Township Wall Media empowering local communities

This is the vision of Keys Communications, a company that aims to impact on the lives of members of the township community members, while simultaneously providing a service to well-known brands. Using the marketing medium of Township Wall Media, the company provides exposure for budding local artists, using their skills in the painting of murals.

Using high-definition airbrushing to provide the appearance of a production finish resembling that of a billboard that also captures the township's raw essence, the company provides a medium for brands to meet the aspirational values of the people living in these areas.

The company is run by husband and wife team, Kabelo and Anisa Kale, two people dedicated to making a difference in the township. "Both Kabelo and I grew up in the township" says Anisa Kale, Keys Communications.

"My love for the township is embedded in the core of my being. It is a reciprocal relationship: the township made me into what I am today, and it is now my turn to give back." Founded on an ethos of empowerment, the company is 98% BEE and 100% female owned. This in turn led the company to find other ways to empower community members, providing them with revenue through their involvement with the murals. Revenue opportunities are created by renting the walls of the community members' houses. In this way, members become landlords and are provided with a monthly income.

Keys hires fulltime site developers, who scout walls based on a certain criteria in order to accommodate clients' needs and requirements. Most of the time, this process involves using influencers and other gogos (elders) in the area, facilitating the implementation of the right language to the right people. The community is involved from the start, before prospective brands come on board.

"At times the company has the challenge of having a strategically placed street where the houses do not have any walls. In such cases, Keys Communications builds the wall at the site. "We construct the wall for the landlord, and still provide them with income for their wall. So you could say we are township realtors," says Kale.

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In addition, Township Wall Media provides exposure for big brands such as Nokia, Nedbank and Supersport. "The township community is a huge growth market and Township Wall Media provides brands avenues to places where traditional outdoor media does not have access, including rural, township and urbanised areas of South Africa," concludes Kale.