
Travel is back on the agenda for many, and this is good news for advertisers looking to attract customers at airports and keep them engaged. Brands that dominated the airport space pre-covid are demanding to own their iconic sites again.
Ciska John, Advertising Manager at Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) says airport advertising enhances the aesthetics and offers entertainment benefits to airport users through activations and creative content. “Mediums such as Airport.TV® also provides valuable information and newsworthy content to both local and international travellers. We strive to introduce new and exciting formats that rival international trends. “
There’s been a recent increase in air travel demand in South Africa. According to Stats SA, South Africa welcomed over 260,000 visitors in the first quarter of this year. The South African Government says the country also saw a 147% increase in tourist arrivals in the first half of this year. Experts agree pre-pandemic international travel levels will only fully recover by 2024, however some are forecasting that by mid-2023 we will be ahead of the pre-covid passenger volumes.
What’s driving this resurgence?
Leisure and business travel is rebounding, driving the resurgence in both domestic and international flights. This is good news for South Africa’s tourism and hospitality industry following the challenges brought about by the covid-19 pandemic. The surge in domestic leisure travel is also reflected in flight passenger volumes, with coastal and inland regional airports returning even more rapidly to their pre-pandemic levels.
It’s predicted that approximately 41% of economically active South Africans with access to the internet are planning an international trip in the next 12 months. So, what are airports doing to keep their travellers engaged? ACSA’s John says operating without restrictions has been phenomenal. “There has been a move towards pop-up facilities to ensure freshness in terms of the offerings. This encourages travellers to arrive well before their departure and increases dwell times. “
How brands can benefit
“The recovery of the industry is underway,” says Mzi Deliwe, head of Airport Ads® and Deputy CEO of Provantage. “This is good news for clients advertising at airports for highly effective branch of out of home advertising – it ranks near the top of several measures, from reach to audience to receptivity.”
Following the pandemic, multiple studies have shown that repeated lockdowns left people with a greater awareness and appreciation of their surroundings. This, along with increased dwell time due to Covid regulations amplified the power of advertising within this space.
Airports offer omnichannel touchpoints: everything from classic billboards and digital media to activations and Airport.TV. Deliwe says the resurgence of travel and the established strengths of airport advertising, are attracting attention not only from brands who have traditionally advertised here, but also from those who haven’t.
“We’ve seen several new brands entering this space, “says Deliwe. “Now is a good time to do so, while there are good deals to be had.”
Johannesburg, October 2021 – Global leading consumer electronics brand Hisense has teamed up with Airport Ads, a division of Provantage Media Group in selecting two key strategic and unique advertising touch points at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International (ORTIA), one of Africa’s busiest airports.
In order to achieve their objectives of targeting and communicating with business travellers, the brand has opted for a combination of digital and large format static Out of Home (OOH) platforms – namely, the Airport Ads ‘Classic Site’ Centre Wall at ORTIA and Airport Ads’ Visionet™ platform.
The wall site looks set to deliver high impact, due to its size and scale – 19m (wide) x 10m (high) – along with its central location. The site is situated in the center façade of the ORTIA building and targets all car rental returns and car park users, whilst it also visible from the Gautrain platform.
Visionet™, meanwhile, is Southern Africa’s largest indoor airport available at key national airports in South Africa. With screens ranging from 10m2 through to 70m2 in size, this platform provides not only the speed and quality of digital Out of Home technology, but the opportunity for brands to achieve a high-impact and lasting impression with travellers.
The Visionet™ screen at ORTIA is strategically situated in the domestic departures hall, visible to all passengers. Here, Hisense has opted for rotating two visual executions operating on a loop, communicating various Hisense product messages at different times.
“This is a well thought out airport campaign, integrating the use of static and digital to deliver on objectives,” says Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group. “There’s the high impact of the wall site and a similar result from the Visionet platform, but with a different execution – the latter maximising the speed and high quality visuals of digital Out of Home technology. Both platforms, though, look set to make a lasting impression on travellers, with high levels of brand recall.”
