Markets like Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique are experiencing a formalisation of transit environments, which for out of home advertising provides a first of its kind opportunity to tap into this extremely desirable commuter environment. Significant Transit Media opportunities are now available in key SADC markets, similar to those offered in SA.
Most commuters in these markets are dependent on the taxi and bus industry for their daily commute. This in turn generates a captive audience for brands to effectively reach millions of economically active consumers.
The level of regulation and formalisation in each of these SADC countries differs. In many of these countries the formalisation of rank areas has started and in some cases local government has taken on the project. In these areas, the taxi and bus industry offers mobility from all corners into the major urban nodes and transit hubs.
As such, we are seeing a modernisation of the taxi and bus fleets in conjunction with new taxi ranks and bus depots being developed, which is in line with the transit industry trends seen in South Africa.
Commuter nodes are also formalising at a rapid rate. The formalisation of centralised ranks not only provides a meeting point for public transport systems and commuters, it also presents a structured backdrop for retail. These nodes are an integral part of daily life; moreover they are ideal environments for communicating with consumers.
With our knowledge and experience, we’ve identified, amongst other offerings, specific transit media opportunities in interior and exterior taxi and bus advertising for these markets. Our most recent campaign was a full-wrap taxi branding campaign for Kellogg’s in Botswana. It dominated the transit media landscape and offered unmatched impact and exposure for Kellogg’s in that country.
Formalisation has opened up a clearer, more targeted avenue for advertisers wanting to make use of our Transit Media offering in the SADC areas. Brands can now run campaigns in specific areas and cherry pick routes. This ability puts an entirely new dimension on target audience, relevance and return. Moreover, in these public transport-dependent environments consumers are not only captive but also highly receptive.
We have developed formats to suit the legislative and operative realities in each market and our team of specialists can design specific Transit Media campaigns for each country. We know that Transit Media is extremely affordable and by nature offers exposure for advertisers to highly desirable, economically active segments of the population. In certain markets this is even more so given the high levels of traditional billboard clutter.
Stephan Botha is GM Africa and new business development for Provantage Africa.
