South Africa is considered a continent leader in creative outdoor advertising, with marketers thinking out of the box to come up with alternatives to the traditional billboard.
This explains how the industry was able to make about R740-million in ad revenue between January and September last year, according to the Nielsen Media Research. By the end of December 2005, it had made a killing of close to R790-million.
Magazines made R1.65-billion during the same period, newspapers R3.86-billion, cinema R315.7-million and direct mail, R96-million.
“The growth is phenomenal, although not necessary in traditional outdoor,” says Debbie Lea, director at Airport Media.
“Airport Media have identified growth areas within the airport environment as was demonstrated with the recent ‘Mango’ launch at O R Tambo International where a jazz band, juice bars and mime artists were all used as part of the airport campaign.”
Darren Katz, director of Primall Media, says shopping malls have also been generally overlooked in the past with advertisers focusing on more recognised, traditional platforms. But with clients demanding as much visibility as possible, the industry is beginning to take note of them.
The outdoor and out of home industries appear to be constantly developing new channels to convey their messages. An example is The Letter Corporation’s talking adverts in washrooms, elevator advertising and mobizines to enable convenient access and display of their message or content.
“What we are having at the moment is everything for everybody,” observes Mashilo Pitjeng, general manager of asset management at the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). “It’s actually organised chaos which will result in environmental compromise.”
As of April this year, the City of Johannesburg’s outdoor advertising and key accounts portfolios became the responsibility of the JPC’s asset management department.
The company was established to develop and manage council-owned properties. It is mandated to enter into lease agreements with advertising entities that have been approved by the City of Johannesburg for sites that belong to the city.
He says the shortage of space in the market has led to companies becoming very innovative, even adopting “cowboy attitudes where if it’s visible and moves, they will attach something to it.”
This is evident from the decrease in applications for the erection of permanent signs such as billboards from the Johannesburg City Council, and the increasing use of temporary ones.
“Our records show that the number of applications submitted both on council-owned land or assets and private land by various media owners has steadily decreased particularly for free standing advertising media,” says Nthatisi Modingoane, spokeswoman for the City of Johannesburg.
She says this could be attributed to a number of factors, among them the introduction of two council policies with prohibitive and limiting provisions.
One is the Spatial Development Frameworks for various areas which curtails the growth of further outdoor media, and the other, the promulgation of the National Environmental Management (NEMA) Regulations which requires that an environmental impact study be conducted and approved by the relevant provincial environment authority.
Modingoane says the only notable increase in applications, according to their records, has been for temporary advertising signs on construction sites in various areas of the city, and building wraps and signs on roof tops in the inner city.
Kevin Fick, Alliance Media’s general manager for South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho, is not surprised. He says the evolution of the product has made it very popular.
“The wraps have moved from being simply flat surfaces to take on 3-d proportions and different shapes to account for the varying shapes of building and surfaces,” he says.
“We see the developments in building wraps as a great innovation. The size and impact of these have significantly increased over the last year. There has been the introduction of ‘live imaging’ on the wraps such of movies being projected onto them at night.”
The 2010 Soccer World Cup is three years away but the fever has already gripped the industry.
“Space is highly demanded and rates are at a premium,” says Lea. “Clients are holding onto their sites like a life jacket when a boat capsizes.”
The scramble for space is also as intense as is competition for a bigger slice of the advertising revenue pie which is expected to peak at over R1-billion.
The challenge, most industry players believe, is for councils to meet the demand.
Primedia Outdoor is one of the many companies to have submitted applications for sites at their clients’ request and according to their business needs.
Managing Director S’khumbuzo Nkosi says although they are “fairly optimistic” that these will be approved, regulations governing the industry are a major concern.
“The regulatory environment is largely managed at a local authority level and varies by province or city council. Comprehensive and consistent legislation is in fact required to ensure sustainability of the medium for all stakeholders, including consumers, advertisers and media owners.”
On the other hand, he says, there also needs to be greater compliance with these regulations by all contractors and a more pro-active stance must be taken by the regulators in developing and implementing constructive legislation.
Pitjeng agrees, warning that failure by industry players to act responsibility can lead to regulators coming up with “primitive” legislation which will inhibit the much needed creativity in outdoor.
Commenting on the demand for space, Pitjeng says: “We believe it is essential that we get the balance right when it comes to demand and supply, in also determining how to minimise this cowboy attitude.”
He says between 60 and 80 used sites will be released in the next three years to address the increasing demand.
Benjamin Ramnarin, acting manager for development control at the eThekwini City Council in Durban says they still need to decide how to deal with the increase in demand.
“The council does anticipate an increase in demand for sites— The city may, should it desire, put in place interim policies for 2010 which will then have to be in compliance with Fifa regulations on advertising and will naturally be on a contractual and temporary basis,” says Ramnarin.
Pieter Cronje, Cape Town city spokesman, says it is too early for his department to discuss their plans for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in detail. The city is, however, in the process of securing sites and agreements with lease-holders.
Managing director of Clear Channel Independent’s local operation, Bazil Lauryssen, says the growth in outdoor advertising is driven by technology.
“It is also understood that the outdoor format, however well-located and sited, is largely dependent on the creative message flighted on the board for a campaign or message to be successful. Many advertising agencies and design shops lack the experience and expertise required to design successful outdoor advertising messages.”
In recent years, there has also been a noticeable shift in “hot spots” with the country’s townships, especially Soweto, emerging as firm favourites.
“The emergence of a consumer hungry middle-class has led to the decentralisation of economic consumer hubs into townships,” Lauryssen explains.
While billboards in townships used to fetch rental of about R150 per month on average, this has escalated to about R1,500, depending on size and location.
“Business is morphing and spreading its wings into new areas of geography, increasing the demand for outdoor advertising in townships. The three new shopping centres constructed in Soweto have set the precedence for future consumer growth areas.”
In a nutshell, Pitjeng says for the South African outdoor industry to be able to give the best outdoor offering during the Soccer World Cup, three issues need to be addressed.
“The first one is getting the demand and supply balance right, this is followed by regulation. The current regulation does not cater for new products such as building wraps on construction sites and the wrapping of high rise buildings. This is a challenge because it leaves the regulator unable to make decisions quicker on such applications.
“And lastly, the products we dish out. If we deal with all three of those, we will have the best outdoor market come 2010.”
Types of outdoor and alternative advertising
Washroom advertising – gender specific advertising, products most often advertised are hygienic products and toiletries.
Talking Frames – Visual advertising messages in washrooms that are backed up by audio messages that last between 20 and 30 seconds. The sound bite activates when a person is about half a metre from the frame.
Rank TV and Branding – CommutaNet is the market leader in this category. Rank TV is available at 11 taxi ranks countrywide, giving advertisers access to some 1,2-million economically active people every day. CommutaNet is also involved in
the branding of minibus taxis, buses and trains.
Plasma screens – Mainly at airports.
Street furniture – This pertains to furniture installed on the streets by the city councillor, such as bus shelter, bins, benches and street poles.
e-Stokini – A “living billboard”. This medium is, not only a kiosk, but also offers four spaces or billboards that a client can advertise on.
Building wraps – These have gained huge popularity, giving a vast amount of space to an advertiser.