Prepaid vouchers: the perfect way to reach a mass market in SA

This advertising platform allows advertisers to print a marketing message or call to action on prepaid airtime and electricity vouchers distributed through Blue Label Telecoms, one of the largest producers of recharge vouchers in South Africa. Blue Label distributes some 100 million prepaid vouchers every month, reaching an LSM 1-8 audience with its products.

Says Wayne Miller, head of Blue Label Media: "Our media platform offers South African brands a cost-effective and measurable way to communicate with low to mid income South Africans countrywide. We offer a medium that offers more immediacy and a higher level of engagement than traditional advertising does, in a format that drives response from consumers."

This form of advertising is perfect for a range of advertising needs, says Miller. It can be a great way of positioning a brand at the forefront of a customer's mind, introducing and promoting a product or service, or transmitting an educational message.

Prepaid voucher advertising communicates a message to customer as he or she recharges airtime or electricity, driving an immediate response. Blue Label Media can offer national, provincial or regional campaigns, so that brands can talk to either one of the biggest mass market audiences in the country, or to a specific geographic market.

Blue Label's vouchers are sold through cash and carry outlets, wholesalers, retail outlets, hair salons, train stations, spaza shops, shebeens, and filling stations. The vouchers even reach markets that are difficult to reach with other advertising messages, such as rural areas and informal settlements.