How does TTV stack up to above-the-line media?

The in-depth study conducted by Millward Brown, on behalf of Provantage Out of Home Media, revealed that TTV resonates in the same way that TV does! The study was conclusive: TTV is an excellent medium to cost effectively build reach and frequency for a near TV equivalent impact.

The Study Sample

There are 65 main taxi rank hubs nationally in South Africa. Provantage, a leader in out-of-home media and winner of the MOST Innovator of the Year Award 2010, has presence in 34 of these hubs. These hubs represent more than six million daily passengers, the majority of which fall into the LSM B bracket.

A day in the life of a typical taxi commuter...

A typical LSM B South African spends on average 2.85 hours travelling on a week day and 2.08 hours on a weekend.

16% of time is spent travelling, mostly during the week to and from work. Travel starts between 6am and 8am in the mornings and again from 5pm to 6pm in the evenings. During peak morning and afternoon periods, travellers are watching TV - this is second to other activities such as staring out the window or doing something else.

TTV audience Reach and Frequency & GRP's

Reach measures how many different people in the target group have travelled in a taxi with TV during any given period of time. Within a seven-day week, 98% travelled in a taxi, and 49% travelled in a taxi with a TV. Over a period of a month an advertisement on TTV would reach 75% of the target audience given the current fleet size of 1000.

Frequency tells us how many times people in the target group are exposed to the Taxi TV reel within the set time period. Throughout the course of a week, 25% of the sample had at least four opportunities to view TV in a taxi. Over a period of a month, the target audience would have an average of nine opportunities to watch TTV.

GRP calculation

TTV (In-taxi Television) generates the following GRPs:

= 30.7 GRPs per day

= 215 GRPs per week

= 689 GRPs per month

GRP's are the standard units used to describe the amount of exposure that is used to support an advertising campaign.

• 1 GRP (Gross Rating Point): 1% of a target audience had the opportunity to see a showing of a particular advert. By matching viewing figures with programme and advertising schedules, it is possible to estimate audiences. These are quoted in terms of the percentage of a target market reached.

A look at TTV norms

On average it appears that an execution in TTV achieves optimal recall when it is flighted for more than three months. An average creative thus needs time to build momentum, creating enough exposures to be recalled at optimal levels.

With regards to traditional TV, a 30-second execution on TV generates noting levels of 20% based on an average exposure of in excess of 200 AR's. TTV delivers a noting that is in line with traditional TV norms.

The bottom line

TTV builds reach and frequency quickly and reaches 49% of the target audience within a week.

At a Cost Per Point (CPP) of R240 TTV is an extremely cost effective alternative television medium to reach and impact the LSM B market.

"We launched in-Taxi TV in 2007 and the appeal amongst advertisers has been phenomenal. The beauty of TTV is that it is not invasive and yet advertisers are guaranteed a captive audience. What's more, they have the attention of commuters primarily travelling to or from work, a time that can greatly influence a purchasing decision," says Jacques du Preez, MD of Provantage Out of Home Media.