Advertisement

 The award winners displaying their trophies. With them is Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (arrowed). Pictures: BENEDICT OBUOBI
The award winners displaying their trophies. With them is Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (arrowed). Pictures: BENEDICT OBUOBI

25 Persons, firms receive GongGong awards

Twenty-five individuals and advertising firms that have contributed enormously to the growth, creativity and innovation of the advertising industry were last Saturday honoured at the 2018 Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG’s) 12th GongGong Awards in Accra.

Special recognitions, accompanied by award trophies and citations, were given to individuals for their distinguished contributions to the AAG activities.

They included the Minister of Business, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, who received a Special Recognition award, and the Distinguished Personality award was bestowed on the Chief Executive of Impact, an advertising agency, Mr Orlando Baeta, who is also a founder member of the AAG.

Another founder member, Madam Regina Addai, received a Life Time Achievement award.

Agencies

Nineteen advertising agencies were also honoured with gold awards, while 28 others took silver awards.

The platinum award for telecommunication went to the Now Available Company, while the platinum social media and platinum telecommunication awards were taken by Scanad Ghana and Innova DPP respectively.
 
The event was held on the theme: “Technology, brand purpose and the empowered consumer.”

Advertisers’ Bill

In an address, the Minister of Information-designate, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said work on the Advertisers’ Bill to regulate the advertising industry and ensure that best standards were complied with by individuals and organisations had been completed and now before Cabinet.

He said as part of his task as an incoming Minister of Information, he would liaise with the Ministry of Trade and Industry that was “shepherding the bill” to complete any other outstanding work to allow Parliament to receive, consider and pass the bill into law.

“It is our expectation that the bill, once passed, will outline the best practices in the advertising space and bind all individuals and organisations to apply the best standards.

It is also our hope that the law will possibly address some of the challenges faced by the advertising community,” he stated.

Technological threat

He indicated that though advertising revenue was projected to grow from $294 by the year 2020, the industry continued to face challenges such as revenue shortfalls from economic sub-sectors, outdoor advertisers, boundary disputes among district assemblies and threat to traditional local advertising channels from new technology outlets that were hosted abroad.

He noted that technology had been a catalyst for growth of industries, and the reinvention advertising industry.

“The threat technology poses to industries should be of concern to advertisers because in your own industry, advertising channels are emerging outside the original product and services channels that you use; your own ability to adapt is key for the long-term survival of this industry,” the information minister-designate said.

Better future award

The Executive Director of the AAG, Mr Francis Dadzie, said the GongGong Award had experienced tremendous growth since its inception 12 years ago, from recognition of public relations outfits to creative agencies, outdoor companies and media agencies, among others.

That, he said, had bolstered the number of creative entries from ad agencies for the awards, with some agencies even making entries for international awards.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |