NTC, AAG Discuss Business Opportunities

By Cliff Ekuful

The Immediate Past President of the Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG), Mr Joel Nettey has commended management of the New Times Corporation for embarking on a rebranding exercise to properly position itself as a market leader.

According to him, not only has the rebranding given the company's flagship paper, the Ghanaian Times a new look, but it has to a large extent, given it a new appeal.

"I need to commend you for taking the initiative to rebrand; however, it is important that I point out to you that, rebranding goes beyond just changing the visible outlook of a product but it also include changing the content of the product and I must confess that your content has seen some improvement as well," he stressed.

Mr Nettey disclosed this at an executive meeting held between the management of New Times Corporation and executives of the AAG in Accra Yesterday.

The meeting organised at the behest of the NTC was aimed at finding ways to strengthen business collaborations between the two entities for their mutual benefits.

It was also to identify new collaborative opportunities, revise credit and payment arrangements as well as receive feedback from the AAG as the umbrella organisation for advertising to agencies in the country on what can further be done to improve the operations of the NTC.

Present at the meeting were Mr Torgbo Mensah, Madam Mansa A. Amoa-Awuah, Mr Bright Ladzekpo, Madam Rhoda Onyinah, Mr Reginald Laryea, Mr Francis Dadzie and Mr Bismark Badu representing the AAG and Ms Carol Annang, Mr John Lawson, Mr Alfred Koomson, Mr John Ackom Asante, Regina Sarpong, Diana Bosuh, Edzodzi Can-Tamakloe and Agatha Ennin representing the NTC.

Without mincing words, Mr Nettey who is also the Senior Vice President-elect of the International Advertising Association said the NTC had a huge potential to become very competitive in the country, however, there was the need for both management and staff to change and adopt new ways of doing things.

"We can hold such meetings everyday and regularly, but I am sorry to say that what you will need to become competitive is a quantum shift in the attitude of the staff. Attitude is everything and once people are ready to change to new happenings then your organisation can be as competitive as any other organisation in the newspaper business," he added.

On his part, the President of AAG, Mr Torgbor Mensah said for the NTC to explore its full potential, there was the need for it to be aggressive and change its ways of doing things.

He said the time had come for the corporation to change from the cosmetic change to a strong mindset that drives for results, adding that "Times need to be innovative and they must always remember that innovation has no limit."

Mr Torgbor Mensah explained that the challenge though not easy could be surmounted by building a strong brand which would be attractive to the corporate world and the numerous clients.

The Managing Director of the NTC, Ms Carol Annang expressed her gratitude to the AAG for honouring the invitation and also offering their invaluable contributions towards the growth of the NTC.

She said the NTC was ready to change the way of doing things in order to match up to the ever changing trends in the business which keeps getting competitive by the day.

Ms Annang assured that the meetings would be regular and steps would be taken to ensure that the ideas as proffered by the AAG were incorporated into the running of new operations of the NTC, adding that "this is going to be to the mutual benefit of our organisations."

On his part, Mr Koomson, the Marketing Manager of the NTC said the rebranding had to a large extent improved on the circulation and advert figures.

He said even though the corporation was faced with a number of challenges, the collaboration with the AAG would help to improve the presence of the paper on the market, stressing that "We hope to engage more with your association in this direction."

Read Full Story