BrandMarks are large four-sided structures located within the hub of economic activity found at taxi ranks across the country. They have been strategically positioned to make surrounding promotional activity accessible and effective, and to attract the attention of the many people queuing or walking through the ranks, at a time when they are likely to be receptive to consumer messaging.
BrandMarks are therefore an ideal means to reach the commuter market during the path to purchase. A person who commutes from the rank to the shops will be exposed to BrandMark messaging on route, driving pre-purchase awareness. Having made his purchases, he is once again exposed to BrandMark advertising as he returns to the rank, aiding post-purchase evaluation before commuting home.
Thanks to the structure’s positioning within taxi ranks, many points of interest (i.e. banks, ATMs, shops, and fast food outlets to name a few) are located close to the structures, further amplifying this format’s ability to reach commuters at an ideal time before a purchase decision is made.
Cool creative
BrandMarks provide a considerable amount of creative flexibility, according to Jorja Buckham, Marketing Services Manager for Primedia Outdoor. “For example, past campaigns by the likes of Colgate, Stoney and takkie brite have incorporated three-dimensional models of products”, she says. “They also allow for striking day and night creative”.
In addition, the four-sided structures can carry multiple messaging, while their size means that they tower over the taxi rank space, so that the featured brand dominates its surroundings.
Backed up by innovative research
About 18 million people commute via taxis, with 15 million of these travelling daily (Santaco 2014). Understanding the profile of these ranks is key when deciding to effectively reach a particular audience. Primedia Rank TV Research (2015) shows that of the people making use of taxi ranks, about 34% are work commuters, 14% are taxi drivers, 11% are rank commuters, 17% are engaged in social travel, 14% are travelling in order to shop, and 10% are hawkers.
Over a twelve month period running from July 2015 to June 2016, Primedia Outdoor, working with big data analytics company Visualitics, installed Wi-Fi counters in 52 ranks nationwide. With the use of Wi-F technology they were able to monitor unique codes of smart phones passing through the ranks in order to measure audience size and segments. Through this research, Primedia has been able to determine the number of unique audiences, along with frequency and impacts associated with a given BrandMark structure, and track the ebb and flow of the various market segments.
All of which combines to make BrandMarks a powerful tool in reaching the commuter market, according to Buckham. “They are at the heart of the action, perfectly positioned to reach commuters as they go about their day”, she says. “They work excellently to reach a broad audience, offer excellent creative potential and are backed by solid audience research. As such, they are a great way to reach an important market.”
About Primedia Outdoor
Primedia Outdoor is the largest wholly South-African-owned outdoor advertising media specialist, focusing primarily on the marketing and selling of outdoor advertising signage. With over 17 000 advertising faces across the country, it offers national outdoor exposure across a mix of media types. These include high-end digital signs, airport advertising, freeway and suburban spectaculars and street furniture, as well as taxi and bus branding, taxi rank branding and Rank TV.
Primedia Outdoor provides flexible coverage of the entire socio-economic spectrum, from cosmopolitan consumers in major urban areas through to those living in rural communities in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
