Accra, April 21, GNA- Graphic Communication Group Limited (GCGL) last night adjudged Lowe Lintas, an advertisement company the overall best Advertising agency for the 2006 business year. Lowe Lintas also took gold plaque for the categories of volume, colour, spread and again the best media representative, a new award given to clients who stuck to the company in good times and bad chequered ones.

Other companies that swept awards included, Supreme Concept, gold for most promising and prompt payment categories, ADS Leo Burnette, silver for the category of spread, colour, volumes. The Art Bureau had gold for innovation with Origin 8 having the silver. Admedia took silver plaque for prompt payment.

Acting Managing Director of GCGL, Elvis Aryeh, said the business from advertising agencies increased by 50 per cent in 2006 over 2005 which was very remarkable.

He noted that the media front had become more competitive in recent time with the influx of electronic and print media and that Graphic was conscious of such trend and had implemented marketing strategies that would make its products and services most preferred and consistently stay ahead of the competition as a market leader.

Mr Aryeh indicated that a relationship officer desk had been created with the responsibility to manage the advertising portfolio and provide each advertising agency with a relations officer.

He stressed that to effectively increase the volume of adverts from the advertisers, pages had constantly been increased from previous 48 to 56 and recently to 64 to clear backlog of colour adverts, adding this measure has reduced customer complaints to the minimum. Mr Arheh held that quality was the company's hallmark and to improve upon print quality they had issued out a print design guidelines to agencies to make the work easier.

He urged the advertisers to collaborate with the company to devise strategies that would strengthen the brand positions of the growing newspaper, especially the newly launched regional newspapers. Mr Geddy Laryea, President, Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) said Graphic had in the last years demonstrated that public sector organizations could achieve set goals by pursing pragmatic and innovative strategies.

He said the fact that Graphic exceeded its revenue target last year was evidence of the exceptional level of professionalism demonstrated by the dedicated management and staff.

Mr Laryea commended Graphic for introducing nine regional newspapers and the publication of a fifty year book.

He however urged the company to grant the AAG opportunity to contribute towards future year books by exhibiting past adverts, which ran concurrently with historical editorial content. Osahene Offei Kwasi Agyeman IV, Board Chairman of GCGL was full of praise for the strides the company was making and announced the acquisition of an ultra-modern printing press that would be fully installed by the close of next year.