Integrating Traditional and Digital Marketing in Ghana: Developing Hybrid Models for Enhanced Consumer Engagement in an Emerging Economy

ABSTRACT Ghana's economy, heavily reliance on small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) faces challenges in maximizing job creation and business growth at large, despite several government initiatives to aid economic growth (African Development Bank Group, 2021). This study evaluates the hybrid marketing model; the integration of the traditional and digital marketing strategies, as the most suitable strategy for businesses in Ghana, a developing economy, within the context of the low digital literacy and limited internet coverage. Adopting a cross-sectional approach, the study employed mixed methods – quantitative and qualitative – for data collection and analysis, ensuring robustness through triangulation (Tolley et al., 2016).A sample size of 484 respondents was considered, including 384 randomly selected consumer respondents across all 16 regions of Ghana, and 100 business operatives and marketers were also engaged in the survey. Data collected via Google was analyzed using Stata 16 statistical software (Stata Corp 4905 Lakeway Drive Station, Texas 77845, USA), with all incomplete dataset eliminated for analysis. Descriptive statistics was performed for all variables. Categorical variables were tested for association between the dependent variable, hybrid marketing usage (Ensure/Not Ensure) and other independent variables using chi-square test of significance. Bivariate logistic regression further examined the impact of socio-demographic factors on hybrid marketing model adoption. The results depicted a significant association between hybrid marketing strategy usage and consumers’ socio-demographic factors such as, age (ᵪ2=53.26, P=0.00), gender (ᵪ2=144.64, P=0.00), occupation (ᵪ2=74.50, P=0.00), income level (ᵪ2=45.96, P=0.00), level of education and marital status. However, residency history has no association with hybrid marketing strategy usage. This study underscores the need to integrate the traditional and digital marketing strategies for the business community, with emphasizes on SMEs businesses in Ghana, highlighting the importance of tailoring these strategies to suit the diverse socio-demographics of consumers to enhance effective engagement and business growth. Keywords: Hybrid Market Model, Emerging Economy, Consumer Engagement and Business Operatives.