The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) recently held an event at the Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra, to launch this year’s 35th CIMG Annual National Marketing Performance Awards.

The event, chaired by the Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Resources) at Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), Mrs. Nana Ama Poku, marked her first public engagement since joining the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, as a fellow.

Mrs. Poku expressed her honour in chairing the launch of the 35th CIMG Annual National Marketing Performance Awards: “This event marks the beginning of a journey to acknowledge and reward the dedication, creativity, and hard work that propel our industry forward. I encourage all potential participants to submit their nominations and showcase the exceptional work they, their teams, or their organisations have accomplished. Let this awards event be a launchpad for even greater feats."

In his opening remarks, the National President of CIMG, Dr. Kasser Tee, highlighted that "there is no gainsaying that the CIMG awards remain the longest-standing and most credible awards in the country. We are proud to launch the 35th edition as a prelude to the awards later this year. These awards create awareness about the relevance of marketing for running successful businesses, promote higher standards for marketing performance, and champion the interests of consumers."

He added that "we cannot tell the success story of the CIMG awards without acknowledging our donors, sponsors, awardees, assessors, and the Ghanaian public. We commend past winners for believing in the CIMG brand for three and a half decades and encourage marketing practitioners and businesses to champion innovation, creativity, and excellence as we work together to promote the interests and rights of the Ghanaian consumer."

Speaking on the awards, the National Vice-President of CIMG and Chairman of the Awards Planning and Selection Committee, Mr. Theodore Osae, commended CIMG for its achievements in previous awards ceremonies.

“There is no doubt that this scheme has remarkably evolved into what can be considered Ghana's benchmark awards programme. As we celebrate the successes of our awards, I proudly affirm that the CIMG takes great pride in numerous landmark accomplishments, which have significantly contributed to the enhancement of organisational and professional performance, particularly for practicing marketers,” Mr. Osae said.

The institute, for the past few years, has successfully implemented an online system for nominees to complete the awards questionnaire and for judges, selected from various industries, to conduct their assessments. This setup has enabled CIMG to uphold a rigorous process, maintaining both standards and credibility.

Mr. Osae indicated that “themes for the awards often focus on how corporate organisations can adapt their strategies and reposition their corporate and product brands for optimal performance”. The theme for this year’s awards, “Harnessing the Power of AI as a Transformative Tool for Marketers.”, reflects current global trends, and the ways businesses are embracing new technology.

The Awards cover six major competitive areas, namely: Hall of Fame, Personality, Media and Marketing Communications organisations, Business organisations, Products, and Not-for-Profit organisations.

There is a non-competitive award category known as the CIMG President’s Special awards which are given to noticeable female and male achievers in any endeavour, or a business entity or product or service that has positively contributed to national progress.

The criteria for selecting the winners and benchmarking their performance will include:

I. Marketing Metrics including awareness, numeric distribution (where appropriate), and others

II. Marketing Innovation

III. Technological Innovation

IV. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP)

V. Social Impact

VI. Contribution to National Development

VII. Public Image

VIII. Success in the Market Place

IX. Market Share

X. Customer Service Orientation

XI. Ecological and Ethical Issues

XII. Competitor Orientation

For 34 years, CIMG has consistently held the Annual National Marketing Performance Awards with the upcoming one being the 35th edition, to celebrate the resilience, adaptability, and commitment of Marketers in the country.