Smartphone market penetration in SA is above 90%, according to Icasa’s March 2020 report on the ICT sector. That’s about 53-million South Africans with a device to access the internet and therefore holding a platform where marketers and advertisers can reach them directly.
In an era where people are becoming more reliant on internet technology and being connected with friends, family, and employers or employees from remote work-from-home locations, they are spending significantly more time online. The typical South African internet user spends 8 hours 23 minutes on the internet a day.
WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook are — according to Hootsuite’s January 2020 report — the most visited platforms for SA internet users between 16 and 64. That’s a broad demographic from which marketers can craft targeted brand campaigns.
Marketing budgets for mobile have increased as a result of the rising prevalence of devices in the country. Three years ago, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) predicted that by 2022, the number of businesses allocating more than 25% of their budgets to mobile would have doubled. That was a prediction made pre-Covid, before the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in businesses and in homes, which is connecting more South Africans online than ever before.
Our devices are kept with us — next to the bed, in the bathroom, worn on wrists ... always within reach. Whether brands rely on custom apps, SMS messaging, or banner ads and the like to reach consumers, our mobile devices are in a prime position to do the job.
Join the next episode of the Future of Media brought to you by Out There Media, as an expert panel of industry professionals discusses the power of mobile advertising, how brands currently view it, and its place in the media ecosystem within the context of ever-changing consumer behaviour in a pandemic era.
Panel members in the discussion, moderated by Siya Sangweni (CliffCentral.com brand manager), include:
- Donald Mokgale — CEO Sub-Saharan Africa, Out There Media
- Clare Trafankowska — MD, iProspect SA
- Mbulelo Pahlana — media and digital manager, Reckitt Africa
- Wandisile Nkabinde — senior manager: media and digital marketing, MultiChoice SA
Date: Wednesday, June 9 2021
Time: 10am
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