Provantage Media Group has continued to expand its business, with the acquisition of a majority stake in golf course marketing business Green Advertising. Michael Bratt spoke to Provantage MD Jacques du Preez to find out more about the acquisition, as well as further expansion plans.
New name, big reach
Green Advertising has been re-launched with a new name, Golf Ads as part of the Provantage stable. The out of home player now has advertising rights for 165 golf courses across South Africa, covering all provinces, including big names like Randpark, Glendower, Johannesburg Country Club, Westlake Country Club, Simola Golf and Country Estate, and Durban Country Club, just to name a few. Du Preez says that the golf courses will also benefit from Provantage’s presence as more revenue will be generated for them.
The appeal of golf course advertising
Explaining what drew Provantage to acquire the golf course advertising business, du Preez explains, “We looked at the business and we don’t think it’s a space that has been mined appropriately. And the other thing is people tend to spend a lot of time on golf courses. You have them captive in that space for a substantial period of time.”
Another element that appeals to him is the type of consumers that will see golf course advertising. “The nice thing about this is that is it very niche, but it has a fantastic audience. Business people, with a very good profile, decision makers, lots of disposable income.” Which is why advertising on the golf courses will be geared towards vehicle companies, banks, luxury goods, and insurance companies.
An already strong management team
The main benefit for Provantage Du Preez identifies is that Green Advertising already has two really good entrepreneurs heading it, John Bayly and Simon Turck, as well as a really good team of people working there. Provantage will not change the Green Advertising management team in any way, but will add to the business by “bringing our scale and innovation and shared services infrastructure, and the expertise of our other divisions”, says Du Preez explains.
Multiple touch points
Integrating as many sections of the Provantage business into the new golf course advertising offering is a core part of Du Preez’s plans. The company is looking at offering everything from static to digital to activations, across all golf course locations including the pro-shop, clubhouse, tees, fairways and greens.
Du Preez calls this “bringing a full multi-engagement basket, offering advertisers the full experience across multiple touch points used as communication points.” But he, he says, “We need to be mindful of the mindset of golfers … we need to respect their environment and why they play golf. I joke about adding a billboard on every hole, you can’t do that … it’s about subtly adding media that adds value to the golfers, their club and their lives.”
Eyeing expansion in future
Du Preez also gave some insights into future growth plans admitting that, “The exciting part of this business is that it has global expansion capabilities. We are already looking at the big golfing markets like the US, Mauritius, and Spain and there is nothing like this. We are looking at global application.” While he says the focus now is on the establishment of the South African business, the plan is to have another territory established in the next two to three years.
Diversifying the business
Accompanying the official launch of Golf Ads will be the launch of Golf TV, Golf Active and a bar product that Du Preez wanted to keep a secret. Another acquisition is also in the pipeline, which is just awaiting for approval from the Competition Commission. He also touched on Provantage’s strategy. “We want to diversify the business and have multiple offerings. But the one thing we are absolutely clear and focused about is specialisation in each space. There will be no one else in South Africa who knows more about media behaviour with the backing of media opportunities than Provantage.”
Here are some pics from the gathering:
