CIMG launches 20th Awards

THE Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) has launched its 20th annual marketing performance awards for 2008 with a call on marketing professionals to use their creative ability to sustain the growth of their corporate entities.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, who made the call in Accra, said the challenges arising from the global economic downturn required the ingenuity of professional marketers to help their companies to overcome them.
Ms Aryee, who is also the Marketing Woman for 2007, advised organisations against the tendency to cut down their corporate budgets in the face of the adverse impact of the global economic downturn.
She said the current economic situation was the time for marketing professionals to show the world what they were capable of changing the fortunes of their organisations. “Though its not going to be magic, we have to think through seriously to turn our organisations around,” she said.
As professional marketers, Ms Aryee said, they would be saddled with the problem of cutting down their budgets and yet they would be expected to support the growth of their businesses.
The Managing Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, Mr Charles Cofie, also urged companies not to cut down expenditure, particularly on advertisements and promotional programmes.
He further urged organisations never to compromise on quality though they were being squeezed by the economic crisis.
He said 2009 would demand the best from them, “ a time for visible leadership, and the moment for us to build and communicate our vision and the bold plans we will be putting in place”.
Sharing lessons from Unilever and how to exploit the marketing mix on the theme for the awards, “The Global Economic Downturn- A Case for Marketing Metrics”, Mr Cofie said marketing professionals were needed now more than ever before in view of the global economic downturn.
He argued that marketing professionals would contribute by preparing plans and putting in place mechanisms and targets closer to the market to turn their organisations around without compromising on quality.
The National President of the CIMG, Mrs Josephine Okutu, said the awards scheme had over the years developed into a very significant benchmark with which individuals and corporate organisations rated their performances.
This year’s awards are scheduled to take place on June 27, 2009 at the Banquet Hall of the State House. The number of awards has been increased from 26 to 28.
The two additions are the Marketing Practitioner and the Medical Facility of the Year.
Among the categories of awards are Personalities, Manufacturing/Non Profit Organisations, Services, Media/Activation Programmes, Indigenous Industry, Distribution.
The selection of award winners is based on marketing innovation, technological innovation, level of sophistication, geological???? coverage, societal impact, and outstanding contribution towards national development.
Others include, public image, marketing place success and structure, market share and growth as well as customer service schemes and ecological issues.
Members of the public are expected to make their own nominations for each award category using the stated criteria and provision of brief write ups on the justification of their nominees.
“All companies which may be nominating themselves should send us comprehensive information about the performance of their organisations”, Mrs Okutu added, and tasked the Awards Selection Committee which she inaugurated at the launch to investigate the inputs of all nominations and provide a short list for the Governing Council of CIMG to confirm the final winners.
The Chairperson for the Awards Planning Committee, Mrs Shola Safo-Duodo, outlined the various sponsorship packages which included two expected sponsors for the platinum category with investment of GH¢25,000 or more.
For the gold category, three sponsors are needed, with investment between GH¢20,000 and GH¢25,000 whilst the Silver category for five sponsors, should have investment between GH¢15,000 and GH¢20,000.
The bronze and supporting sponsors, with ten sponsors in each category should have investment equal to or greater than GH¢10,000 and GH¢5,000 respectively.