BenAnyan.com

We have a rich heritage of storytelling. Before behavioral change became a thing, we cracked that code, leveraging the insight of superstition to create ‘taboos’ that compel desirable behavior. This kind of background should have been the unfair advantage that made it easy for our advertising to gain global recognition, and yet a creative work from Ghana is yet to be recognized at the world’s foremost advertising stage; Cannes.

There are many reasons, but the fundamental one most deserving of the two minutes you can spare with me is; our weakness in Communication Strategy/ Planning and clients who aren’t brave.

Strategy is critical to effective refreshing communication.

It is the bones that make creativity look like a gym rat. Yet, it is the most malnourished function in the Ghanaian advertising industry. Unlike communication design, which is taught in KNUST and other schools, or client service which is not exclusive to advertising, or copywriting which is easier to develop for a good writer, strategy is more illusive and isn’t in any Ghanaian curriculum.

It’s not something you think you are and therefore become it. It’s not a fashionable title. It’s not something you become because you understand how Facebook works. It is the ability to consume vast amounts of information and analyze them in a way that results in a profoundly simple insight and idea; one that is timeless and media neutral. It is the ability to recognize which variables –amidst a flurry- are worth considering and interweaving them to extract insights and an approach to inform and guide creativity. It is seeing the light at the end of a complex tunnel and figuring out the simple way to get there.

The outcome of great #strategy is easy to dismiss as a child’s work, but therein lays the beauty of reducing great complexity to something a junior creative can do great work with. It gives communication depth so that it deeply resonates with consumers in a way that also translates into better business for the client.

Most agencies don’t have a real strategist and many clients don’t even demand it because they don’t really know what it looks like.

That’s why the sheer number of people calling themselves strategists puts me off. When clients work with fake strategists, it erodes their respect and opinion of its relevance.

The clients that understand the power of strategy don’t trust most agencies to deliver. One intimated “For a campaign to really shift my bottom line, it should be built with deep understanding of my business and marketing scenario, but most agencies are quick to jump into catchy phrases and comic scenes, not giving much thought to the strategic foundation.”

As an industry, we must be deliberate in cultivating and grooming this skillset. As we do, we will be able to provide more value to clients, which will in turn make them more confident and braver. That’s when the magic happens and Cannes becomes the byproduct. 

PS: Originally written in Sept 2019 @ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-ghana-hasnt-won-cannes-lion-yet-benjamin-anyan/

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