A small Cape Town-based out of home advertising services company has joined forces with Sizwe Medical Fund to roll out an OOH campaign at Cape Town International Airport.
But that is just the start of it as Mandisi Ads has acquired a concession to deliver advertising inventory across Acsa airports and PRASA train stations in a deal that has given it a national footprint.
“We are based in Cape Town, but we have a national footprint, which runs across three major cities, with ACSA OOH inventory at OR Tambo, Cape Town International Airport, King Shaka Airport, and exclusivity on certain OOH sites,” explained founder and director, Mandisi Maqetuka.
Maqetuka said the ACSA deal meant a lot to the company’s business growth. “It positions us as one of the OOH media owners capable of delivering with sheer professionalism and transparency, any high-end corporate branding, and strategically position it at the most affluent OOH advertising environment (airports premises) in South Africa,” he said.
He launched the company two years ago. The Acsa deal, he said would play a “potent vital role in making sure that Mandisi Ads does not just grow its OOH advertising business with in its premises, but also sustains it”.
It wasn’t an easy road, however. “Attaining the first campaign was very intense, as accessing markets is not easy at all for a relatively new company,” said Maqetuka. “A whole year went by without a single client on our portfolio; we downsized even further and had to let go of some of our creatives.
“It literally took us 26 trips, flying back and forth to Johannesburg from Cape Town, attending meeting after meeting with media agencies, independent clients and business individuals. But despite returning back to Cape Town every time with nothing tangible out of the meetings that we attended, our zest and impulsion to get our first opportunity never vanished.”
Winning the Sizwe Medical Fund account has given impetus to the company’s plans.
“Sizwe Medical Fund is a medical aid for the people. Partnering with Mandisi Ads in support of the OOH campaign at Cape Town International Airport was another touchpoint we saw would reach the business and the leisure traveller crisscrossing between the two major financial hubs by bringing brand efficacy closer,” said Dr Simon Mangcwatywa, principal officer of the Sizwe Medical Fund.
In terms of the Prasa deal, Mandisi Ads will operate at “iconic and appealing OOH sites at various train stations, such as the Cape Town Train station in the CBD, the main Durban CBD train station, Park Station in Johannesburg, just to name a few”.
In addition, clients’ brands are set not just be present in metro cities, said Maqetuka, but also set to have a presence in rural areas and in small towns in provinces.
