Level 1 is upon us, and with it, an increase in outdoor traffic, it is estimated that South Africans spend an average of 15 hours a week on the roads – this offers incredible potential for outdoor marketing.
During the start of the pandemic, outdoor marketing flipped its narrative from advertising to relaying messages of health and safety and messages of hope and celebration for our essential workers. Proving that outdoor marketing remained a powerful platform even when the majority of the potential audience was spending their time indoors.
Now, with the flow of traffic returning to normal, it’s back to business as usual. We take a look at outdoor marketing costs in South Africa and what it can mean for your business.
Average Cost Of Billboards And Outdoor Advertising in South Africa
Billboards are among the most popular forms of outdoor advertising, ranging anywhere from R10 000 to R90 000 per month, depending on geographical location.
Outdoor advertising is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of media, all as effective as billboards but at a fraction of the cost – which can prove useful to start-up companies and SME’s.
Examples include:
– Street pole poster campaigns.
– Mobile billboards.
– Signage at bus stops and taxi ranks and advertising on motorbikes.
Factors That Affect The Price Of Billboard Advertising
Many aspects can influence what you’d end up paying for outdoor advertising, but the three key factors are as follows:
Circulation: The volume of traffic passing your billboard; these figures can be obtained from transportation authorities.
Demographics: A breakdown of the audience profile – age, gender and the average income of those most likely to view your advertisement. A billboard intended for an audience with a higher income bracket would generally cost more.
Impressions: The number of people who view your advert based on its size, speed at which people travel past, and overall visibility. These numbers are generated from the circulation and geo-positioning of your advert.
Additional Costs To Keep In Mind
Production will be charged on top of your billboard rental. Lighting costs would also incur an extra free. Maintenance and repair are standard for any business asset – wear and tear and weather damage will generate additional costs over time.
The price of the chosen medium for printing your billboard advertisement will fluctuate depending on the quality of materials used. Installation might be charged as part of your monthly rental or as a once-off fee.
The agency contracted to handle your outdoor advertising will factor in the following costs:
– Cost of conceptualizing the advert’s message and supply of artwork.
– Printing and installation costs.
– Cost of scheduling new adverts and concepts.
Benefits Of Advertising Outdoors
– Outdoor marketing remains the only major marketing channel that isn’t content-based, so it is not being diluted by the surge of content-based marketing that emerged post-pandemic.
– It’s a marketing medium that lives in the physical world, and it cant be exited or scrolled past. It’s advertising that is bot free and encourages trust.
– Outdoor advertising has outshone mass media platforms like radio and television in terms of effectiveness and return on investment; this is because of a drop in demand caused by subscription-based streaming platforms.
In Conclusion
Outdoor advertising costs in South Africa can be expensive, but there are various options available to smaller businesses other than billboard advertising. The start of the pandemic saw significant decluttering in areas that are popular for out of home advertising, and the resurgence of traffic now that restrictions have been lifted means that prime rental spaces are available for your business to use.
