Dentsu’s 2024 Media Trends: What It Means for Ghanaian Marketers

Every year, global advertising giant Dentsu takes a crystal ball to the media landscape and identifies key trends set to shape the industry. For 2024, their report is titled “The Pace of Progress”, and it highlights 10 big trends across themes like AI, platform monetization, and media sustainability. That’s all very global and exciting – but what do these trends mean for marketers in Ghana? Let’s break down Dentsu’s findings and localize them for our market, blending in some on-the-ground Ghanaian context. Consider this a cheat sheet to stay ahead in our advertising scene.

1. Generative AI Takes Center Stage

What Dentsu Says: Generative AI is the most disruptive tech of the decade and is set to transform how we create and deliver content. Their survey shows 63% of marketers globally have started using generative AI in some form. Trends under this include Generative Search (AI changing how people search for info), AI-augmented creativity (tools like ChatGPT helping write copy or create designs), and Generative optimizations (using AI to automate ad targeting and production at scale).

Implications for Ghana: AI isn’t just a Silicon Valley buzzword; it’s knocking on our doors in Accra and Kumasi too. Ghanaian marketers should see AI as an enabler, not a threat. Imagine using an AI tool to instantly draft an ad copy in English and have it translated (credibly) to Twi and Ga for a multi-language campaign – that’s already feasible. Or consider AI algorithms that analyze thousands of consumer data points from Mobile Money usage or social media behavior to suggest the optimal media buy – also in the realm of possibility. Some larger agencies and brands in Ghana have begun dabbling: we’ve heard of local creative teams using ChatGPT for brainstorming taglines, or media planners leveraging AI tools to automate reports.

Generative AI can particularly help our small teams punch above their weight. Instead of spending days editing a video ad, a Ghanaian agency could use an AI video generator to create variants in hours. Instead of manually A/B testing 50 versions of a Facebook ad, AI could generate and test them in real-time, optimizing targeting on the fly. We’re not far from, say, an AI chatbot handling initial customer inquiries for a bank’s campaign (some banks are already testing AI assistants here).

However, caution: the output is only as good as the input. We must train AI on culturally relevant data. An AI trained only on Western content might not get Ghanaian humor or could misinterpret local idioms. Brands will need to supervise AI creative suggestions – it’s “augmenting,” not replacing our human creativity. Ethical use is key too; as Dentsu’s experts stress, brands must use AI responsibly and avoid biases. For example, if an AI tool doesn’t recognize darker skin tones or local names in images/text, that’s a bias to fix.

Action item for marketers: Start experimenting with generative AI on a pilot basis. Could be as simple as using Midjourney or DALL-E to mock up ad visuals, or Google’s coming AI search features to see how your SEO might need to adapt. In a nutshell, get your feet wet. AI in marketing isn’t a future trend – it’s here. Those who learn to harness it will gain efficiency and potentially a creative edge. Those who ignore it risk playing catch-up.

2. The Race to Monetization (Platforms and Attention)

What Dentsu Says: Big tech platforms are in a scramble to monetize more, especially in tougher economies. They’re all copying each other’s features (the report calls it “a world of lookalike apps” where every app does stories, reels, etc.). Platforms are also becoming walled gardens of data, limiting third-party tracking – e.g., the death of third-party cookies means platforms guard their user data closely. New ad formats are emerging (think Netflix with ads, TikTok shopping ads, etc.) – essentially “more ads in more places”. Capturing user attention is getting harder as content overflows.

Implications for Ghana: We feel this trend daily. Take social media – Instagram now pushes Reels (a la TikTok), YouTube has Shorts, even Spotify is adding video, etc. For Ghanaian marketers, the fragmentation means we have to adapt content to multiple formats and stay agile. The content you made for a TV commercial might need a cut-down for a 15-sec TikTok and a vertical crop for an IG Reel. If every platform is chasing the same features, we have to chase the audience’s attention across all.

