Posted by bgourley on 20 FEBRUARY 2008 at
by Paul Mallaghan, Europe correspondent
A South African screen-media company has installed 4000 screens at 300 locations, including more than 100 SPAR convenience stores. It also plans to be one of the first companies to advertise digitally in urban townships.
One Digital Media, a Stellenbosch-based digital-signage startup founded in February 2006, claims that the rollout of 4000 displays makes it the largest network provider in the country.
The Superspar network currently covers over 130 of SPAR’s 799 South African stores. Each store is equipped with a variety of displays: 42-inch screens at shop entrances, 32-inch panels mounted above shopping aisles (pictured), and seven-to-10-inch displays positioned on the shelf directly in front of the advertised product. A similar network has been installed at 100 TOPS liquor stores. Ad content is delivered via GPRS, over the Internet, or via satellite, depending on location.
According to company CEO Mike Bosman, the network has attracted advertisers such as Unilever, Cadbury and Coca-Cola. “The value of a digital network lies in the quality of its content and in its size and reach, because nobody is really interested in advertising on a few screens here and there,” said Bosman.
While there has been increased interest in the South African market due to its hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, there has also been a drive to access the growing black middle-class market in large townships.
Reacting to this, One Digital Media has also started work on a new network designed to display digital advertising in 500 pubs and taverns in South African townships. The rollout of the Loxion Network has begun in Soweto, Johannesburg, where plasma screens have been installed in several taverns. The screens display both location-specific information and brand advertising.
Though there has been little news of large-scale rollouts in South Africa for some time, it appears that many retailers and advertisers are now prepared to move from restrictive pilot schemes and token networks to extensive rollouts. The prospect of accessing a previously under-targeted market in the townships should also attract the interest of a range of advertisers.