Johannesburg, August 2021 – South African financial services group Sanlam is looking to make a big impact with a niche, targeted audience, with an Airport Ads® campaign that is well-placed to drive increased levels of awareness of the Sanlam brand.
The campaign has been rolled out at Lanseria International Airport to the north-west of Johannesburg, with Sanlam opting for size and scale, in the form of a classic large-format site targeting domestic travellers approaching the high dwell-time security check-in area.
This, as it targets the South African business traveller who makes regular use of Lanseria International Airport which has seen steady monthly domestic passenger growth. The airport has built a reputation as Johannesburg’s business travel-focused ‘hub’, connecting the city with other major business centres in South Africa, in the form of Durban and Cape Town. The latest passenger numbers available from Lanseria International reflect continued month-on-month growth, with May 2021 approaching 60% of the total passenger numbers achieved for the same period in 2019.
“Travel continues to grow, with business travel dominating the airport landscape even more than before, due to the impact of Covid-19, and Sanlam has clearly identified the opportunity to engage directly and effectively with this particular audience – one that sits in the upper-income segment,” says Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group. “This sort of targeted approach is what delivers results in the Out of Home advertising space.”
The selected iconic Airport Ads advertising site’s large size delivers impact and high levels of awareness, providing an airport based canvass on which Sanlam is able to drive a consistent message of its financial services products, which include life insurance, funeral cover, retirement annuities, unit trusts, personal loans and online wills.
Johannesburg, March 2021 – Ninety One has been sponsoring the news segment on Airport.TV® for the past five years, and in the process has been able to directly engage a targeted audience on this effective digital Out of Home platform.
Such has been the success of this long-standing sponsorship that Ninety One has elected to renew it for the next 12 months.
“The longevity of this sponsorship speaks to its value and ability to deliver on Ninety One’s sponsorship objectives,” says Kotie Basson, Head of Marketing, Africa Client Group at Ninety One. “Investec Asset Management rebranded to Ninety One in March 2020, but had sponsored the Airport.TV business news segment in its previous guise, and this sponsorship renewal is a powerful vote of confidence in Airport.TV’s ability as an advertising platform.”
Airport.TV® is a place-based TV network situated in South Africa’s airports and provides a unique blend of high-quality traveller-centric content, such as news, sport, and business news, which brands can ‘top and tail’. They also have the option of running a 30-second advert, sponsoring a segment, or providing Airport.TV® with their own unique content.
The high quality of the Airport.TV®content is borne out by the supporting customer feedback statistics, with research conducted by Millward Brown on behalf of Airport Ads producing the following findings:
“It’s a great fit for a premium financial services brand such as Ninety One, as the sponsorship is appropriately aligned with and focused on the Airport.TV® news offering, which obviously attracts the attention of business people,” says Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group. “This targeted approach is amplified by the fact that business travel currently dominates the airport landscape even more than before, due to the impact of Covid-19, and there’s a great opportunity for premium brands to engage directly with this particular audience.”
Global technology company Huawei has enlisted the help of Out of Home market leader Airport Ads to make a big splash in South Africa and drive awareness of its ‘Huawei – Enterprise’ campaign.
The campaign is a classic large-format billboard campaign, with Huawei opting for size and scale at four key airport sites – O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Lanseria International Airport, King Shaka International Airport in Durban, and Cape Town International Airport.
The advertising platforms are all massive in size and iconic airport canvasses on which Huawei has been able to paint an attractive picture of its IdeaHub product — a productivity tool for the smart office that bundles together intelligent writing, high-definition video conferencing and wireless sharing, all rolled into one.
“Airports may not be operating at full capacity at the moment, but with business travel still being conducted, there remains the opportunity for brands to engage with a particular audience – one that sits in the upper-income segment,” says Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group. “Huawei is a global brand and it clearly understands its target audience, and this bold campaign says volumes about how valuable it views the South African airport environment as an attractive location in which to engage that particular audience.”
Provantage Media Group has taken its digital offering to the next level with the launch of ‘Sonar’, an audience powered mobile geo-location offering that will allow for the extension of campaigns from Out-of-Home (OOH) into the digital realm.