The tightening of data (privacy changes, cookie restrictions) means retargeting and tracking users will get trickier. Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies, for instance, will affect how we do programmatic display in Ghana too. Marketers here should start investing in first-party data – e.g., build your own customer email lists, loyalty programs, etc., so you’re less reliant on, say, Facebook’s data. We might see more brands doing things like encouraging app installs or website sign-ups to gather data directly (hint: telcos and banks in Ghana are already sitting on goldmines of first-party data, which could be used more in advertising with user consent).

Meanwhile, every platform wanting more ad revenue is a blessing and curse. On one hand, new ad channels open up – e.g., if Netflix introduces an ad tier in Ghana, suddenly a whole new premium audience segment can be reached via OTT ads. (Netflix hasn’t rolled out ads here yet officially, but given global moves, it might). Showmax already offers brand partnerships around content. Even Twitter (now X) is evolving offerings despite its turmoil. We should be prepared to experiment with ads in places we haven’t before – maybe in-game ads as gaming grows, or sponsoring popular podcasts and influencers in more creative ways. The risk is ad fatigue: more ads everywhere could turn off consumers if not done smartly. The watchword will be native integration – making ads feel less like ads and more like content or useful info.

Capturing attention in this noisy environment requires focusing on quality and relevance. One notable angle Dentsu raises is attention metrics – measuring not just if an ad was served, but if a user actually paid attention (they mention optimizing for attention in context of better outcomes). In Ghana, attention metrics are nascent but growing. Some digital agencies use metrics like viewability and engagement time as proxies. We might see a shift in how campaign success is judged: not just reach or impressions, but something like “attention seconds”. For example, a campaign on a news site could be evaluated by an attention study showing how long readers looked at the banner, not just how many clicked. It’s a fairly new concept, but one Ghanaian marketers should keep an eye on as global clients might start demanding it.

3. Integrity and Sustainability in Media (Doing Good is Good Business)

What Dentsu Says: Beyond tech and monetization, the report says 2024’s growth will also be about “sustainable contributions to society”. With polarisation and climate concerns rising, brands need to build more inclusive, safe, and eco-conscious media experiences. Trends here include “The new faces of growth” – meaning embracing diverse voices and personal identities in marketing. Also, “Safer, better, faster, stronger” – improving brand safety and suitability so ads don’t appear next to harmful content. And “More attention, fewer emissions” – an interesting notion that optimizing ads for attention can reduce the volume of wasted impressions, thus reducing digital carbon footprint.

Implications for Ghana: This theme resonates with what we see: Ghanaian consumers (especially Gen Z and millennials) are increasingly alert to brand values. They notice if an ad representation is tone-deaf or if a company is just performative about social causes. For local marketers, the takeaway is authentic inclusivity and responsibility.

“New faces of growth” in Ghana’s context could mean featuring the rich tapestry of Ghanaian society in our campaigns. For example, including people of different ethnic backgrounds, ages, and abilities in advertising imagery – not as tokenism, but as real reflections of our customers. It also means paying attention to local language inclusion. A trend we’ve seen is brands doing multilingual campaigns (Twi voice-overs, Ga billboards, etc.) to reach all segments – that’s part of inclusivity. Dentsu’s point is that as media consumption gets more personal (think personalized feeds), brands must adapt to audience identities. If you’re targeting young urban professionals, maybe your content references the latest Afrobeat hit; if targeting older folk in Cape Coast, maybe it’s in Fante and airs on radio. One size won’t fit all.

On brand safety: Ghana’s online space has its share of inflammatory content (especially around politics). No brand wants their ad next to a fake news story or a graphic video. Ensuring brand safety might mean leaning on whitelists (choosing reputable sites like major news outlets or known content creators) and using tools that many global advertisers use (some programmatic platforms offer brand safety filters, though they sometimes struggle with local context). It’s worth local agencies educating themselves on these tools.

Now, the “green advertising” aspect – fewer emissions through optimized ads – is a novel concept here. Digital ads do have a carbon footprint (servers use energy), albeit relatively small per impression. In Ghana, sustainability in marketing has mostly been about messaging (e.g., brands promoting eco-friendly practices) than about the act of advertising. But this trend suggests even our media planning can consider environmental impact. For instance, choosing ad formats or channels that are not wasteful. A practical approach: instead of blasting millions of irrelevant impressions in a spray-and-pray, use data to target better (quality over quantity). Incidentally, that also ties to attention metrics – if you focus on high-attention placements, you likely serve fewer, more impactful ads, which could reduce energy use. It’s a win-win: better ROI and a nod to sustainability.

