Author: Mark

Craig Wallis, Business Unit Manager at The MediaShop

We are all aware of the fact that we get bombarded with hundreds of advertisements every day courtesy of our exposure to numerous media.

Just this morning I was on Pinterest reading a post on, “How to trim your dog’s nails.” (Yup, a real first world issue). Scrolling through it, I was amazed at the number of ads that literally “infested” the article.

I counted 16 ads that were in the 834 word article, which was three A4 pages long (yes, I checked – I copied the article to Word and came up with those stats). If I used this blog as an example, it means that you would have been exposed to two full adverts by the time you get to the end of this sentence.

To me, this is clutter of the highest order.

Little wonder that I gloss over mobile ads every day of my life.

I had to have a giggle at the re-targeting I got from an online retailer recently. I bought a heart rate monitor (thanks Discovery Miles!) and lo and behold the same retailer peppered me over the next few days with heart rate monitor ads… were they hoping that I would buy a second one as I have two wrists?

What a waste of ad spend.

Having spoken about the advertising clutter that I encounter, I need to highlight two gems that CAPTIVATED me. And I mean that literally…

I always rant (and lament) about how many advertisers just do not get creative right for Digital Out Of Home screens.

Every morning on the school run, I drive past a large roadside digital screen. As I am invariably stationary at the traffic light, I have time to critique the ads that are being flighted. I must admit that it is not often that I am impressed by the quality of the creative.

BUT THEN IT HAPPENED!!!

I was amazed (AND totally captivated) by a Woolworths ad on this screen. They were promoting their rotisserie chickens.

Why was I captivated by it? Firstly, the videography was exceptional. The HD visuals of the roast chicken just oozed succulence. Barely had my cereal gone “snap, crackle, and pop” in my gut and here I was ready to eat some clearly delicious chicken.

The second thing that Woolies got right, is that all the while the chicken visuals and messaging mesmerised me, they PERMANENTLY had their “W” logo as well as “Woolworths” in the top corners of the screen. So few advertisers do not utilise this essential awareness tactic on their DOOH ads. If I have a two second glance up at the screen whilst driving past, I immediately know that I can buy that chicken at Woolies.

So, in two seconds Woolies would have pulled the ultimate “advertising job” on me. Kudos

My other venue where I do my best to “skip this ad,” is my go-to source of entertainment, namely YouTube. I go to great lengths to ensure that my remote’s cursor is over the “Skip Ad” button so that I can do just that. I am mostly very successful in only being exposed to the ad for a few seconds before my next Jonathan Pie/Trevor Noah/John Oliver episode captures my attention.

I was on YouTube a couple of nights ago, AND THEN IT HAPPENED!!!

I was immediately taken by the content in the pre-roll for a Pratley’s ad. Just like Woolies did, they piqued my interest in a flash with their content and visuals. I was fascinated by their new product called Frogz Eggz. This name, in relation to Pratley’s (Putty) jarred with me, so I was immediately interested in finding out the connection. They also showed the unique properties of the “eggs,” and this too had me riveted to the screen.

What a fascinating DIY product. I watched the whole ad very willingly as I was really being educated. And, imagine to my surprise, the very next ad served to me was a different Frogz Eggz ad which showed me another practical use for this product. (FYI it is a hand mouldable plastic product).

I watched three of their ads. Well done PratleySA!!!

I even went on to their website to learn more about this interesting product. I was not disappointed with their website either. Lots of info and tips were easily accessible. I will definitely be buying some Eggz on my next trip to Builders Warehouse. I guarantee you that very soon it will solve a few DIY issues around my home.

You will thank me… and as John Robbie always used to say, “tell them I sent ya.”

So, just as I have become rather jaded with digital ads; I discovered two gems (at last!).

So the motto of the story is that if you want to get someone’s attention in this day and age, then you HAVE to make sure that your ad is relevant, creative, intriguing, entertaining and informative. If not, then it is meaningless, and will not break through the clutter.

Jarred Mailer-Lyons Digital Media Strategist at The MediaShop investigates how 8 million gaming South Africans spend their time.

I recently attended the Business of Gaming Forum (BOGF) in association with Comic Con South Africa, which hosted over 40,000 fans of comic related superheroes, sidekicks and villains.

Comic Con SA featured a large range of pop culture and entertainment stands at the venue that featured virtually all genres, including animation, toys, gadgets, clothing, collectible card games, table-top games, anime, video games and fantasy novels.

While Comic Con SA brought in an array of people to enjoy the festivities, the BOGF conference also brought together like-minded gamers, marketers and research analysts to discuss aspects of gaming that brands could tap into to further monetise their media investments. The line-up of speakers included both local and international experts on all matters relating to the business of gaming and ranged from Executive Director and CEO – David Sidenberg of BMI sport info, right the way through to our very own SA gaming YouTuber and Streaming influencer Grant Hinds. While gaming is still on a growth trajectory, there hasn’t been much data available to advertisers around audiences in SA and while all the keynote speakers at the BOGF were great in delivering key aspects of their presentations around gaming, BMI Sport keynote speaker – David Sidenberg captured my attention from the start.

He drew our attention to their latest research report, which highlighted that the South African gaming population totals a staggering 8 million unique users across console, mobile and desktop. These numbers are starting to become comparable to global players like YouTube, which is currently sitting at 8.74 million users in SA. That’s an increase in Esports / gaming growth of 579.1% compared to the previous year, whereas other sporting codes like gym fitness accounted for 18% growth and road running / jogging at 17.8%.

