Marketers Must Adopt Relevant Social Issues Their Brands Can Best Address

The Brand Building Director of Unilever Ghana, Mr. Clarence Nartey, has advised marketers to engage in businesses that have the tendency to drive change since that is the only means to sustain their business growth. Mr. Nartey believes there must be a paradigm shift in the way people do businesses as it has become necessary to marry business growth and social issues for the sustenance of consumers� interest in the products or services rendered by marketers. He was speaking at the 4th in the series of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG�s) Personality Talk show to address marketing issues. Speaking to Peacefmonline.com in an interview, the Brand Building Director of Unilever Ghana disclosed that there are many positive ways for business to make a difference in the lives of the poor- not through philanthropy - though that is also very important - but through initiatives, that over a period of time, will help build new markets. He stressed that sustainability should be at the heart of everything marketers do, adding they should learn to concern themselves with how to sustain their businesses irrespective of any circumstance confronting their businesses. He however charged marketers to identify relevant social purposeful programs that have the tendency to effect change in the country, adding that �every company�s vision must neither have the recognition that growth at any cost is not viable commercially, nor desirable morally but rather growth and sustainability have to go hand-in-hand�. �You have to identify relevant social issue that your brand can best resolve; brand exists to promote functional and emotional benefits�..brands are vehicles that drive home hope and force of change. Find social issues that your brands can best address them�..it requires a skill effort to implement such social issues and so make sure you have other partners on board to drive the agenda to effect changes as Unilever Ghana is currently using Pepsodent and Lifebuoy to change the livelihood of Ghanaians from tooth decay and adopt the habit of washing hands with soap to fight cholera outbreak respectively,� he stated.