Annika Hernroth-Rothstein

I have always been on a creative journey, from art school to a brief music career, journalism, authorship and now, more traditional communication in form of advertising and strategic comms. It was never a choice, it just always felt as if it flowed like water, as a result of always doing this that made me happy, that I could stand for and proudly represent and that hopefully made the world a tad bit better.

I am the CEO of NOMAD Ghana, we do full-service 360 campaigns for companies and individuals. I come from the political campaign communication side and I have a fantastic staff of creatives with whom I work closely on every single detail of a campaign. We are a small, extremely tight-knit group.

Instinct. It

Ideas are like love and music. If you feel it in your gut, you know it

I always start with data. It may sound dry, but as a foreigner working in foreign places, it

The huddle. Usually, it happens late at night when that special mood comes out, the one that only exists between and amongst creative minds. We throw crazy stuff at the wall and then, suddenly, something sticks. We don

I

Absolutely. I

With this ad, we didn

It means the world to us, it lets us know that our way of telling stories matters and that our bold choices pay off. We

The entire campaign was actually written, put together and executed in 3 weeks, as there was a massive time after the client had switched agencies. It was the biggest challenge but also the biggest upside, in a way, as we had to trust our guts and push ourselves further than we ever had. The result ended up being some of the most honest work I

It has made me feel that the bar is set now, and I have to reach higher and further as to not let myself down. It

Playfulness The element of surprise That there isn

Ghana has a rich history, it is a place of Kings, Queens and chiefs and a nation that has a deep storytelling tradition with expressions ranging from dance and art to tribal symbolism, novelists and the spoken word. Despite the weight of colonialism, the traditional expression have remained very much alive and discovering the truth beneath the truth, the language beneath the language and culture beneath the culture has been one of the great gifts of my life. Ghana is a kaleidoscope one never tires of.

Storytelling will have to become more truthful. As the world becomes more and more volatile, we owe it to our audience to speak the truth and take them seriously. Not to say you cannot be fanciful and bold, but the audience is ready for reality, and deserves a storyteller that knows their reality and reflects it with respect, bravery and boldness.

To take every opportunity to learn. Many people get open doors but few have the perseverance to walk through them. Early on, your success is determined by your ability to say

I have had a few really good mentors and they changed my life. I soaked up the knowledge with gusto and gratitude, so I advice any and all to find a mentor and start learning!

Buy me a drink first.

My grandmother Harriet, in blessed memory, she was more like a mother to me, she taught me how to be a lady and how to, when necessary, fight like a man. She was the smartest, classiest woman I've ever met and I can say with certainty that I am what I am today because she loved me.

WORK. Work so you can make your own money Work so you can make your own decisions Work so you don