The perennial question for out of home media operators in Nigeria set out to answer is: “How many billboards do I need?”
We’ve all asked this question, but few people can adequately answer it. One of the services we offer as part of the marketing services function at Primedia is to answer just this, while taking into account a campaign’s specific objectives. This has been part of everyday proposal design in Primedia Outdoor’s South African business for over four years, and is now also a part of Primedia Out of Home (OOH) Africa’s function in providing marketing services across the 11 markets in which we operate.
So, how do we go about answering?
Our approach is founded on the innovative use of location data, specifically the locations of a handful of key categories of Points of Interest (POI) that most people punch into their GPS devices or phones on a daily basis. We have isolated all instances where one or more of each of these key POI are located within walking distance of each other.
The common denominator that these points of interest share is that they attract consumers with disposable income to them en masse, and they drive multiple return visits over the course of a month (which in turn drives high reach and frequency).
Instances where there is a convergence of retailers, fast food outlets, petrol stations, commuter hubs, banks and ATMs supply powerful media direction to guiding regional billboard placement, as well as broader regional marketing activity – and this holds true whether we are talking about Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, or any other country.
Size Matters
Convergence nodes that feature fewer than 20 of the key POI in one location often do not provide concrete enough direction for the design of a realistic campaign. In Lagos city alone, there are 40 of what we’ve termed “small nodes”. By focusing on areas where there are upwards of 20 key POI in one location, and taking into account the billboards that are located within these nodes, a palatable campaign can be designed with the knowledge that the most powerful commercial zones are being successfully targeted.
In the illustrative example below (in the absence of a proper brief) the recommendation would be to rent 6 billboards within the catchment areas of the 6 large convergence nodes, in order to establish sufficient coverage of the key commercial zones in Lagos City. This outline could be expanded to extend across medium sized nodes that have been identified, depending on budget, target market, and objectives.
No more hit and miss
The most compelling feature of our methodology is that there is nothing soft or grey about the basis of the thinking behind it. This methodology eliminates any errors resulting from anecdotal decision-making, as well as a general lack of information on a specific target area – a challenge frequently encountered with regard to African markets.
Johan Haupt is marketing services manager of the Primedia Out of Home Africa division.
