Most notable in 2007 was the launch of Provantage Transit TV, an innovative national in-taxi television station. High quality LCD screens were fitted at the front of 500 of the new Toyota Quantum taxis in the major metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, with an additional 1,000 screens planned for roll-out nationally in 2008. The Transit TV programming includes advertisements, blooper reels, ‘did you knows' plus a wide range of other community relevant programming. Not only targeting a captive audience of millions of economically active commuters, but significantly raising the level of the commuters travel experience. This new medium was very well received by various major brands looking to target this segment of the market, with the likes of MTN, Nedbank, Metropolitan, Nokia and Jet Stores the first to adopt this innovative new medium.
Provantage Media also grew their taxi branding operation in 2007, having completed campaigns for The Star Shoot supplement, MNet's Supersport, Pep Stores and Coke, amongst others. “Branding these vehicles has already proved to be a highly effective way to expose a brand to a very wide audience,” explained Jacques du Preez, managing director at Provantage Media.
One of the other significant milestones achieved in 2007 that has placed Provantage at the forefront of the industry includes the launch of a dedicated Events and Experiences division, namely Provantage Events. Headed by Dom Smith, Provantage Events rolled out numerous large scale campaigns, most notably the Aquafresh Soccer Cup for GSK and the Kellogg's Biggest Bowl campaign and road show, which broke a Guinness World Record for the world's largest bowl of cereal.
The success of various local campaigns conducted on behalf of various multi-national FMCG and financial clients also led to the expansion of Provantage Media's operations into other sub-Saharan countries. Due to these South African clients who have a presence in these regions Provantage Media began conducting brand activation and transit media campaigns outside of South African borders to meet the growing need for brand awareness and increased sales.
The activation division has also followed this growth trend with successful campaigns completed for Nedbank, Master Foods, Mango, Appletiser, Coke and Stanlib, to name a few. These campaigns generally targeted the highly diverse and complex township markets, a market segment that Provantage Media now boasts an in-depth understanding of due to the vast experience and expertise gained through implementing so many township targeted campaigns.
With this growth, which necessitated Provantage moving into bigger premises to accommodate their ever-expanding staff complement, and the increase in product and service offerings, Provantage Media is now positioned as a ‘one-stop shop' for all brand experiential and activation needs. “We are very proud of what we have achieved in 2007, and look forward to the prospects that lie ahead for us in 2008, as we have numerous exciting initiatives planned for the transit and township media markets,” concludes du Preez.
