By Ernest Bako WUBONTO
The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Ghana, urges government to prioritise the appointment of professional communicators aboard it’s international business strategies for better brand-positioning of the country to the outside world.
The IPR executives highlighted that effective communication is critical for navigating the complexities of global diplomacy and marketing various industries as the most strategic with competitive advantage for strong international partnerships.
President-IPR Ghana and Founder of Strategic Communication (Stratcomm) Africa, Esther Cobbah, speaking at the company’s 30th Anniversary Press Soiree event mentioned that professional communication is a combination of Science and Art requiring a specific skills set, hence it is not just about putting who can speak good English at the helm of state public relations.
She emphasised that both the private sector and public sector must begin to view professional communication as the pivot to building and sustaining a strong brand even before products and services come into play.
“Communication is a scientific, disciplined process. A strong brand is the communication strategy and not the product or CEO. Therefore, there can never be a good governance without effective communication,” she said.
As president of IPR, she reiterated her desire to sensitise the corporate community to understand the science and art of corporate communication and ensure professionalism in practice to grow the economy for greater socioeconomic impact.
On his part, IPR core member and retired Managing Director-Stanbic Bank, Chief Alhassan Andani, reiterated that government must be intentional in building the right national brand through strategic communications as this will highlight the growth potential and gain investors’ confidence to invest in the country’s economy.
“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the need for skilled, strategic communicators in government international relations has never been greater. Professional communicators possess the expertise to engage diverse global stakeholders, craft persuasive messaging and manage sensitive diplomatic relationships.
“National branding should be at the executive level. We have professional communicators and government must bring them into the boardroom to build a national communication strategy and brand,” he said.
Chief Andani projected that five years from now the world will turn over and companies must reposition themselves. This can only be successfully done when research, innovation, AI deployment and communication strategies are key components of their model.
IPR-Ghana notes that successful international relations require nuanced cross-cultural understanding, multilingual fluency and expertise in areas such as public affairs, crisis communication and stakeholder engagement. Appointing professional communicators to lead these efforts can help governments.
The Stratcomm Africa success story
Madam Esther Cobbah attributed the 30-year success story of Stratcomm Africa to management’s ability to pioneer professional communication, innovate and impact individuals, corporate brands – both local and international – and create value for society.
She added that the vision is to use communication in helping people employ communicators as important resource persons for national development, individual livelihood enhancement and organisational profitability.
She touched on the importance of reputation and urged brands to uphold good reputations. “Reputation is an encapsulation of the totality of who you are, and therefore my training was in how to use different media for effective messaging, shaping reputation and managing the reputation,” she said.
Chief Andani commended Stratcomm Africa for the being a pioneer in corporate professional communication. He indicated that over the past 30 years, the brand has demonstrated resilience and eternal vigilance with no room for familiarity or complacency.
