Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Professor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, has urged the government to use marketing as a transformative tool to speed up the economic recovery of the country.

He says when applied professionally, marketing could play a central role to revitalise the economy and help businesses emerge stronger from the challenging times.

"Let us embrace marketing as a powerful instrument of change. By doing so, we can foster economic recovery, enhance the resilience of our economy and our businesses, and pave the way for a brighter and more prosperous future for Ghana," Prof Amartey said.

He was speaking as the Guest of Honour at the 34th Annual National Marketing Performance Awards, organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG).

This year's edition was on the theme "Marketing: A Tool for Economic Recovery".

Prof Amartey said the government could use marketing for economic recovery by strategically promoting domestic tourism, attracting foreign direct investments, and promoting crucial industries.

It could also provide marketing support to small and medium-sized enterprises.

He said "Visit Japan Campaign", "Invest in Greece", "Dubai Expo 2020", "Brand Jamaica" and Spain's "Rebirth of the City", were marketing strategies used by host countries to revive their economies.

Prof Amartey said using marketing as a tool for economic recovery comes with obstacles that government must overcome to ensure successful recovery.

The challenges include budget constraints, changes in consumer behaviour, market saturation, digital noise, and global competition.  

Other challenges are sustainability and ethical concerns, measuring returns on investment and adapting to new technologies.

"Addressing these challenges requires careful planning, strategic thinking, and a willingness to adapt to evolving economic conditions and consumer preferences," Prof Amartey stated.

The Chief Executive Officer, GB Foods, David Afflu, won the 2022 Marketing Man of the Year whilst Mrs Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana won the Marketing Woman of the Year 2022. 

The Marketing Practitioner of the Year 2022 went to the Director, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Absa Bank, Nana Essilfuah Tamakloe.

Priscilla Mawuse Menka and Agnes Narkie Odonkor were both adjudged the Marketing Student of the Year 2022.

The Annual National Marketing Performance Awards is to create awareness of the importance of marketing, promote high professional standards and excellence among practitioners, engender healthy competition among organisations, and ensure high quality business products and services.

The Multimedia Group also won big on the night, picking four prestigious awards at the 34th Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Awards.

The Multimedia Group wins big at 34th CIMG Awards - MyJoyOnline.com

Saturday night's event saw the Group’s leading online news portal, myjoyonline.com, winning the ‘Online News Portal of the Year’ for the second year running, while the Super Morning Show (SMS) won Radio Programme of the Year for 2022.

The popular Primetime Limited-produced National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), which airs on Joy News and Joy Prime TV channels won the CIMG TV Programme of the Year 2022 while the NSMQ was awarded the CIMG New Media Campaign of the Year 2022.