PMG, through its various divisions, will be offering this geo-location service to all its campaigns to create additional reach, fostering a greater integration of OOH and mobile, and offering brands the opportunity to drive more personalised engagement and a closer connection with consumers.
This follows PMG signing an exclusive agreement with Africa Media Alliance that will see it roll out Sonar across all its divisions, with a focus on PMG’s digital platforms, in the form of its digital place-based networks and digital boards.
Africa Media Alliance is the sub-Saharan Africa venture partner of global behavioral and location intelligence technology platform, TAPTAP Digital, having launched the TAPTAP product in South Africa in 2019.
TAPTAP leverages geospatial technology and artificial intelligence for multi-dimensional audience planning, omni-channel media activation, and advanced online and offline measurement.
“This venture is the result of extensive research into finding the right partner (with an advanced technology stack, deep audiences and scale into many markets?) and has been driven by the growing link between OOH and mobile. The link is further enhanced through the ability of pairing geo-locational technology with campaign roll-outs in order to deliver even more effective solutions for brands,” says Jacques du Preez, CEO of Provantage Media Group. “It is well known now that OOH and mobile integration drive brand lift, recall and ROI, and we’re excited to be able to offer our existing and future clients a world-class mobile integration service alongside our various OOH platforms. This will change the OOH landscape in Africa.”
The TAPTAP technology focuses on three key platform utilities:
Applying these principles to PMG’s new Sonar product, it will allow for campaigns delivered within the airport space, for example, to extend their reach using location-powered mobile Out-of-Home.
“By geo-fencing airports, malls, golf courses, billboards, commuter nodes and activation zones we can drive additional awareness and engagement across the various locations, as well as retarget consumers who have been in these locations, via their mobile devices,” says Du Preez. “Based on the brief, we can build custom audience segments using multiple location-enhanced data points, to effectively amplify specific sites/locations.”
What sets Sonar apart from its competitors and other location-based marketing players is its access and large footprint. It is able to run campaigns in 36 African countries and its total reach across the continent is over 200 million users and billions of impressions. What this means is that PMG could provide an integrated OOH and Mobile campaign for a client that runs concurrently in South Africa, the Ivory Coast and the United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) – all countries in which PMG has a presence.
“We are very excited about this partnership – it further entrenches TAPTAP as an omni-channel, scalable location intelligence and technology-rich platform driving business for brands, both big and small,” says Garth Rhoda, Director of Africa Media Alliance. “We were looking for a partner in the OOH space and were attracted to the Provantage heritage, their innovative approach with their products, and their diversity in their offering, covering many demographics in the market. We look forward to assisting more clients in amplifying their messages into the digital space, focusing on extending the reach and driving engagement and performance for brands.”
Out-of-Home and mobile are increasingly being integrated as the platforms complement each other, and, if combined, are able to optimise interaction with an audience and represent an efficient way to maximise reach.
In an October 2018 piece titled ‘Case Studies: OOH + Mobile Integration Drive Lift, Recall, and ROI’, Rainbow Kirby-Stearns and Elizabeth Rave suggest that “Data + Mobile + OOH = Results.”
They go on to cite research shared in Campaign, which showed that mobile click-through rates increased by up to 15% when supported by OOH. Additional research from Outsmart stated that better performing OOH campaigns created a 38% uplift in short-term brand action taken via mobiles, with 66% of all actions being direct to the brand itself.
The days of treating advertising touch points as if each works in isolation is long past and marketers are being forced to ask themselves which combinations of ad exposures work best to influence customers. Specifically, this applies to a consumer segment for which the smartphone has become an ever-present tool.
Marketing Week has predicted that incorporating cell phone connectivity with OOH will “become the norm, not a ‘special’ part of a campaign”, and that’s difficult to dispute.
PMG recognises this and is proud of its market-leading Sonar mobile location technology partnership, which allows it to offer the best in breed to brands to enhance their campaigns. In doing so, it is putting mobile OOH in the hands of consumers and giving brands the opportunity to drive greater engagement and specific, measurable actions.
Airport Ads has significantly strengthened its Visionet™ – Southern Africa’s largest indoor airport screen – network with the addition of a new large format digital Out of Home site at O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) in Johannesburg.
