‘Stop clamouring for Int. affiliations’

Charles Ampofo, Chief Executive Officer of Verdant Zeal -- a marketing communications company -- has thrown a challenge to local advertising agencies to desist from clamouring for affiliations with international agencies in order to lure bigger clients.

“Affiliation is good if the partnership is mutual but nowadays most people are just looking for the name, meanwhile one’s output is more important than somebody’s name,” he said.

He noted that local players need to first of all understand the international market as both local and international firms are competing and dealing globally.

“We need to be able to meet the expectations of the global market. If you are able to deliver the kind of quality a multinational is looking for, then you don’t need to be affiliated to a foreign advertising agency in order to deliver; indeed there are local agencies that are working great without these affiliations.”

Mr. Ampofo added that the country has the creative talent to meet the requirements of any client, hence the setting-up of operating offices in the country by those same international agencies the local ones are looking to affiliate with.

“You cannot do what the multinational wants if you do not understand your market. Most of the international agencies are now setting up offices here and succeeding over and above existing local agencies. They do not come into the country with a ship-load of workers, they come and employ our creative, media, and marketing talent we admire so much.

“This means the capacity is here. We just need to grow and develop it well. As an industry we need to fight for our own and look out for the best prospects, talents and clients. We need to be able to put our best foot forward and give of our best. When we do that then the people we are targetting see the beauty and strength in what we are doing,” he said.

He added that what makes Verdant Zeal stand out from the rest is a system he calls OTOBOS -- On Time, On Budget, On Strategy.

“We operate a system called OTOBOS. It is very rare to find an agency that delivers on all three virtues. You either find people that are cheaper and therefore will not be able to give you the kind of strategy direction that you want; or you find somebody who is very strong on strategy but is very expensive; and then you find people that cannot deliver on time.

“But the old saying ‘Jack of all trade but master of none’ does not hold water anymore. You need to balance your act very well so that you are able to deliver the best strategy at the best possible time and still be affordable or supply at a reasonable price that doesn’t break the client’s back. That is what we set out to do.”

Verdant Zeal Ghana, formerly known as Brands & Products, is a member of the Verdant Zeal Group with operations in Nigeria and Gambia. This network along the coast is designed to provide richer consumer insight, increase economies of scale, while offering quick and effective solutions to its clients.

With a vision to deliver exceptional results by continuously and consistently anticipating and fulfilling the needs of its clients, Verdant Zeal is on a mission to reach its target publics in the most effective and efficient way by becoming the benchmark business partner to key corporate sectors, using new efficiencies to gain leverage.

Some of the services Verdant Zeal offers include business service and brand development, production specialist services, finance, creative (copy and art studio), radio and film production, media and PR services, consumer insight and planning, experiential and channel engagement, and web and digital marketing.

Mr. Ampofo added that as consumers assume more sophisticated lifestyles, brands will get more desperate and intrude into each other’s space and eventually create clutter.

He opined that in order to rise above the fray, digital means of communication must be considered as it has become the standard in developed markets and is rapidly being adopted in emerging markets.

“Verdant Zeal also provides digital marketing solutions by exploring and exploiting existing and emerging media for communication in order to communicate effectively. Some of our range of solutions includes digital advertising, mobile marketing, website design and development, social media marketing, interactive and digital media, boxPay and data management.”