The curious case of the 'poached' rhino billboard

Have you seen this billboard?

An 18-metre long‚ four-and-a-half-metre high vinyl billboard advertising the Johannesburg Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve has disappeared in what marketing experts have described as a “professional” and “organised” theft.

The billboard was last seen on the R512 to Lanseria Airport in early August‚ a week or two after it was erected.

And its owner‚ the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve‚ is adamant it is not a “publicity stunt”.

The billboard is made of high-quality plastic to withstand the elements‚ said Asheen Dayal‚ group marketing manager for Bothongo‚ which owns the reserve.

The highest point of the billboard was six metres from the ground‚ meaning removing the vinyl would require extremely large ladders or cranes and about five to six people to carry its weight.

Dayal said he discovered the billboard was gone when he took a group of executives to see it.

“WTF could not describe the mood‚” said Dayal.

A different billboard on the same road‚ that faced the opposite direction‚ was also stolen‚ said media strategist Margaret Ashwin‚ who helped the reserve identify the billboard spot.

Initially‚ those involved in designing it tried to find out if it had been taken down accidentally.

Marketing strategist Sarah Britten said: “Sometimes billboards are de-flighted in error and this was an obvious assumption to make. When the media owner said this was not the case‚ we started wondering [what happened].”

Deflighting is the technical term for the removal of a billboard.

The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve has offered a reward in the form of a weekend stay at the facility to anyone with information about what happened.

Asked if they “stole” their own billboard and offered a reward as a marketing ploy‚ Dayal said‚ “I can assure you we have not done so”.

Britten said the story was so odd she assumed people would think it was a marketing ploy‚ but it wasn’t.

“I know a lot of people will ask that because it seems so ridiculous‚” she said.

Ashwin said: “In 40 years of work‚ I have never had a billboard [this big] stolen. It defies logic. They stole a vinyl canvas that is 4.5 metres high and 18 metres wide. It is very heavy. It was organised. People taking it down need safety equipment. They would usually wear harnesses.”

She said the theft was “not just a drive-by decision by a drunken stag party”.

People with knowledge of what happened to the “poached billboard” are asked to contact the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve.