ABSTRACT: The research examined the effect of personal branding on contemporary tv presenters with a specific focus on GHONE and AGOO TV and their audience in the Accra metropolis. The role played by the presenters in the success of a program or channel cannot be over emphasized as the ambassadors and image-makers of the channel whose failure is a failure of the entire media while their success goes round as well. The research adopted a mixed-method i.e Survey and In-depth method coupled with 384 copies of questionnaires that were administered to respondents in Accra from which 361 copies were correctly filled and analyzed using frequency and percentage table method while two presenters were selected from GHONE and AGOO TV for In-depth interview while the data from In-depth Interview were analyzed using Thematic Analysis or theme analysis in which each question serve as a theme for analysis. The finding shows that the majority of the respondents were often exposed to television with a preference for GHONE, although AGOOTV was popular too. Afternoon, evening and night often witness high television audiences during the weekdays and many of them were moderate viewers as they spent between 1-6 hours watching television. Also, the dressing pattern, presenter’s outlook, standard pronunciation, intonation, charisma and lots of qualities are some of the factors that motivate the audience to watch a particular presenter and program while poor remuneration of presenters and inadequate funding are the major challenges. The study recommended that presenters should always be attractive in addressing and they should not go into any program unprepared while they should embrace research, by doing audience research analysis, program analysis, and evaluations in general in order to make adjustments where necessary.
Personal Branding
According to Aaker (2007), branding is primarily a communication process that is correlated with technology, market relations, corporate business strategy and interests, i.e. value system of the consumer population. It is a dynamic phenomenon that is submissive to evolutionary and revolutionary modifications. Revolutionizing of a branding system is generated primarily by techniques that can, due to radical innovation, in a very short time transform and take on new forms and new qualities. Technology or rather technical devices are creating social systems within which communication is connective tissue (Aaker, 2007).
The concept of branding has been developed from when craftsmen back in the days wanted to mark or put an identifier on the work they have done in order to separate theirs from others. By using their initials, symbols, or other unique marks they could easily identify their work (Dolak, 2008).
Today the meaning of brand goes beyond just being an identifier, as Dolak (2008) reveal that it is more like an identifiable entity that makes specific promises of value. A simple way of putting it is that a brand is nothing more or less than the promise of value offered to you. These promises can be implied or explicitly stated but nonetheless, the value of some type is still promised. Brands and branding as we refer to in today’s society have a much larger meaning, and not just in the area of the consumer business and industry or as a way of identifying a product or a company (Dolak, 2008).
By ensuring satisfaction, TV presenters are ensuring that the proper content reaches people so that the audience maintains contact with their brand. Thus, how comfortable people in listening to a TV presenter is a determinant of a successful presenter. Today, they are approaching brand-community logic, as the image of a TV presenter can be seen as a brand since there are many other attributes given to them aside from the normal names that TV presenters register as names (Mendes, 2000). In another vein, Ragas and Bueno (2001) evidence a rapid increase in cult brands. The understanding of this is that branding of presenters has ended up putting viewers into groups, making them assumed as being part of a special society different from all other societies.
The communication industry in Accra has witnessed strong competition. This is normally done through the use of brands to make their TV presenters the preferred choice for viewers. Each player in the industry is devising one strategy and the other to make their TV presenter first among the TV presenters. This study will therefore look at the effect of personal branding among TV presenters in Accra.
Many viewers also switch brands and prefer one TV presenter to the other even though they all provide the same needs. Switching between brands occurs when there is a reduction in loyalty whereby viewers begin to choose other brands as alternatives (Paurav, 2009). Many of these switching brands are due to the inability and failure of TV stations to communicate value to customers to influence their choice decision.
These switching behaviours result in low profit, low market share, bad word of mouth, and the inability of TV stations to get the contracts resulting in low revenue and popularity among the viewing population. It is therefore imperative the researcher carries out this study to assess the effects of personal branding on TV presenters in Accra.
The general objective of this study is to discover the effect of personal branding among TV presenters in Accra. The specific objectives of the study are as follows:
- To ascertain what motivates viewers to watch a particular TV presenter within the Accra metropolis.
- To investigate branding strategies that TV presenters adopt in making their brand attractive to viewers within the Accra metropolis.
1.4 Research Questions
To facilitate arrival at sound findings to achieve the objectives set out above, the following research questions were considered.
- What motivates viewers’ to tune a particular TV presenter within the Accra metropolis?
- What branding strategies do TV presenters adopt in making their brand attractive to viewers within the Accra metropolis?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is very important to the organization in the communication sector in Accra, especially presenters that operate within Accra metropolis and its environs. The recommendations will be relied upon by the management of presenters to reposition their brand in the distinct mind of the customer to make their brands attractive to customers.
This research work will serve as a guiding tool for future entrepreneurs who will like to invest in the communication industry in Accra.
It will afford them to know the value of brands and how they will have an effect on the listener’s choice. Also, this research will be a reference point to future students who will like to conduct further studies into the subject area.
Content scope: The study will focus on the effect of personal branding among contemporary presenters in Accra.
Geographical scope: The study will be carried out in the Accra Metropolis. This is because of the convenience to the researcher in terms of cost and accessibility.
The work is organized into five different chapters. The first chapter will provide the primary introduction of this study. It will propose the extensive construction inherent in this study, it thus will provide an adequate background of information to allow the reader to understand the reason behind the study and what we intend to accomplish by undertaking the study. The chapter will give an overview of the whole study.
Chapter two of the work will review earlier research related to the research topic with specific reference to the research objectives.it will present extracts from books, journals and collected works that are helpful in carrying out this work and justifying key conclusions and recommendations.
Chapter three provides details of how data was collected, organized and analyzed. It suggests the varied techniques and tools used to collect and analyze data to gain valid results. Chapter four will provide research results and discussion obtained through the methodology outlined in chapter three. The final chapter, chapter five will provide a summary of findings, conclusions from the study and recommendations for users of the research.
“Effect of Personal Branding on Contemporary TV Presenters“
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