Organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA), in partnership with the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), the conference brought together current and future business leaders from all walks of life.

It was held on the theme: “Evolution of Brands and Consumer: Reinvent or Die,” and was attended by a number of international speakers including the Executive Vice President of Unilever Ghana-Nigeria, Mr Yaw Nsarkoh.

 Embrace technology

Addressing participants on the final day of the conference, the Chief Executive Officer of X3M Ideas, a digital advertising agency in Nigeria, Mr Steve Babaeko, stressed the need for the advertising community in Africa to take technology seriously.

He explained that until the advertising community recognised the use of technology as a new way of entering the global market, “no advertising agency or company can survive.”

“The advertising sector must be conversant with technology changes globally and its implication to their operations else they will not survive,” Mr Babaeko said.

Using Google and Facebook as examples, he said the two companies were not widely known some years ago but now these “two companies are household names because they embraced technology.”

“We must all respond to the changes and adapt to enable us to get access to the wider audiences before it becomes late,” Mr Babaeko added.

Branding

Delivering an address on branding, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Connecting Dots Consultancy, Mr Bharat Avalani, explained that companies ought to focus heavily on the branding of their operations and in doing so must strive to align their brands to uplift the people.

He said a research conducted globally revealed that if 74 per cent of brands disappeared tomorrow, nobody would care.

“This is because there has been little value for people and companies must do well to brand their operations to uplift people. Global research reveals that less than 24 per cent of brand improve the quality of life,” Mr Avalani said.

 He noted that although brand trust was still weak in developed nations, in Africa it was high because of the level of empathy companies attached to their operations.
“This is where Africans can take advantage and expand their operations globally,” Mr Avalani added.