1. There are many challenges to doing media business in Africa, including a lack of reliable data for planning campaigns, slow response times from media owners, language and cultural barriers, and poor infrastructure. 2. Key competencies for success include understanding local media consumption, building good relationships, and adapting to different business practices in each country. Media owners need a strong local presence and innovative products. 3. South African agencies can learn from their African counterparts' diligent customer service and respect for media owners. African agencies are also eager to learn and progressive in applying new ideas.

1. NOVEMBER 2015 | R50 (incl. VAT)
KZN media
alive and kicking!
Weeklies bite
the bullet
Report back:
doing media
business in Africa

2. 28 | themedia | November 2015 www.wagthedog.co.za
MOST Awards
P
Pedro Casimiro, Managing Director
ofAfrica MediaWarehouse (AMW);Adelaide
McKelvey, Managing Director of Continental
Outdoor MediaAfrica and Chris Hitchings, CEO
of DStv Media Sales participated in this survey.
Whatarethe biggest challenges of
doing media business inAfrica?
PC: There is a lack of credible AMPS data
across the continent and due to no AMPS data
input, you cannot plan and book media using
ARs and GRPs as measurement tools.The
turn-around times for media information from
media owners is slow and there is a perceived
lack of urgency from media owners in
responding to queries.There is also no or little
current census data and a lack of Nielsen’s
FMCG shelf analysis information.
Poor media compliance in terms of ads
actually appearing in the right location at
the right time and non-delivery of broadcast
certificates on time is another issue. Skewed
research when the media owner funding the
research seems to always come out as the
preferred choice is a problem as are upfront
payments along with forex fluctuations of
the ZAR against other currencies. Rate card
variations (local rates vs. international rates);
unstructured rate increases; cumbersome
booking processes and the cost of travelling
to each country to keep your finger on
the pulse of each media market are other
considerations.
There are also the obvious language and
cultural barriers. Government-owned media has
very little interest in receiving and responding
to the demand for advertising as they do not
rely on it for funding. Internet connectivity
is poor in some countries and there is poor
quality of newspaper printing.This pertains
to 4-colour print registration as well as ink
saturation and course the screens used make
image reproduction look “grainy”.
There’s a lack of independent media
monitoring services and local in-country tax
issues where some media owners charge it
and others don’t.
AM:Some major issues are accountability, service
delivery and turnaround times. Doing business
in Africa can be very rewarding and extremely
frustrating at the same time. However, having
a good understanding of how things work and
being able to constantly adapt and manoeuvre
around ‘the norm” can work in your favour.
You need a lot of patience, an abundance
of energy and a good sense of humour to be
successful in Africa.
CH: While there have been improvements in
this area, it remains a challenge to find credible,
consistent media research across the continent.
The devaluation of local currencies can cause
havoc with forecasting in US or ZAR.
Managing credit risk remains an important
challenge to overcome and at times we struggle
with the quality of material supplied.The
importance of political and economic stability
cannot be overstated.
Whatarethe most important
competencies required of media
agenciesand media ownersthat buy
and sell media inAfrica?
PC: Media consumption insights –
understanding who is consuming which
media at what time and why; having good
interpersonal relationships directly with key
media personnel in each country in order to
get work done efficiently and staying up to
date with market dynamics in each country.
This pertains to the country’s political,
social and economic indicators plus identifying
key players (clients and media owners) within
each industry and monitoring their actions.
AM: If media agencies want to succeed
outside of SA borders, they need to have
credibility and substance. No half measures.
They must be 100% committed.Too often
SA or international media houses attempt to
launch in Africa with a 4m x 4m office space
and a brand on the door, generally operated
There are many complexities and challenges around the buying and selling of media space in
Africa. Brad Aigner, MD of FGI Africa, spoke to some Africa media experts to gain some insight.
Report back: doing media
business in Africa
PedroCasimiro
AdelaideMcKelvey
To page 30

