Brand Management

Caselet
'Adverthics'-A Relationship Growing Sour: Ghana's Case

Article Details

Pub. Date	:	June, 2021
Product Name	:	The IUP Journal of Brand Management
Product Type	:	Article
Product Code	:	IJBRM40621
Author Name	:	Ebenezer Asare Effah and Clemence Alomenu
Availability	:	YES
Subject/Domain	:	Marketing
Download Format	:	PDF Format
No. of Pages	:	14

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Abstract

Any communication endeavor that overconcentrates on organizational interests and fails to uphold the sacred duty of promoting consumer interest is akin to shooting oneself in the foot. The paper highlights public concerns about ethical standards of advertising practice in Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative research approach involving a review of existing documents and interviews. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 consumers who were conveniently selected from five large retail shops in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. The study revealed a very high level of consumer disillusionment with the form and content of many advertising campaigns in Ghana. Specific areas of concern cited included the use of children, exaggeration and blatant untruths in advertising features. Scholarly writings that seek to align corporate interest with societal wellbeing are important. Those in charge of corporate communication must value the interest of their stakeholders, restrain their idiosyncratic intentions, and succumb to the invaluable importance of their external communities by demonstrating high ethical standards. The supposition that advertising is costly and so organizations should endeavor to maximize its returns at all costs is challenged by this write-up. Rather, light is shed on the fact that intricate, multifaceted stakeholder interests need to be appreciated, acknowledged and balanced with corporate intentions in ensuring advertising effectiveness and sustained corporate gains.

Introduction

The drive to cash in on advertising by creating product/organizational awareness, increasing consumer patronage, highlighting competitive differences and enhancing organizational imagery should not be pursued at the expense of overall external stakeholder wellbeing. While Ghanaian organizations frantically advertise to promote themselves and their products, too many of the very publics whom they target have had cause to complain about abysmal ethical standards of such campaigns. Admittedly, it is healthy for the thoughts of organizational leaders to be dominated by considerations of profitability and growth but perhaps what is of more strategic importance is the interest of society in which markets are situated.

Indeed, the effectiveness of advertising in realizing communication objectives of contemporary organizations cannot be doubted (Belch and Belch, 2003). Among the many