Key Trends in Africa Defining OOH In 2023 and Beyond
Shamy Naidu
Provantage Executive Director
Shamy Naidu
March 30 . 5 min read . Opinion
Johannesburg, March X 2023 – Provantage has distinguished itself as one of Africa’s top Out of Home media and marketing specialist companies over the last two decades. Having recently announced its evolution into a fully integrated marketing and media company, Provantage has once again stamped out its authority on all things media. The company provides a summary of 2023 OOH trends to look out for from an African perspective.
Digital Out of Home – Circumnavigating the Continent
Shamy Naidu, Provantage Executive Director says, “Digital Out of Home (DOOH) within the broader Out of Home (OOH) context is growing in all African Markets – with a focus on uptake in terms of both digital billboards and Digital Place-Based Networks (DPBN).
“OOH and mobile integration drive brand recall and ROI. In isolation, mobile and Digital Out of Home offer location insights to reach audiences at pivotal moments in their daily lives. Combining the insights for both channels amplifies the two platforms’ natural strengths and creates a ‘targeted broadcast’ effect.”
Provantage data shows that OOH is a key omnichannel platform that is preferred by advertisers – along with radio, digital and television. And OOH media owners are adapting innovative media formats to suit key environments – including informal markets and key transit nodes.
Naidu continues, “Infrastructure development has boosted modern OOH executions in key commuter nodes. Mobile Out of Home is growing and has incredible potential in Africa, due to the high number of mobile device penetration, the unique synergies and complementary nature of these mediums.”
Indeed, mobile and DOOH integration has proved most appealing for local advertisers, with South Africa’s internet users having increased by 1.2% between 2021 and 2022, elevating the country’s internet penetration rate to 68% of the total population at the beginning of 2022.
“The expansion of global and regional OOH companies is driving innovation, investment and the formalisation of regulation and standards in key African markets. Africa still has great opportunity for growth, with billboards, airports and transit leading the way,” notes Naidu.
Predictions for what’s to come in 2023 and beyond
So, what comes next?
According to Provantage, Out of Home will grow substantially across all African markets, aided by infrastructure development, reduced costs and technological developments. And many of these markets will transform from being billboard dominated to multi-formats.
Africa is the second largest continent in the world, with the second largest population. It has a vibrant growing media industry, with the largest Out of Home (OOH) market share globally – more than double the global average.
Naidu elaborates on growth areas to look out for: “With demand growing for quality digital OOH formats and the growth of International OOH companies, coupled with infrastructure projects, we will see a dramatic increase in both digital billboards and Digital Place-Based Networks.
Programmatic buying will grow in the larger markets, which will further drive DOOH growth in African markets.”
He adds, “West Africa will be the fastest growing and most lucrative OOH region in the year ahead – driven by the considerable population size and GDP growth. We predict that the OOH industry in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast will become a lot more sophisticated.”
Other key trends included in Provantage’s 2023 round-up include:
- MOOH and multi-channel campaigns incorporating various OOH formats will become widespread and best practice. This is likely because the power and synergies that OOH can deliver, especially – in the African context – are simply unmatched.
- Measurement research data and reporting will expand to the major markets and standardise, driven by the major players and media agencies.
- Proof of campaign execution is still problematic and will require significant improvement. Measurement data will also influence the commercial conduct of OOH media owners.
- Government regulations and legislation will improve as knowledge levels increase, driven by infrastructure development, better spatial planning and the implementation of global best practice in many African countries and cities. Government will expect OOH media concessions to add significantly more value for consumers and to the environments in terms of the beautification of public amenities.
- OOH formats that are custom-designed to capture and integrate the informal sector in Africa will be highly successful and in high demand.
- OOH media ownerships in Africa will consolidate as multi-market OOH media companies utilise knowledge, scale economies and global buying networks to expand. They might, however, do so by entering local partnerships. This will consolidate and standardise OOH media formats and sizes.
- OOH concessions and rights will be awarded to media owners that are conscious about sustainability, community involvement and job creation.
Naidu concludes, “The Out of Home media landscape is evolving. Mobile and digital integration are the standout themes for 2023. Sustainability, job creation and in-depth research and reporting have become benchmarks for the industry in a future that is driven by real insights. We are more in tune with our audiences than ever before. This is a very exciting time for brands advertising across the continent, and equally so for the industry as we continue to offer increasingly appealing and effective solutions to brands.”
To learn more about Provantage’s full-service marketing and Out of Home services, visit https://provantage.co.za/
Provantage is one of the largest and most innovative end-to-end integrated marketing solutions and media businesses in Africa, extended over multiple key consumer touchpoints and covering a range of environments and audience segments. Operating across the MEA region, Provantage offers a comprehensive range of products, services, and integrated solutions, including brand activation, in-store and trade media services, field sales and compliance auditing, transit media, mall media, billboards, street furniture, golf course media and airport advertising. The company is a Black-owned, B-BBEE level 1 contributor, and proud member of the ACI, DPAA, OAAA, WOOHO, OMC and POPAI.
To find out more about PMG, call 0861 776 826 or visit www.provantage.co.za for more details.
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