By Robert Ebo HINSON (Prof)
Since the closure of the Brand Ghana Office — a bold initiative launched under the previous NDC administration — Ghana has lacked a coherent and institutionalized nation brand strategy.
In its absence, Ghana’s global image has relied heavily on sporadic events and goodwill moments, such as the remarkable Year of Return in 2019.
While this initiative attracted global attention and generated substantial economic value, it was a moment, not a model — and certainly not a nation brand strategy.
Today, under the new administration led by President. John Dramani Mahama, Ghana has launched the Black Star Experience, an ambitious attempt to reposition the nation as a globally preferred destination for culture, arts, and heritage tourism. This initiative is both timely and necessary.
But if it is to be transformational rather than transient, it must be underpinned by a robust, actionable, and strategic nation brand framework — and no nation brand strategy can succeed without fixing the lived customer experience that supports it.
The Service Deficit Undermining Brand Ghana
Despite its cultural richness and Diasporan appeal, Ghana suffers from a chronic service deficit. Inconsistent hospitality, poor frontline engagement, inefficient transport services, and subpar experiences at heritage and cultural sites plague even the most well-intentioned visitor journeys.
Multiple stories, including those in Customer Service Delivery in Africa: Consumer Perceptions of Quality in Selected African Countries (Hinson et al. 2024), consistently reveal that customers across African economies are more concerned with consistency, empathy, and responsiveness than mere infrastructure or aesthetics.
Without an intentional service transformation, the Black Star Experience risks becoming another missed opportunity.
What Ghana needs is not more festivals or slogans, but a national re-orientation anchored on Customer Experience (CX) as the cornerstone of its nation branding agenda.
The Strategic Imperative of Experience in Nation Branding
In the tourism and hospitality industry, the experience is the brand. As highlighted in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing: Building Customer-Driven Hospitality and Tourism Organizations (Hinson, et al. (2024), competitive advantage in tourism increasingly hinges not just on attractions, but on how those attractions are experienced and remembered.
If visitors face frustration, rudeness, or inefficiency — even amid cultural richness — the brand equity suffers.
Ghana’s policy framework must therefore move beyond campaign aesthetics to structural reforms. As proposed in the multi-tiered implementation framework of the original policy brief, a comprehensive National Service Blueprint, supported by enforceable sector-specific service charters, is critical.
A Multi-Layered Approach to Experience Transformation
To sustainably embed Customer Experience at the heart of the Black Star Experience, Ghana must pursue a five-tier strategic transformation model:
Tier 1: National Orientation
There is no shortcut to culture change. A national “Service Ghana” campaign should embed hospitality, promptness, and empathy into our collective identity.
CX education should begin from the classroom — integrated into SHS, vocational, and tertiary curricula. Influencers in politics, traditional leadership, and media must model and endorse this service ethos publicly.
Tier 2: Structural Reforms
A legally backed National CX Council should drive the implementation of service guidelines, policy harmonization, and sector coordination.
Like the New Public Management frameworks discussed in New Public Management in Africa: Contemporary Issues (Hinson et. Al. 2022), structural CX governance should involve public-private-academic partnerships to scale implementation.
Tier 3: Sectoral Service Charters
Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), the Ghana Hotels Association, and relevant sector players must develop and enforce service charters across hotels, restaurants, cultural venues, and transport operators.
As Hinson et al. (2024) have observed, benchmarking is fundamental to service accountability and quality assurance across Africa’s emerging service sectors.
Tier 4: Digital Enablement
Inspired by lessons from Social Media Marketing Management: How to Penetrate Emerging Markets and Expand Your Customer Base (Hinson et al. 2024), Ghana must digitise its service feedback systems.
A central Tourism CX App, QR feedback kiosks at high-traffic locations, and a national CX dashboard would enable real-time monitoring, transparency, and rapid resolution.
Tier 5: Recognition and Monitoring
Ghana must reward service excellence through a National CX Awards Programme. Rigorous mystery shopping evaluations should be institutionalized, with published performance ratings and CX certifications becoming prerequisites for sectoral licenses.
Why the Black Star Experience Must Prioritize Experience Over Hype
Branding is not merely a visual identity; it is the sum of interactions between the visitor and the country.
This sentiment is echoed in The Creative Industries and International Business Development in Africa (Madichie et al. 2022), which argues that Africa’s success in international branding will depend on its ability to offer consistent, positive, and exportable experiences across industries.
Ghana must treat its cultural and creative industries not as entertainment accessories but as critical assets in international diplomacy and development.
If the Black Star Experience is to drive tourism revenues, Diasporan investment, and soft power diplomacy, then Customer Experience must no longer be a back-end function. It must be elevated to a national strategy.
Final Thoughts: Fix the Experience, Then Sell the Brand
Nation branding without service transformation is hollow. The world is watching Ghana, and the Black Star Experience is a golden opportunity to reset global perceptions.
But to do this credibly, Ghana must craft a strategic nation brand, one rooted not in isolated events but in institutional discipline, service consistency, and national pride.
This is a defining moment. If we fix the experience, the brand will sell itself.
Issued by: CITI Business
Key References
Hinson, R. E., Madichie, N., Adeola, O., Nyigmah Bawole, J., Adisa, I., & Asamoah, K (Eds). (2022). New Public Management in Africa: Contemporary Issues. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Hinson, R. E., Mensah, E. A., & Odame, D. A. (2024). Customer Service Delivery in Africa: Consumer Perceptions of Quality in Selected African Countries. CRC Press, Routledge Taylor and Francis
Hinson, R. E., Mensah, I., Amoako, G. K., Mensah, E. A., Coffie, I., & Khosa, E. (2024). Hospitality and Tourism Marketing: Building Customer Driven Hospitality and Tourism Organizations. CRC Press, Routledge Taylor and Francis
Madichie, N. O., & Hinson, R. E. (2022). The creative industries and international business development in Africa. Emerald Publishing Limited.
