[CEM Africa Summit]: Keeping your customers connected

According to the latest SAARF AMPS figures, the average South African spends 2 hours and 56 minutes watching TV per day and 3 hours 21 minutes listening to the radio. That's a big chunk of the day, when you factor in sleep, work and everything else we do without any distractions.

Elouise Kelly

But why do we do it?

In a nutshell, it's all about escapism - but escapism with a twist, as we want a nugget of reality in there.

No show is complete without some form of entertainment involved, but keep in mind that content is still king, so even your ad breaks need to do what they can to keep people engaged and entertained, they're not a 'switch off' point, especially as ad breaks are a certainty as they mean revenue for the media owners.

LSM surprises revealed...

Kelly spoke of the SABC's success in this regard and talked us through the numbers pinpointing this success. These include Ukhozi FM's average of 7.53m listeners per month, and more listeners in the LSM 8 to 10 category than ECR. Added to this, Metro FM has 6.49m listeners per month, and more listeners in the LSM 8 to 10 category than 94.7 and Kaya FM. Looking at the stats alone, Ikwekwezi has more listeners than 94.7, Ligwalagwala trumps KFM in the Western Cape and Phalaphala reaches more ears than 702.

But it's not just in radio that the SABC excels, as Kelly states the SABC also "owns daytime TV and talks to multiple audiences", which is why brands like Hollard and Clientele Life do so well with those infomercials that air between 9am and 5pm.

Generations: The Legacy cast

Vernacular stations in particular are talking to the mass market in their millions, and Generations: The legacy garners more than 6m nightly views - for comparison purposes, M-Net's Carte Blanche reaches just 5% of that audience.

Breaking the stats down further, AMPS shows that 5FM attracts an English-speaking white market, Lotus FM appeals to the Indian segment and Ukhozi FM covers every demographic.

In addition, many of these listeners are on the move. For example, Jeep (33%), Audi (30%), and 28% of Peugeot and Renault drivers are shown to listen to Metro FM, which Kelly says is: "Interesting as you'd think they're not the target market," and shines a light at potentially missed advertising opportunities if you don't do your audience research well to select the media they actually listen to.

For example, sticking to the Metro FM example, Kelly said these listeners are also shown to have top tastes, opting to imbibe Hennessy (43%), Heineken (33%) and Nederburg wine (27%).

In doing their marketing research, the SABC has formed many partnerships with the big media houses, as the strategy works for them.

But it's not just about the advertising...

The secret to the SABC's stickiness

Keeping people connected is what makes SABC stations sticky.

"As a public service broadcaster, the audience is in the brand's DNA. There are issues affecting the state of the nation - issues for the youth, of culture and tradition, unemployment, relationships, education and religion, all of which our audience connects to. We embed these issues into the content, so the audience gets a sense that the SABC is 'speaking to me about my everyday reality'," explains Kelly.

"We reflect as many diverse religious beliefs as possible, it's just NOT the guy who got his congregation to eat snakes," she added to laughs from the audience. On a more serious note, Kelly said that for the majority of people out there language is crucial. That's why most of the SABC's programming uses subtitles. But it's not just about losing yourself in entertainment, either...

The SABC = the news to many

The SABC also remains on the forefront of delivering news to millions of people who tune in on a daily basis, with a total of 218 news bulletins and programmes per week. Sport is another big draw card, for soccer (SABC1) and rugby (SABC2) in particular.

In closing, Kelly said: "Reaching our audience means success." The power alert ticker tab campaign, for example, reaches around 5 million viewers per month - that's no small fry, and the reason Kelly says, "We're about results, relationships are key in any market."

That's why South African audiences are still in 'TV-first mode', despite the rise of smartphones, and the SABC's audience loves joining conversations on social media, which points to an opportunity also for campaigns and audience tracking.

And looking to the future? Kelly confirms that the SABC is looking beyond the traditional 30-second ad spot to incorporate roadshows, mobi integration and more.

Visit the SABC's official website for more information, or follow Kelly's Twitter feed.