EFFECT OF IMC ON BRAND EQUITY IN THE GHANAIAN BANKING SECTOR

Abstract

This article studies the effect of Integrated Marketing Communication on the brand equity of banks in Ghana. Over the past decades IMC has gained a lot of popularity and companies think it is the only way they can use to promote themselves but as to whether their investment is gaining more reward has not been well tested in the Ghanaian banking industry and that is what this article seeks to find out. The population of this study was 400, the target population was in only one group; consumers of the Ghanaian banking sector and the sample size of the study was 200.The response rate of the study was 100% of the population. A well designed quantitative questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. The non-probability method (convenience technique) was used to select respondents. The data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 16.0. Based on the findings the study indicated that three of the IMC programs impacted positively on brand equity which was Advertising, Sales promotion, and Sponsorship, and the other three which did not have positive or negative impact on brand equity were Personal Selling, public relations, and direct marketing. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that appropriate blending of IMC programs will create a significant competitive weapon to the Ghanaian banking industry and with efficient and effective implementation of IMC programs banks will gain customer loyalty and retention.