Mrs Helen Annan, the Chief Executive Officer of Brand Ghana, has underscored the need for the nation to intensify its branding efforts to enhance its competitiveness on the global arena.

She said: “The process of branding our nation is now, and we call on everyone to be a brand ambassador in promoting our dear nation Ghana and support the Brand Ghana Office in its endeavour.”

Mrs Annan made the call at a workshop in Accra, organised by the Brand Ghana Office to sensitise participants, drawn from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the Ghana Visual Identity project.

She defined a national brand as a nation’s identity that had been proactively distilled, interpreted, internailsed among the citizens, and projected for international recognition to construct a favourable national image and enhance the nation’s competitiveness.

“A nation’s brand must be distinctive in order to provide a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive world. In essence, countries need to brand themselves because it provides recognition, identification and preference,” the Brand Ghana CEO said.

She underlined the need to create and control a positive image of the nation, adding that, “Once you start the process, it allows you greater control over its outcome.” The Government of Ghana’s branding and design guidelines have been developed to direct the proper use and application of the State’s identity system.

The purpose of the Identity System is to present a unified and consistent image to the public; and easy recognition of all work programmes and communication of the Government to the Ghanaian public and the world, at large, is an essential part of the Ghana’s visual image.

Mrs Annan identified Singapore, Malaysia, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Kenya as some countries outside the Western world that had successfully branded themselves.

She announced that Brand Ghana was developing a package which would include a compact disc (CD), a book on guidelines and 1`0extar pen drives, and other samples materials, for distribution to each of the MDAs.