Been to a public loo lately? Eaten a packaged meal on an airplane? Used an escalator? Been overtaken by a taxi? If the answer to any of these is in the affirmative, you will have no doubt seen some form of advertising right there, in your face, while you were a captive audience for at least 20 to 30 seconds – the average time it takes to pee – although possibly a little less if it’s a taxi careening past you.
Alternative media, out-of-home media, non-traditional media: the terms themselves are becoming misnomers as this sector grows and ingratiates itself into some moment of every consumer’s active day. Interestingly, when the alternative offering of cassettes in taxis was mooted in the late ’80s the idea was dismissed and forgotten. However with the change in South Africa in both legislation and perception in the ’90s, the sector began to take off and its subsequent growth has been exponential. The numbers suggest that the alternative ad industry is sitting at around 3 percent of total adspend in South Africa. Sounds inconsequential, but if you consider that the total market is worth around R12-billion, that’s around R500-million. A healthy figure, and it’s growing year-on-year.
“The beauty of alternative media is that it can hold its own,” says Ken Varejes, CEO of Primedia Unlimited. “In boom times in the economy we know that television will do well, which is what is happening now. The thing with alternative is that even when the economy is dipping, alternative stays consistent. Clients say ‘how do I stretch that rand?’ and alternative media is often the answer. But we also grow during boom times and right now the spread of alternative media is becoming very prevalent.”
The impact that alternative media in its various permutations has on the market is certainly impressive. Sales and marketing director of commuter advertising giant ComutaNet, Brian Lindquist, explains how they reach and maintain a large consumer audience. “The total commuter market, when looked at as the sum of taxi, bus and train commuters, is pegged at around 17 million adults (AMPS), with over 90 percent of this number being economically active. ComutaNet has been competing in this market since 1987 and have successfully bucked the ‘media fragmentation trend’ by reaching captive audiences in the top 40 [transport] ranks nationally, at a time when no other media reaches this target market. These transit nodes act as bottle necks where millions of commuters congregate daily to catch their choice of mobile transport.”
A keyword in the alternative sector appears to be “convergence”, and the transit node example shows that they use the term in a more definite sense than mainstream media. Out-of-home specialists are not necessarily looking for a split second of attention grabbing; they want an audience that is physically “stuck”, for a period of time, in a particular environment. Hence busses and taxis (you’re either in them or waiting for them), washrooms, airports, shopping malls and petrol stations. “This is a lifestyle medium delivering to a captive audience in a zero clutter environment,” says Varejes.
Indeed, the value of communicating in petrol stations is something that is fairly unique to South Africa (in most countries people fill up their cars themselves, so have something to do) and has been taken full advantage of by Primedia Unlimited’s Forecourt Media. Using large LED screens, Forecourt Media has offered a form of entertainment to consumers and a first-class opportunity to advertisers. “The LED’s offer eight minutes – the average time you spend at a garage – of a carefully edited mix of light, relevant and parochial information covering news, sports, trivia, fashion and comedy,” says Varejes. Not to mention that 46 percent of those eight minutes is taken up with advertising that is scattered throughout the reel. So, unlike television, where you hit the fridge during the ad breaks, even if you head for the garage shop you are still bound to see some form of marketing during your visit.
One alternative space that is practically becoming an advertising sector all of its own is airports. Again, the principle of captive audience/time on hand is exploited from the minute one drives into the parking lot and spots branding on the boom. Of course airports also attract the higher LSMs, thus offering big opportunities to hungry brands. Debbie Lea of Airport Media explains: “Traditionally, airports were where financial institutions, toys for boys and airlines advertised, but as the profile of passengers is expanding, product categories are also expanding. For example, FMCG products are now at the airport – which pushes demand for space up and keeps media rates ‘firm’.
“The increase in traffic, because budget airlines are doing brilliantly well in South Africa, is an important factor. Johannesburg International Airport had a predicted passenger number for 2004 of 13-million (this number was forecast in 1996). It has in fact 15-million passengers passing through the terminal buildings, and if you also take into consideration that there are on average 2.5 meeters/greeters/kissers/wavers per passenger and 15,000 staff working at Johannesburg, that makes the total number of people passing through the airport in excess of 52-million, or 1-million per week.”
Cell C is one brand that has taken full advantage of this traffic, wallpapering every air bridge and corridor at Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airports. The result is not only memorable but totally in keeping with the brand’s avant-garde approach to marketing. Says Nazeer Suliman, head of media management at the cellular provider: “We’ve been on the tarmac before, with buses. That was later relinquished and taken over by one of our competitors. Thus the question was, how do we find an opportunity there, big enough to dwarf, yet simple enough to connect with people far away from the distractions of travel and the cacophony of pillars, signs and boards?”
The Cell C air bridges, overseen by Primedia Unlimited’s Wideopen Platform, highlight an innovation that seem to have become part of the alternative ammo; utilising existing structures instead of erecting new ones. The same principle is followed with the airport’s pillar wraps and the building site wraps across the cities.
Working with Wideopen Platform, liquor company Pernod Ricard has erected several iconic building wraps, including the Chivas Regal wrap on the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton. Says Pernod Ricard’s marketing director Adriaan Eksteen. “Here the idea was to own an area in terms of outdoor presence. With the brand being one as exclusive and high-end as Chivas Regal, the outdoor we chose would obviously have to be in keeping with the image, hence the Michelangelo.”
Pernod Ricard further took advantage of the alternative offering by using ComutaNet’s Rank TV to market Martell brandy. “This was done as we identified Rank TV as a perfect complement to the outdoor campaigns we were doing with the brand,” says Eksteen. Now ComutaNet has built on their experience and success with Rank TV to develop Star Radio, which is a live satellite radio station broadcasting to around 20 taxi ranks nationally. “Independent research conducted in September 2005 indicates the high efficacy of the medium with great success for advertisers,” says Lindquist.
So what’s the ultimate position and appeal of alternative media? Competitor or partner to traditional offerings? Growing business or faddish trend? “From a client perspective, we view alternative media as a complement to traditional media,” says Eksteen. “We would not choose one or the other; they often have different roles to play in the media mix and we make the choice of what media to use based upon what we need to communicate, to whom, and when.”
Lindquist agrees: “Alternative media does not try to compete with traditional media but rather aims at augmenting this spend through the ability to reach highly targeted markets through direct contact. Because it’s low wastage, high relevance and cost effective media, it will continue to be in demand. Creativity both from client side and media owner side will continue to be enhanced, ensuring that this approach to advertising remains fresh.”
The more consumers respond to the fun, interactivity and evolution of alternative media, the more brands and advertisers will look at its possibilities. This is certainly a sector poised for future growth. Cell C’s Suliman says: “I think it’s more about a consumer-led route which gives rise to new and fresh opportunities and areas in which to play. The benefits of that are greater breakthrough possibilities, active audience interest and receptiveness to your message. The consequence is that the distinction between alternative and traditional media is a fine one because much of it boils down to usage. You can use traditional media in an alternative way. Although the current view classifies them fairly far apart, there may come a day when alternative falls into the traditional fold due to overcapitalisation – the ‘traditionalisation’ of alternative media.”
Perhaps he has a point; after all, new media types never start out in the mainstream.