#PAMRO2017 OOH measurement solutions being rolled out in Africa

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One of the major inhibitors to the OOH advertising industry has been the lack of tools to measure audience and campaign effectiveness, compared with other  types of advertising, according to IT-Online, as quoted by Matt Angus-Hammond, business development lead: global key accounts and custom research, GeoPoll. Angus-Hammond was presenting at the annual Pan African Market Research Organisation (PAMRO) conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, this week.

For the first time, a common currency is available allowing advertisers to compare OOH with other channels on a like-for-like basis as new methodologies allow the calculation of audience metrics for OOH channels, including: impacts, audiences, reach, frequency, GRPs.

The #PAMRO2017 audience were told that the measurement of OOH media audiences in most countries therefore relies on a combination of survey data and mobility modelling to engage the audience for all panels to be estimated sufficiently accurately for the market to operate, while keeping the cost of measurement to an acceptable level.

GeoPoll, in partnership with Cuende Informetrics system from Spain, is combining SMS surveys with satellite imagery technology that produces unprecedented data on OOH ratings in major urban areas across Africa. GeoPoll does the traffic survey to overlay onto that data to:

• Monitor reach and effectiveness of billboards and other street-side advertisements.
• Better understand which locations have the highest audience size on weekdays and weekends by key demographics.
• See when and where target audiences travel throughout the day.

This OOH measurement standard is currently available in Nairobi, Kenya; and in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. The data is also running in other African cities and will be available soon in:  Durban, South Africa; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Kampala, Uganda; and Lagos, Nigeria.

Angus-Hammond said the bottom line is that advertisers advertise because they want to sell stuff and make money, so reliable measurement metrics are key. In a case study run in Lusaka, Zambia, they measured the metrics before a billboard went up and afterward and then measured the impact for the FMCG brand being advertised on the billboard.

Angus-Hammond recounted that there was an improvement in brand awareness from before the billboard went up (41% brand awareness) to 67% brand awareness after the billboard went up; and a 9% increase in those who consumed the brand after the billboard went up (from 70-79% consumption improvement).

Media comparisons

In the battle for the African consumer’s attention, the most important question remains, however, what does the data tell us?

Akinyi Okulo from GeoPoll Kenya, says there is always a tendency to compare Out of Home advertising with what TV and radio reach tells us. “We are trying to get the best possible ROI in terms of advertising. It’s all about one methodology across the different platforms which would give us the best return on investment.”

She explained how GeoPoll measures TV and radio audiences in Africa:

• Overnight media data, 365 days a year.
• SMS/app surveys capture individual behaviour.
• Four hour recall is most accurate in the market.
• Media planning and evaluation tools increase return on investment (ROI).

One consistent methodology across all countries in Africa is used by GeoPoll: KGMM, which is  currently live in: Cameroon, Mozambique, DRC, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Liberia.

“There are still baby steps to OOH measurement, but we can borrow from the positive outlooks we have seen, and things we can pull from television and radio measurement,” said Okulo.