Kobby Mensah Proposes Brand Journalism to Sandvik Mining and Construction Ghana Limited as a New Paradigm to Marketing Communications
University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Associate Professor of Marketing, Kobby Mensah, recently led a training session on brand journalism, a new framework for marketing communication (Marcomms). The training was organised for the management of Sandvik Mining and Construction Ghana Limited (Sales Area West Africa) as part of their strategic development. It was aimed at reshaping Sandvik’s new marcomms strategy.
Prof. Mensah emphasised that brand journalism is emerging as a new form of marcomms because in the current regime of promotional culture, consumers have become disillusioned about traditional marketing communication approaches, and at the extreme ends, perceive some to be manipulative and unethical, sometimes. As a result, firms are now seeking new forms of effective marcomms. He notes that brand journalism as a marketing communication form is driven by old and new media and underpinned by the fusion of journalism principles with marketing concepts in its design to promote brand values, not the brand itself. This means that organisations practising brand journalism chronicle their daily activities and communicate that to their clients using diverse media platforms, including social media. In this case, aligning daily corporate activities with the brand’s core mission and vision in the minds of the target market. The effect is the increasing awareness of the target market on what the organisation does to achieve top-of-mind awareness, and when the need to buy arises, they would be in the customer's choice set. Hence, promoting the values of the brand, not selling.
Prof. Mensah explained to participants the need for innovative marketing strategies to stay ahead of market trends and adapt to evolving communication tactics. He also engaged them in practical sessions to gain valuable insights and enthusiasm for implementing the strategies.