JCDECAUX: Transforming the African Out-of-Home Advertising Landscape

A whole host of factors; among them growing urbanisation, increasing digitisation and accelerating technological innovation within the sector; are conspiring to result in the need of advertising which communicates faster, more effectively and with greater flexibility, and which in turn increasingly benefits from a more reliable accountability.

Enabling brands to reach a mass audience rapidly and consistently, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising encompasses digital and static panels carrying advertising across every urban outdoor environment, and endless and boundless innovation within the medium allows OOH to meet an ever-broader range of communication goals. OOH attracts a higher percentage share of advertising in Africa than in most other global markets, and while television and radio have mostly remained fairly stable with newspapers and print sharply declining, OOH and digital media have, conversely, boomed.

Such has been this ascent that OOH media now accounts for 13% of advertising revenue in the majority of key African markets, and having made a sharp recovery in 2021 in particular from much reduced airport visibility, is projected to expand at a CAGR of 3-6% over the next five years. “Beyond the established strength of rapid broadcast coverage, the growing penetration of the medium in the urban environment has resulted in an ability to offer more tightly targeted messaging,” JCDecaux says of OOH’s superior reach and effectiveness as a wealth of devices, methods and channels vie for audiences’ attention.

“OOH remains a key medium that surrounds audiences in their everyday environment; it can reach them while they are close to the point of sale, and when they are more receptive and are less distracted by other media.”

BEACON VALUES

JCDecaux Africa is the number one player in OOH on the continent, offering almost 30,000 advertising panels and priding itself on quality service, innovation and insights. “At the heart of JCDecaux’s growth trajectory, across over 80 countries internationally,” it expounds, “is a commitment to four core values: outstanding design, flawless quality, cutting edge innovation and sustainable development.” These are unshakeable principles which have guided the company almost 60 years, since its launching of the brand new concept and business model of bus shelters financed by advertising, subsequently changing the entire face of the industry and of cities worldwide.

“Today our media provides an estimated daily reach of 400 million consumers, all with one turnkey solution through JCDecaux Africa,” the company details. “We are a global player with local relevance; we have a deep respect for local culture and insights, integrating this into our business. JCDecaux continues to look for shared value opportunities, with Africa being a key focus market. We aim to create an environmentally sustainable and socially responsive organisation that understands and knows the African commercial trading environment and landscape.

“Quality and innovation, integrated into our unique economic model, are beacon values for us that place JCDecaux in the process of permanent progress.”

Targeting progress is embedded within every aspect of the business, and the world’s number one outdoor advertising company last month announced the appointment of Lunga Majija into the role of Managing Director for JCDecaux South Africa. “JCDecaux is synonymous with innovation,” Majija recognises with verve, “and I’m excited to be part of the leadership team responsible for the advancement and development of this amazing organisation.”

Himself a highly accomplished, successful and well-regarded business leader, Majija has accrued extensive experience in the media industry across the continent, including most recently as Regional Director for JCDecaux Southern Africa, where he held responsibility for defining and implementing business strategy, and as Operations Director for the Middle East and Africa. His new role will see Majija oversee the implementation of the company’s South African business growth strategy by furthering asset digitisation, supporting data by design approach, service delivery and customer excellence to attain corporate sales and profitability objectives.

“I look forward to introducing several initiatives that help monetise our Data Solutions offering by delivering greater value and accountability to our customers,” Majija asserts. “I aim to gear the business to leverage market opportunities while addressing diverse trading challenges through operational efficiencies and several business optimisation initiatives. Together with the new talent in business, I hope to strengthen our relationships with customers, industry experts and stakeholders, to position the business as the company of choice in outdoor advertising.”

LASTING IMPRESSIONS

JCDecaux Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit is driven by one overarching purpose, to make cities, transport systems and shopping centres increasingly attractive while meeting challenges like urbanisation and digitalisation that define the 21st century. “As the leader in Out-of-Home advertising,” it declares, “we are dedicated to giving brands a unique voice and rich market insights by providing messaging platforms throughout the continent, which are of the highest quality and design supported by first-class customer service.”

With the aim of continually innovating to deliver more value to customers through memorable, immersive, and engaging advertising solutions that really resonate, creativity is key, in leaving lasting impressions, promoting sharing and driving consumer action.

“Creative quality is the single biggest driver that explains growth on brand exposure, contributing up to 50% to campaign salience,” reasons a study by data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar, and in a perfect merging of technology with creativity, JCDecaux South Africa has launched a cutting-edge 3D anamorphic experience for brands and advertisers by activating its 4×8 metre Deep Motion Digital screen at Sandton City shopping centre.

“We are excited about the new creative opportunities our 3D Deep Motion Digital anamorphic display offers brands and advertisers to push the creative boundaries to connect with consumers,” enthused Lélanie Butler, Innovation and Projects Director. “In today’s competitive attention economy, brands and advertisers find it challenging to generate ads and content that retains consumers’ attention to deliver memorable brand and product messaging. Through our 3D Deep Motion Digital anamorphic displays, we aim to increase engagement and emotional relevance by providing consumers with large colourful creative that can be easily captured and shared instantly.”

JCDecaux Africa has now been delivering premium advertising solutions for over 20 years, and in another iconic first for Such Africa announced its branding of Gautrain buses in partnership with Pixykorner and the LFP Group, traversing a route network covering an estimated 320,000 km per month travelling through high-net-worth suburbs ranging from Melrose, Gallo Manor, Waterfall, Irene and Hatfield.

“JCDecaux Africa has combined its unique strengths, knowledge and expertise to create a market-leading, innovative Out-of-Home company positioned for growth,” the company sums up. “We plan to continue investing and growing our footprint across the continent, enhancing our existing suite of premium advertising assets, and look forward to further expanding into new environments with diverse static and digital properties across the continent.”