in 2017 to GH¢73.1 million in 2018.

MTN

On the glitzy night when there were few speeches but a lot of good food, music and fashion, it was telecommunications giant, MTN, which dominated the awards by picking four out of the 60 awards which went to businesses, individuals and a school.

MTN Ghana’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr Noel Kojo Ganson, was adjudged the Marketing Practitioner of the Year, while Ms Rosalind Korkor Adzimahe, the Marketing Manager of Silver Star Auto Limited, picked the Marketing Student of the Year award.

MTN also won the Telecom Company of the Year, Internet Service Provider of the Year and Brand Activation of the Year awards.

Businesses of the year

The list of winners in the Business Category included Enterprise Life — Insurance Company (Life); Activa — Insurance Company (General); Labadi Beach Hotel, Hospitality Facility (Hotel); Atlas Rent-A-Car, Hospitality (Allied and Support Services); Silver Star Auto Limited, Auto Firm, while Stanbic Bank was adjudged the Bank of the Year.

The others were Rural Bank, Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank; Finance House, NDK Financial Service; Savings and Loans, Bond Savings and Loans; Indigenous Catering Service, Living Room; Telecoms (Allied Services), GCNet; Marketing Oriented Company, Goil, and Petroleum,Total Ghana.

The rest were Manufacturing Company, Unilever; Agro-based company, RMG; Digital Media, Prime News; Retail outlet, Electroland Ghana Limited, and Not-for-profit organisation, Invest in Africa.

Products of the year

The Product of the Year (Manufacturing) award went to Kasapreko’s Alomo Bitters; Service (Ecobank Mobile App), and Emerging Brand, Olam Nutrisnax.

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame (Elite category, for more than 10 years): Motor firm, Toyota Ghana; Retail outlet, Melcom; Hall of Fame (less than 10 years): Insurance Company (general), Vanguard Assurance and Enterprise Life; Insurance (Life), SIC Life; Motor Firm, Japan Motors, and Bank, Ecobank.

New inductees into the CIMG Hall of fame were Petroleum, Goil, and Airline, Africa World Airline.

Presidential award

The Methodist Girls’ Senior High School, Mamfe Akuapem, received the CIMG President’s Special Award for winning the 2019 Robotics Competition in the United States of America.
Ghana Post GPS also received the same award for the country’s digital address system rolled out in October 2017.

Ensuring excellence

The National President of the CIMG, Mr Kojo Mattah, said the institute had raised the bar for the awards and would ensure that it adhered strictly to one of the key elements of the awards scheme, ensuring excellence.

“Excellence has become our credo and the CIMG shall do all within its capacity to keep that. We shall never lower the bar, and if there are entries that do not meet the cut, there shall not be awards in those categories,” he said.

Commendation

The Kyidomhene of Assin Juaben in the Central Region, Nana Akogyei Yeboah, who was the guest of honour, commended the CIMG for upholding the sanctity of the scheme for 30 years without scandals.

He urged it to interact with nominees and corporate Ghana and take note of their concerns regarding the awards to help bring about improvement in the scheme.