In doing so, it has responded to market demand and its customers’ growing need for a greater digital presence within the airport environment.
The newly installed screen at O.R. Tambo International measures 4m x 9m and is strategically situated in the main corridor of the domestic departures area in Terminal B.
The Extended Network
With the launch of Visionet at South Africa’s largest and busiest airport, advertisers are now able to engage travellers via a large format digital network in highly desirable airport sites situated within three of the country’s premier economic hubs, including Lanseria International Airport to the north-west of Johannesburg and King Shaka International Airport in Durban.
This makes for a compelling offering and speaks to Airport Ads’ plan to grow the network’s capacity and build a product that allows for advertisers and brands to execute effective, high impact digital campaigns across a bouquet of large format screens at South Africa’s key airport locations.
Central to this is high reach and frequency and the audiences these airport environments are able to deliver.
Network Reach
The numbers back this up, with King Shaka International’s 4m x 9m screen delivering a monthly audience of approximately 470,000. Lanseria International, meanwhile, has a 3m x 9m screen and two 1.5m x 6.9m screens, reaching an audience of approximately 193,500 monthly. The new ORTIA screen, in turn, will be seen by approximately 508,000 travellers a month.
The extended Visionet digital network now offers advertisers the ability to embark on a digital campaign across the three airport locations while communicating their brand messaging to over one million affluent decision makers monthly.
“The addition of Visionet at O.R. Tambo International is notable, as it significantly ramps up our digital offering while adding over 500,000 travellers monthly to the audience the network previously engaged,” says Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of PMG and Head of Airport Ads. “Not only is Visionet able to deliver the speed and quality that digital out of home technology offers, but due to its impressive size, also the opportunity for brands to achieve high impact and make a lasting impression with travellers.”
Audience Data
Key to Visionet’s effectiveness is the quality of the audience the Airport Ads platform is able to deliver.
According to the research cited earlier, it’s an affluent audience, with 39% earning in excess of R500,000 annually. Further, 40% of high LSM consumers travel through airports monthly, whilst roughly 31% are business travellers. Approximately 80% of this audience is aged between 30 and 50, and roughly 58% are frequent flyers.
It’s a valuable audience – with access to larger amounts of disposable spend – and it’s one that spends more time exposed to media than in any other Out of Home environment, with an average minimum dwell period of 75 minutes in the airport environment. Adding to the impact of this platform is the fact that this audience is a captive one in a location that affords brands zero tune-out.
With its size, prime locations, impact and desirable audiences, the Visionet network makes for a desirable solution for brands. Particularly brands that understand that digital mediums and technology-based solutions are becoming paramount in staying connected and relevant to a range of targeted and desirable consumer segments.
Mzukisi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group and head of leading airport environment Out-of-Home player Airport Ads, unpacks the most pertinent trends for 2020.
There is no doubt that airport passenger numbers are increasing annually, bringing bigger revenue and foot traffic to destinations worldwide. But what are the biggest trends that will affect OOH advertising within the airport environment on the African continent?
It is an exciting time for Africa. Africa is seen as one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world and holds numerous opportunities for brands. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects Africa to be the fastest growing region to 2036 at 5.9% per annum, for a total market of 400 million passengers annually. This will spur a massive growth in Out-of-Home and Digital Out-of-Home in the airport environment.
Increase in Passenger numbers a plus for Advertisers
The first major trend that will directly affect advertising and ROI is increase in passenger numbers and frequency of travel.
While South Africa’s GDP – a key driver of traffic volume growth – has languished around 1% per annum, Airports Company South Africa’s Annual Report for 2019 shows that there has been a growth of 1.3% in departure numbers, up to 21 118 264 (FY2017/18: 20 836 852). International arrivals have increased by 0,8%. Also, Cape Town International Airport grew its international traffic by 7.7% and 1.8% domestically.
This means that more people are passing through South Africa’s airports, providing brands with a bigger audience to influence.
