Advertising in Ghana

Planning on advertising in Ghana? Understanding how proud and patriotic they are will help you market to this growing country. Ghana was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to break free of its colonial ties. This year Ghana celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom.

Advertisers are taking advantage of this celebration and national pride. The colours of the Ghanaian flag are Red, Green, Black, and Yellow. These colours are being used in advertisements to bring more attention to Ghanaian-made products and encourage people to buy them as opposed to foreign imports in order to increase home-grown wealth. Ghana is already one of the wealthier nations in Sub-Saharan Africa but is struggling to define its middle class.

This year, especially, in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary many campaigns also used people dressed in traditional clothing instead of the normal use of people dressed in Western garments. Like the colour of the flag – the traditional garments are also very bright and made with colourful patterns and materials. They also can be reflective of different regions across Ghana. In addition to the use of people, wearing traditional garments there has also been an increase in the number of campaigns that opt for bilingual advertisements.

While English is the official language of Ghana, there are also several Akan languages that the government recognizes. These languages are spoken by almost 15% of the population. As Ghana makes headway in moving from a “developing” to a “developed” country, they are sure to bring their own colours and culture with them.

By Nya Wilkins