3. 30 | themedia | November 2015 www.wagthedog.co.za
MOST Awards
by one or two people.This model is doomed
to fail.A well-established media house with
competent staff and substantial operating
systems will benefit from the high rewards
Africa has to offer.
Media owners need to have presence in the
country where they offer their service, which
should be fully supported by sales, operations
and financial staff in the market.Their product
should be of high quality and ideally in a
format that can be bought regionally.Africans
are forward-thinking and love innovation! So,
creative and innovative products must be on
the menu.Africa has a large young population
who are early adopters and embrace new
technology.Therein lies the opportunity!
CH: Don’t treat “Africa” with one unilateral
strategy – it’s a diverse continent with a
multitude of nations and cultures.Also, avoid
making assumptions – get on the ground and
make an effort to understand the local issues.
Technical skills remain important but given
the scarcity of quality data it’s important to
be resourceful and creative.
What can South African media
owners and media agencies learn
from their African counterparts?
PC: Trading in certain countries can be
seamless as long as you constantly monitor
how and when things are done and
continuously follow up.When booking media,
an email needs to be followed by a telephone
call as there is a tendency for emails to be
curtailed by network problems. Agencies and
media owners are generally keen to assist but
often get hampered by issues beyond their
control.
AM: It’s really easy to work with the
agencies in Africa. There are less “egos” in
Africa. Media staff are punctual and diligent.
They treat media owners as partners and
with the utmost respect. The client/ agency
relationship is open and transparent.
Local agencies could learn a lot about
“going back to basics” – understanding how
we all fit into the media buying process and
work together for a common cause. The
African media agencies are eager to learn,
open to new ideas and progressive in their
creative applications.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we have the
luxury of selling audiences from behind a desk
in South Africa. Despite viewing our product
in situ and experiencing our audiences in
real life, we tend to buy/sell media from our
desktops. That is the reality of how media
buying has progressed worldwide!
Having said that, African media agencies
are not there yet and that’s the reason why
media owners need to be more accountable
and involved with these agencies. An agency
that has placed its (and its clients) trust and
advertising dollars with a specific media
owner needs to be assured that the delivery,
quality, and accountability, is guaranteed.
The lesson for SA media owners is to be
less complacent and more accountable and
involved.
CH: My feeling is that we all have a sense of
entitlement in SA, whereas nothing is taken
for granted in Africa.
Please relate an amusing anecdote
from your media experiences in
Africa.
PC: Up until recently, UBC in Uganda was still
accepting TVC material in VHS fomat! Also,
TPA TV network in Angola doesn’t accept
electronic bookings so you have to go into
their offices and book as follows: Stand in one
queue with your media plan on paper and
pay upfront for the booking; move to the next
queue and hand in your booking plan and
receive a proof of booking and finally, go to
the next queue to deliver the TVC material.
In Nigeria, all media creative material
needs to get APCON (Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria) approval
before it’s allowed to flight. There’s a fee for
APCON certification. Plus, all “consumption"
related advertising needs NAFDAC (National
Agency for Food and Drug Administration
Control) and APCON approval before being
allowed to flight.
CH: I visited a monitoring service in Nairobi
where an employee was watching a bank
of TV screens, whilst listening to a different
radio station in each ear (via a headset) and
simultaneously scanning a pile of print ads.
How to fry your brain!
Little-known African facts
• Before the continental shift took
place,Africa was joined to other
countries in a massive continent
called Pangaea.
• Africa is the second largest continent
in both land mass and population
and covers 1/5th of the Earth’s total
land area.
• Early humans first migrated out
of Africa into Asia about 2 million
years ago.
• The Sahara desert in northern Africa
covers 9 million square kilometres
and is the largest non-polar desert in
the world.
• Africa makes up 15% of the world
population providing home to
±1 billion people and is origin to 25%
of world languages.
• Africa is home to the world’s largest
living land animal - the African
elephant. Males can grow up to
4m tall.
• The Nile is the longest river in the
world measuring ± 6700km and flows
through 10 countries.
• Lake Victoria is one of the seven
natural wonders of the world. It
forms the largest lake in Africa and
the second largest freshwater lake in
the world.
• The vastness of the continent
covers in excess of 30 million square
kilometres.
• One in every six Africans is Nigerian –
the country has a population of about
180 million people. n
FGI is sincerely thankful for the insights and
experiences shared by the interviewees.