Expansion in Airport Infrastructure will boost passenger numbers and opportunities to engage
Expansion in airport infrastructure is another key trend that will directly affect advertising. Worldwide the areas around airports are becoming designated aerotropolises and airports on the continent are set to follow suit. The trend is for airports to scale towards better air travel and a better experience for travellers. Furthermore, advertising has become integral to airport revenue and as such media installations and products are strategically located to enhance, rather than detract from, the experience.
For airports, this ensures that brands keep using the environment to meet their marketing and sales objectives. For passengers, brand experiences enhance the luxury aspect of travel and affiliation with that brand culture. For advertisers it ensures that millions of consumers within a specific income bracket engage with their messaging in an environment that is captive and conducive to assimilation and purchase influence. It’s a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
DOOH in the airport environment elevates campaigns
Over the past few years, digital has been a significant game-changer in OOH. It has unlocked a plethora of opportunities for OOH to be more engaging and effective, adding to its value and importance within the marketing mix. Is it a growth sector in the airports environment? Most definitely.
Airport Ads has made significant investment in various international airports – including OR Tambo, King Shaka, Cape Town, Lanseria, Sharjah (UAE) and Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia) – in the development of DOOH solutions and experiences that integrate innovative ideas and executions. The aim is to elevate campaigns and passenger engagement to a whole new level.
From the perspective of digital, data and technologies, this will expand the opportunities to connect. Strong social media connections via smart devices, geo-location, and other methods of instantly involving consumers within a brand campaign will drastically change DOOH.
Intelligent campaigns engage all the senses
The airport environment offers the opportunity for brands to be bold in their campaign execution. Large format static creative is able to capture passengers from all sides. Combining moving graphics, 3D installations as well as sound and smell completely draws in consumers. Intelligent campaigns create a striking sensory impact, forging an immediate connection with brand messaging.
Intelligent, compelling creative has the ability to create strong relationships with consumers and start conversations that ultimately influence commerce. Brands that are open to and willing to be bold and different will make a big impact in 2020.
OOH advertising within the airport environment is undergoing huge change. It is an exciting time for innovation and opens up infinite opportunities for brands to talk to consumers.
Proudly South African out-of-home company Provantage Media Group is 52% black owned and 39% black female owned – but it says transformation is about so much more than ownership.
When leading out-of-home company Provantage Media Group (PMG) was awarded a Level 1 B-BBEE rating in 2017 – the highest possible assessment – it became one of the largest OOH media companies to have achieved such a rating. It was also one of a small group of enterprise organisations within the marketing and communication sector to qualify as being truly empowered in terms of South African legislation.
PMG has not rested on its laurels, however. The proudly South African company completed an equity transaction whereby it became 52% black-owned and 39% black female-owned and, having renewed its B-BBEE certificate for the third year in a row, it continues to drive meaningful empowerment throughout the organisation – and beyond.
Tshego Sefolo, CEO of Agile Capital and current chairman of PMG, says the company has proved its commitment to empowerment as an ethos, not a mere compliance requirement. Sustainable empowerment is the core of the company’s value and it embraces transformation and the empowerment of others.
“When we partnered with PMG as a shareholder and partner in 2011, we had a very clear of idea of what it meant to select the right partner,” says Sefolo. “We were looking for a company seeking meaningful empowerment, not one that wanted to pay lip service to equity. We made the right decision – PMG is an organisation that truly understands what empowerment is and how it can be leveraged to make a real difference in society.”
In an effort to drive empowerment through targeted initiatives, PMG continues to offer intensive learnership programmes accredited by the Services SETA through the PMG Training Academy, which was founded in 2015 by its ProActive™ division. Graduates who complete the programmes successfully receive an NQF Level 4 FET Certificate. The Academy was established in order to increase the skills level within the out-of-home and activations industry, making is easier for graduates to pursue a career in media, sales, marketing and communications. PMG frequently employs programme graduates within its various divisions, underlying its commitment to broadening empowerment within the workplace.
“For us, empowerment is not just about ownership structures. It’s about building the right kind of organisation – one that actively seeks to create jobs and work opportunities for previously disadvantaged people,” says PMG’s deputy CEO, Mzukisi Deliwe. “We observe that a lot of 100% black-owned media companies are extremely vocal about B-BBEE but focus only on the ownership issue and do very little about changing South African society. It is about committing to developing those sectors of society that require sustained and consistent support. Offering opportunities to a large constituency of black South Africans is what true empowerment is about – not simply enriching a few people. It’s an integral part of our transformation philosophy.”
