Branding and Packaging in the Commercialization of Ghanaian Traditional Dances

Abstract

Commercialization of dance has become an integral part of the evolving creative industry in Ghana. Commodification of Ghanaian traditional dance as a “product” significantly needs to be branded and packaged in a manner that makes it a commercially viable venture. Framed within attractive quality and sociological aesthetic theories, this study seeks find out why Ghanaian Dance industry has been unattractive and to explore how Ghanaian traditional dances are branded and packaged by both professional and amateur dance companies and to highlight the commercial value of the Arts specifically dance. It mostly adopts a qualitative mode of investigation within a multidisciplinary framework that sees dance as both a cultural form and a stage art. The thesis recommends a frame work of the Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action model as a tool for commercialization and the adoption of vertical organizational structure alongside with some marketing activities that could enhance traditional dance brands to be more commercially viable.