Billboards, newspaper posters top ads noticed by students - OCS 2

22 Jul 2011

Billboards and newspaper posters have come out top as the most-noticed form of out-of-home (OOH) advertising by tertiary students, according to the 2011 OCS (OOH consumer survey), the second Posterscope South Africa study conducted to identify the SA public's use of media and understand the habits and lifestyle of any consumer who is consuming advertising, among other reasons.

The OCS 2 findings were released yesterday, Thursday, 21 July 2011, at the Holiday Inn Rivonia Road in Johannesburg.

Free samples and leaflets, street poles, bins on the side of the road and bus shelters also had their presence felt in this list. The study also shows that 50% of tertiary students move around in taxis, while 13% take a bus, 5% commute in trains and 18% walk.

Student findings

Compared to two years ago (OCS 1, launched in 2009), students are now spending more time with family and friends, listening to radio and on their cellphones. The study also says students are now spending less time reading newspapers, watching TV during the week, going to cinema and exercising, compared to the 2009 study.

Asked during the survey where they noticed shopping mall advertising, at least 85% answered outside the mall, followed closely by free samples, inside a mall, and in shop windows.

Erik Warburg, MD of Posterscope South Africa

"Consumer insights are a very important facet in making media decisions, and historically these insights have been based on assumptions," Posterscope SA MD Erik Warburg said yesterday.

"With OCS2, the sample of people surveyed is very comprehensive, thus these insights are very accurate and will add tremendous value to agencies and companies using out-of-home advertising as their preferred medium."

Other findings include:

Three out of four men agree that billboards on the main road are influential
76% of students take note of billboards when they are static in traffic
Four out of five women between 18 and 24 have been influenced into buying something from electronic billboards inside a grocery store
Three in 10 will respond after seeing a billboard which has an SMS to reply to.
Over 85% of women trust advertising in shopping centres
One in four men think about their finances on their way to work, and one in four men think about what to eat for dinner on their way home from work.

About OCS

Pioneered in 2009, Posterscope's OOH Consumer Survey (OCS) is billed as the world's most in-depth study of consumer behaviour in relation to OOH communications and has over 3000 respondents in SA. Audiences can be segmented attitudinally, behaviourally, or demographically and analysed by environment, with a level of detail unavailable through other syndicated research systems.

Based on the success to market on OCS, Posterscope refined the research and added in many more questions that it received feedback from its clients. OCS 2 contains updated data regarding technology use, direct benchmarking against other above-the- line media such as TV and print, more industry specific data (including Automotive, Financial, Alcohol, Snacks, Soft Drink, Communication, Electronic and Travel) and how media actually influences buying decisions.

Posterscope has a global presence of 48 offices in 21 countries, including SA, where Posterscope SA (Cape Town and Johannesburg) manages approximately 20% of the country's OOH spend.

For more:

Bizcommunity: Billboards - a rural vs urban analysis

Issa Sikiti da Silva

About Issa Sikiti da Silva: @sikitimedia

Issa Sikiti da Silva is a winner of the 2010 SADC Media Awards (print category). He freelances for various media outlets, local and foreign, and has travelled extensively across Africa. His work has been published both in French and English. He used to contribute to Bizcommunity.com as a senior news writer.