YTAINMENT ‘19’ PEOPLE TO WATCH IN ‘19: Meet DERICK ADDAI-DARKO, the Blogger turned Marketing guru who keeps defying all brand odds

In the field of brand marketing in the entertainment and lifestyle industry in Ghana, there are very few in his generation who have defied the odds and achieved more than Derick Addai-Darko. At 29 years, this witty dreadlocked marketing guru has earned his stripes defying numerous odds in the cutthroat entertainment business having spent years learning at the feet of icons such as Mantse Aryeequaye, Panji Anoff and Bola Ray.

He is credited as the mastermind behind the phenomenal growth of the Jack Daniels brand in Ghana in the last few years and for the NIGHTLIFE AWARDS; the premier annual awards scheme that rewards excellence in the nightlife industry.

He started out in 2008, an SHS graduate, as a writer for JIVE Newspaper and quickly evolved into a celebrity publicist and event promoter working with clients such as Richie Mensah, ASEM, Irene Logan, Okyeame Kwame, Ohemaa Mercy, MZBEL, MIMI, CHASE, KESSE, EFYA as well as MIRAGE NIGHTCLUB, EXEL NIGHTCLUB, CLUB 11 and many others.

He was amongst the first group of “bloggers” to emerge on the scene, using Facebook as a medium to post articles and related content about the latest entertainment and lifestyle events and happenings in Ghana. This illustrious group also included the likes of Ameyaw Debrah, KMJ [HITZ FM], Francis Addo [DAILY GUIDE], Obed Boafo [EIB Group & Author of Bola Ray’s biography], Adeyemi Adebayo [YemmeYbaba], Eugene Osafo Nkansah [NKONKONSA & PEACE FM], Ebenezer Anangfio and Attractive Mustapha.

He became the youngest editor of a registered newspaper after his appointment as the Managing Editor of THE PROFILE Newspaper at the age of 20 years.

Then he spent 3 years as Empire Entertainments PR manager, where he masterminded the communications campaign for the very first editions of the Ghana Meets Naija concert from 2010 – 2013; pushing the event to become one of the biggest musical showcases on the continent.

In 2013, he made history, becoming the youngest club owner in Ghana at the age of 24 years when he opened CLUB45 nightclub with his business partner. Ten years on from his first stint at JIVE Newspaper and many career highs and some lows later, Derick Addai’s passion for marketing brands in the nightlife business seems to burn stronger than ever.

His nightlife marketing agency, ACCRANIGHTLYF GROUP has recently entered into a merger to form one of the biggest marketing agencies in the industry, BLACKTRACE GROUP.

As Managing Partner of THE BLACKTRACE GROUP, he and his skilled team are poised to build on a solid reputation for curating exciting and successful campaigns and events for premium global lifestyle brands to Ghanaian consumers over the years.