Former Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Prof. Timothy Acquah-Hayford, has tipped that one of the less expensive avenues the church could exploit as a means of advertising their programme is the adoption of evangelism.
“When you go to preach Christ to the people, tell them about your church as well. Let them know about your next programme. Sometimes you may even have written posters which you can share as you go along as a means of inviting them,” he said.
He expressed worry at the rate at which posters are plastered indiscriminately in Accra and said although “there is no law that generally prohibits the plastering of posters, there is the need to institute control measures to help reduce the problems that come with it”
According to Prof. Hayford, who is an expert in advertising, there are regulations provided by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) that spells out forbidden areas that ought not to be trespassed. He, however, added that failure on the part of authorities to crack the whip was a contributory factor to the city getting awash with posters.
“The use of posters is an addition to the other facilities available. You must know your constituency. You must know the people you are targeting. These days, people are moving from the traditional ways and are resorting to Facebook, Instagram and the likes. For now, we can take them as one of the means because not everyone is connected to that service. Because we can’t totally do away with posters, we have to ensure that they are properly placed in their right quantities,” he added.
He gave the admonition when speaking as a panelist on Sunny FM’s Christian Entertainment Review (CeRshow) last Saturday.
The show, hosted by the versatile radio and TV personality, Odelia Ntiamoah, discussed “how the indiscriminate plastering of posters by the church and other perpetrators contributed to the filth in our cities.”
Prof. Hayford further advised event organisers to disregard the need to reduce cost by all means and that such motives could encourage reliance on agencies or individuals that may not do a diligent job.
“Advertising agencies who know their job would advise their client on the best processes to follow. They know how to post right such that billboards, for instance, would not be put anywhere. Often, we overlook their services in the interest of cost and place our ads at any available space,” he said.
He further stated that “one of the ways to control the situation “is for the AMA to liaise with the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) who will supervise some of the postings and will quickly initiate action on the wrong ones.”
For his part, business developer for Imperial Motive, Nii Noi, indicated that the cumbersome nature of the processes involved in the acquisition of permit for using posters was to blame for the flouting of the rules on the part of event organisers.
“First, you have to take a copy of the poster or banner to the AMA. Then you will be given an AMA sticker with numbers which is placed at the top of the banner. The whole process is cumbersome. Even though I have stopped doing posters, I lost the interest to go back again,” he said.
Touching on the same topic, Communications expert, Maame Daakwa, noted the sensitization of the general public by authorities could help reduce the irresponsibility.
According to her, educating the people on the right proceedings to follow and the adoption of easy steps to obtain posting permits could encourage compliance since the venture is regarded as the easiest way to advertise.
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