However when looking at mainstream sports in SA, soccer is showing a decline in growth by -3.5% and rugby at -3.7%. What’s even more interesting is that when comparing the growth from 2016 through to 2017, Esports now ranks as the 6^th most popular participation sport amongst adults 19 years and older in South Africa.

What really resonated was when one of the speakers, Gareth Woods from Good Game Well Played, noted in his address to the audience that calling yourself a gamer is just like identifying yourself by your hobby and not many people do this – especially when it comes to light users. When speaking to light / casual players who engage in bubble popping or word puzzle games on their mobile devices, I had noticed that these users don’t realise that their 20 minutes a day is actually considered gaming. While it may be considered light gaming, they are still classified as a gamer and that is why it is important to note the differences between people who casually play for entertainment purposes vs more ‘hardcore’ type avid gamers.

So what is the difference – yes it may be quite subjective as there is no real literary article or piece of research that differentiates these users based on hours played, levels achieved or even budget spent on devices. Yet the best possible way I could describe it would be to note that the difference between an avid and casual gamer is passion, an avid gamer does not necessarily invest a longer amount of time into that hobby but certainly invests a lot of passion into it. A casual gamer plays games in much the same way a casual soccer fan really just watches the replay of the highlights from the latest soccer match and can engage in conversation with his friends. They don’t really watch the match for its sporting complexity or for the emotions it evokes but rather to keep up to date with events.

The avid gamer on the other hand is much like the soccer fan who watches soccer on TV but also enjoys going to live matches with his friends, following local and international games, knowing the names and history of each of the players on the team and of course following their scores, stats, news, fixtures and results. There is no game you can play that will automatically make you an “avid” or “casual” gamer, it all comes down to the level of passion you have for gaming.

Based on the BMI Sport research in SA, there are some key Esports fan behavioural differences when it comes to avid gamers and casual gamers on various devices. PC and console gamers share a similarity in that a higher proportion of their audiences are avid gamers with 58% on console and 65% on PC whereas casual gamers on console accounted for 34% and on PC just a mere 14%. However when looking at mobile, the causal gamer takes the lead at 51% whilst the avid gamer only accounts for 10%.

When it comes to gamers there are many misconceptions about the people who play them. These misconceptions have prevented advertisers from including gaming as part of their media mix, tending to favour social networks, messaging apps, and other, more “mainstream” digital media channels instead. However, budgets have been steadily shifting, and brands and agencies are beginning to re-think how they can align their strategy by tapping into consumers’ favourite pastime – gaming. With more than 8 million consumers in SA playing games, the array of platforms and channels within the gaming arena presents an enormous opportunity for brands and advertisers to connect with highly engaged audiences.

Esports over the years has definitely emerged as a force on the entertainment and media landscape and as a media business; it has a compelling set of attributes. In the era of distraction and short attention spans, Esports commands the focus of the youth market who are otherwise shifting away from established modes of media consumption. Given the demographic, Esports has traditionally reached a digitally native audience and is currently the only sport in South Africa in which TV is trumped by another medium.

Although there has been a hope of greater engagement from digital content via social media platforms, both sporting codes and sponsors need to remain cognizant of the most efficient and effective mediums to reach and engage with their loyal fan base. Soccer is a prime example of this, with close to 20% of loyal fans still regularly turning to radio and / or print for coverage of their favourite teams, players and competitions. The fact remains that the majority of the population still have limited, if at all any access to such digital channels, and therefore still remain dependant on the more traditional mediums to get their sports fix.

Jedd Cokayne, Business Unit Manager at The MediaShop.

As consumers start to think about their Christmas purchases and where they’re going to find the additional money to buy those presents the kids wrote to Father Christmas about, retailers start to realise that this is their last ditch effort to make target for the year. That is surely a daunting task in the current economy – stuff nightmares are made of.

However, strong brands with strong brand equity will tend to have the upper hand over this period as consumers habitually turn to brands they know and love. Over time these brands have laid a solid foundation from which to trade so no matter what they promote at this time of the year it will give them a numerical advantage over their competitors. It’s like having starting blocks at a 100m race in primary school.

Let’s talk a bit more about what brand equity is actually about. It is the value a consumer attributes to a brand. Here we must not get confused with brand value, this refers to the financial asset the company records on its balance sheet whereas brand equity is the importance of the brand to a customer. Brand value can be worked out by asking other companies what price they would be willing to pay to purchase that brand.Equity relies on consumer beliefs, beliefs based around convenience, service, value and product experience which acts as a framework to understand the power of consumer’s emotions in relation to the actual purchase of the brand.

Three questions you need to ask yourself as we head into the last quarter of the year are: who are you, what are you and what makes you different?

Who you are refers to the prominence of the brand in the consumers mind and whether or not the brand stands out. The ‘what’ is often determined by the communication derived for the brand and delivers on what the brand means and stands for. All these things are a learnt behaviour over time so that when consumers are presented with a new product or special offer from the brand the decision making process is so much easier.

Connections with consumers are the hardest to make but once there is active engagement, sharing of stories and connections with other consumers it should lead to repeat purchases and new ones from customers that are newly influenced.

Getting all these things right makes brands less vulnerable to competitor marketing, price and value wars, all part and parcel of what Christmas brings.

As we know, advertising and consumer spending is going to increase dramatically over the last quarter driving mass awareness of offerings, services and goods. This awareness will serve as an anchor for brand association, perceived quality and ultimately brand loyalty which will drive the decision making process.

The final push however, which is key in a struggling economy, is emotional capital. This is the glue that attracts consumers and converts them into loyal brand advocates.

I am going to be very interested to see what the bigger advertisers bring to the party this year, sometimes the best thinking happens in times like this.