Ghanaian marketers working with multinational brands might soon face questions like “What’s your carbon footprint for this digital campaign?” Don’t be surprised – globally it’s coming; Dentsu hinting it means it’s on radars. Proactively, agencies here could start measuring things like that. Even if it’s as simple as knowing that a lighter ad (in KB) loads faster and uses less data (which, on user side in Ghana, is also considerate given data costs!). So making your digital creatives optimized isn’t just good UX, it’s environmentally friendlier and user-friendlier.

4. Local Realities to Consider Alongside Dentsu Trends

While Dentsu’s trends are insightful, Ghana has some specific conditions to layer on:

• Traditional Media is Still King (for now): A huge chunk of Ghana’s ad spend still goes to TV and radio. As we adopt these trends (AI, new media platforms, etc.), we can’t ignore that multi-channel strategies matter. The shiny new trends must integrate with good old radio jingles in Twi and primetime TV commercials on UTV. The opportunity is to bring innovations into traditional media too – e.g., using AI to create 10 different radio ad versions customized for different regions/languages.
  
• E-commerce and Mobile Money Boom: Ghana’s digital ecosystem in 2024 is boosted by mobile money and a growing e-commerce culture. This means data for personalization is increasing (if someone’s using an e-commerce app, you can retarget them). It also means new ad platforms – e.g., maybe one day seeing ads in your banking app or MoMo interface. Or telcos leveraging their user data more for ads (with user privacy respected). In other words, the local digital ecosystem is expanding beyond the Facebooks and Googles.
  
• Regulatory Environment: Ghana doesn’t have stringent digital ad regulations yet (beyond data protection laws), but if global moves around privacy (like Europe’s GDPR) influence our lawmakers or just the policies of global platforms, we must be ready. For instance, if Google and Meta implement new privacy features globally, Ghana gets impacted because we use the same tools. Marketers should stay informed via global industry news.
  
• Attention Span and Creative Gambles: Our audiences are as human as anywhere – if anything, Ghanaians have a finely tuned BS-detector and will scroll past boring ads in a heartbeat. So creativity remains paramount. Trends like focusing on attention should encourage bolder creative, localized humor, interactive elements (maybe more gamified ads or AR filters in Snap/Instagram that tie into a campaign). Basically, to get that attention we all covet, we might need to take some calculated creative risks and break out of the “play it safe” mold.
  

Conclusion: Stay Adaptable, Stay Local

Dentsu’s 2024 trends can sound a bit futuristic – AI-generated everything, cookie-less targeting, attention economy, etc. But they are highly relevant to us in Ghana. The key is to interpret and adapt them to our market reality. Marketers here should not shy away from these global ideas; instead, experiment on a scale that makes sense.

If you’re a marketing manager in Accra, you should be asking your team: Are we trying any AI tools yet? What’s our plan when third-party cookies go away – have we beefed up our CRM? Are our campaigns speaking to all segments of Ghana or just Accra in English? How do we ensure our ads don’t end up on dubious sites? These questions map directly from the trends.

One comforting thing: Ghana has always been a quick adopter of mobile and social media trends (just look at how Ghanaian TikTok blew up). So I suspect we’ll adapt to these media shifts faster than some might think. The talent in our agencies and brands is hungry to learn – and many are already clued into global best practices via webinars and trainings.

In summary, 2024 will demand a blend of high-tech and high-touch. High-tech via AI and sophisticated data use; high-touch by keeping our communications culturally resonant and trustworthy. As Dentsu’s report title suggests, it’s about the pace of progress – and in the Ghanaian marketing landscape, the pace is picking up. Those who keep up with these trends and localize them intelligently will ride the wave to success. Those who don’t may find themselves outpaced by more agile competitors. The good news? With Ghana’s youthful creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, I’m betting we’ll see some of the coolest executions of these trends right here. Yɛbɛyɛ bi! (We’ll do something!)