The fact that PMG scored a total of 119.12 points on the B-BBEE Scorecard – more than the 100 points required to qualify for Level 1 status – is a clear indication of its commitment towards broad-based empowerment. Companies that choose PMG as a preferred supplier can not only rest assured that they are supporting ‘real’ broad-based empowerment – they are also entitled to claim – for their own scorecard – R1.35 for every rand spent with the company, due to its procurement recognition level of 135%.
Another example of PMG’s efforts to economically uplift previously disadvantaged people is its strategic partnership with MTN, whereby it manages more than 2 000 sales agents across four provinces. These sales agents can sell airtime and data to consumers, connect their SIM cards, and port them to the MTN network. This allows the sales agents to earn sustainably while taking advantage of training and mentorship. In addition, PMG is currently employing 236 qualifying individuals as part of the MTN-steered YES4YOUTH programme, which provides individuals with extensive training and workplace experience – a step up to long-term employment.
“We have long been leaders when it comes to transformation in the OOH space,” says Deliwe. “Each initiative we become involved with further cements our reputation as an empowerment engine par excellence, driven to advance the economic interest of previously disadvantaged people across the board. We really want to make a measurable impact and, with transformation a key business imperative at PGM, we believe we can continue to achieve this.”
Airports are an ideal environment in which to communicate with and reach sports fans, explains Mzi Deliwe, Deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group and Head of Airport Ads.
It’s well-documented that people passionate about the sports they play and follow will go to extra lengths to make sure they don’t miss out on a particular experience or the opportunity to tick a particular event off their bucket list.
That means they are often moving through airports, as they journey to get to their event of choice. The latest PQ Media study shows that international sporting events, such as the recent Rugby World Cup, spur media growth. What this means for advertisers is that there is opportunity for a target audience with similar interests to be exposed to their brand in an environment that is highly conducive to brand assimilation.
“Sporting events provide ideal occasions for brands to communicate a particular message to a key audience. They provide for a more focussed campaign implemented within a very particular time frame with messaging that is strategically directed at sporting fans. Overall it makes for a more focussed, more impactful campaign,” explains Deliwe.
Types of Events
Sporting events range from local competitions such as the Cape Cycle Tour, Cape Epic, Comrades, Two Oceans Marathons and the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City. All are regular highlights on the annual sporting calendar. International events include World Cups, the Olympics and Wimbledon.
Income Bracket
These types of sports fans typically sit in the upper income bracket and are a highly sought-after consumer market. According to Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), its airports see a split of roughly 56% leisure and 31% business travellers, which again speaks to a predominantly upper income audience made up of consumers with disposable income.
Similarly, sports travellers sit in this same upper income bracket, making them an attractive proposition for brands who see a fit with this audience.
State of Mind
It’s worth bearing in mind that those travelling to participate in events such as those already cited, often travel early to attend exhibitions linked to the event in question, thus they’re likely to already be in an acquisitive state of mind or looking to spend.
Hence the synergy between ‘serious’ sports travel and out of home airport advertising – an area in which Airport Ads has built a reputation as a market leader able to deliver effective solutions to brands. This is thanks to its bouquet of airport-specific products and platforms.
The Effectiveness of Airport Advertising
Airport advertising has become an integral part of the airport experience, and Airport Ads has the research to back up that assertion.
It partnered with Torque to conduct a study into the levels of engagement with DOOH – specifically Airport.TV – at airports across South Africa. The study produced some interesting findings, among them:
This points to long dwell times, exceptional reach, increased engagement and recall,
and the effectiveness of Airport Ads and its suite of products.
“An airport environment is about luxury and affluence and provides an incomparably effective opportunity for engaging with an upper income market of sporting fans. The airport environment provides the opportunity to engage with high-income earners in a high dwell time and zero tune out zone and is one that should not be missed,” concludes Deliwe.