A PR and Marketing Glossary for Ghanaian Businesses

This glossary explains, in plain English, the PR, marketing, events and sponsorship terms agencies and media use. It is written for business owners, marketing leads and creative organisations in Ghana who want to brief agencies confidently and understand what they are buying. Where a term has its own detailed guide, we link to it.

A to D

Activation. What a sponsor does at an event beyond showing its logo, such as sampling, demonstrations or experiences. See how to activate a sponsorship on site.

Advertorial. Paid content designed to look like editorial. It should be labelled as paid.

Audience research. Finding out who your customers are, what they need and where they get information. See how to research your audience before spending on promotion.

Boilerplate. A short, standard paragraph describing an organisation, used at the end of press releases and on profiles. See how to write a company boilerplate and description.

Brand ambassador. A person paid to represent a brand over a period, under an agreement. See how to structure a brand ambassador agreement.

Brief. A document explaining what an agency or creative team needs to deliver and why. See how to brief a communications agency in Ghana.

Call to action. The specific next step you ask people to take, such as "book now" or "send us a message".

Crisis communications. How an organisation prepares for and responds to events that threaten its reputation. See what a crisis communications plan should contain.

E to K

Earned media. Coverage or recommendations you did not pay for. See earned, owned, paid and shared media explained.

Embargo. An agreement that journalists will not publish information before a set time.

Engagement. How people interact with content: comments, shares, saves and replies.

Exclusive. A story offered to one outlet before any other.

Impressions. The number of times content was displayed. One person can account for many impressions.

In-kind sponsorship. Support given as products or services rather than cash.

Key messages. The few points an organisation wants every audience to understand. See how to write key messages people can understand.

KPI. Key performance indicator: a measure used to track progress toward an objective.

M to P

Media list. A record of journalists and outlets relevant to your subject. See how to build a media list for Ghanaian outlets.

OOH. Out-of-home advertising, such as billboards and digital screens. See how to plan out-of-home advertising in Accra.

Op-ed. An opinion article written by an expert for a publication. See how to write an op-ed that gets published.

Organic reach. People reached without paid promotion.

Owned media. Channels you control, such as your website and email list.

Paid media. Space or reach you buy, such as adverts.

Pitch. A short, tailored message offering a story to a journalist. See how to pitch a story to journalists in Ghana.

Positioning. How a brand defines who it serves and why it is the better choice. See how to define your brand positioning before a campaign.

Press kit. A collection of materials for journalists: biography, images, facts and contacts. See what an artist press kit should include.

Press release. A formal statement of news for journalists. See when your announcement needs a press release.

Product placement. A brand or product appearing inside content. See brand sponsorship and product placement explained.

Proof of broadcast. Evidence from a station that an advert ran as booked.

R to Z

Reach. The number of different people who saw something.

Reputation management. Aligning what an organisation does, says and is seen to do. See reputation management explained.

Retainer. A monthly fee for ongoing agency work. See what a PR agency in Ghana does month by month.

Rider. An artist's list of technical and hospitality requirements for a performance.

Run sheet. A minute-by-minute plan for the day of an event. See how to write an event run sheet.

Share of voice. How much of the conversation in a category is about your brand compared with competitors.

Shared media. Content people pass on to others.

Spokesperson. The person authorised to speak for an organisation. See how to prepare a spokesperson for a media interview.

Sponsorship tiers. Levels of sponsorship with different benefits and prices. See how to build sponsorship packages around clear deliverables.

Stakeholder. Any person or group affected by, or able to affect, an organisation.

Thought leadership. Building a leader's reputation as a trusted voice on a subject. See how to build a thought leadership programme for founders.

For the bigger picture, see our complete guide to PR in Ghana. PR369's Strategic Communications and PR service helps organisations plan and deliver communication. Email info@pr369.com with your objective and timeline. We will begin with a strategy conversation.