Starcom shares findings from PAMRO 2009

23 Oct 2009

Liz Pillay, Starcom MediaVest Group's Africa media manager recently attended the 11th PAMRO (Pan African Media Research Organisation) Conference in Kenya held in late August 2009. The theme for year's conference was "Fast changing media landscape - where does Africa stand?”

"The three-day Pan-African conference provided a great platform to share knowledge with media practitioners and local and international researchers," says Pillay.

"It was hugely valuable to delve into each region and gain a better understanding of each market, its media strengths and weaknesses and to explore new client opportunities which were brought back to Starcom Mediavest and shared with the team.

For instance, it's interesting to note that the print medium across the continent is underperforming, and the quality of print reproduction is a major area of concern," she says. "Mobile penetration on the other hand is increasing steadily and is a fantastic platform to engage consumers."

In Tanzania, mobile telephony is high with about 8.8 million subscribers; with a similar number in Uganda at about 9 million subscribers. Senegal is on the lower end of the scale with just 3.2 million cellphone users.

The Kenyan radio market has had remarkable growth at 33%; Tanzania has over 60 radio stations whilst Uganda has a whopping 120 operational stations.

Television also remains a popular medium boasting five major players in Tanzania and six in Senegal. Pay TV services in Namibia gained some momentum with the advent of G-TV, however with the sudden demise of the company in Africa, free-to-air TV benefited more. In Ghana, television is vibrant with new and innovative programs being introduced. Zimbabwean television consists of ZTV with Satellite TV viewership enjoying an increase over a 12 month period (free to air decoders).

"In terms of outdoor," says Pillay, "the medium in Tanzania and Uganda is growing well whilst in Ghana, there is a serious street battle for visibility among advertisers. Conventional formats are commonly used by all advertisers and clutter is a major problem. In this region however, most street poles in busy suburbs have been booked but the overall impact of this medium cannot be overlooked as it reinforces television messages and provides daily continuity of exposure and contact."