Technology advancement is like a
tsunami; once it begins there is nothing that you can do to stop it. I
say this because we have watched the transformation from a controlled
media environment to the liberalisation of media in Africa over the last
two decades, some of which has recently been driven by the growth of
mobile phone penetration.
Currently 87 per cent of
Kenyans own mobile phones much more than the limited land line access
which stood below two per cent. Internet access has grown to 48 per cent
in the country with a majority of that access being through mobile
devices.
Compare this with 95 per cent access to
radio, 45 per cent access to TV and 15 per cent access to print and yet
the bulk of advertising expenditure, 97 per cent goes to the traditional
media with three per cent going to online media.
Media
freedom is growing in Africa, leading to the birth of privately owned
media, and resulting in double digit advertising spends growth.
But
the industry is yet to adopt operational and sales efficiencies such as
the introduction of sales houses and the increased use of advertising
agencies.
There are no sales houses in Africa that I
know of, and in Kenya for example, only 50 per cent of advertising spend
is booked through agencies.
So how do media houses
get the other 50 per cent that is not booked through agencies? It’s
quite simple really. They have their own massive sales forces for what
they call “direct sales” meaning that they bypass the ad agencies and go
directly to the client.
With 67 TV stations, 163 radio stations and 50 print
titles, there is therefore a very large sales force promoting
traditional media in Kenya. Going further, there is a tendency for ad
agencies personnel to rely on traditional media for their campaigns
because of the legacy systems that are easy to fall back on, and that
are easy to sell to clients.
In recent times, the
shift of budgets to new media in developed countries has sent shock
waves to their counter parts in Africa, who have gradually began to
develop new media departments in order to prepare themselves for the
impending transition. These departments, however, have been poorly
staffed with no clear mandate.
On the other had, the
so called digital advertising agencies are led and staffed mainly by
techies who don’t know how to sell media of any kind.
They
are more skilled at writing code, are highly creative and are able to
keep abreast with all the technological advancements. They however have
difficulty connecting business problems with advertising.
The growth of advertising spend on digital media in Africa is dependent on a number of things.
Firstly, an increased awareness of the influence of the new media through the experts in the field.
Secondly,
through cases studies of the few campaigns that have had significant
impact on brands’ bottom line; these provide evidence that digital
advertising works.
Thirdly, through comprehensive
measurement and research on the use, influence and impact of digital
media. Finally, through an increase of the number of people who are
competently selling digital media.
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