Media fragmentation has become the bane of marketers worldwide. Reports claim that in 1965 it took only three, 60-second TV spots, to reach 80% of 18 – 49 year olds in the US. By 2002, 117 prime-time commercials were required to achieve the same results.

Teddy Langschmidt, one of South Africa’s foremost marketing strategists and research consultants presented industry members with research details. An interesting antithesis to media fragmentation, highlighted by the presentation, is the ‘funnel’ effect inherent in the commuter landscape. Due to daily convergence at taxi ranks and train stations, as well as the average amount of time spent travelling to and from work, a captive market is created. Over the past 18 years, ComutaNet has identified the media opportunities that characterise this landscape and successfully established itself as the dominant medium reaching this market on a national basis.

“Out of a total population of approximately 30 million, 15 million daily commuters are adults, half of which are economically active. This represents a very lucrative potential market and marketers are increasingly recognising its value. Adspend has grown significantly in tandem with the mediums reaching this market. When ComutaNet started in 1987, as Star Music, there were only three or four media platforms available to advertisers. Today we have grown our offering to 10 different platforms,” states Kevin Kirby, ComutaNet Group Marketing Manager.

Since its inception, ComutaNet has invested significantly in independent research and relies heavily on results for strategic business planning and providing clients with insights and key learnings. “When we started, there were no specific research structures in place to provide us with accurate data and market intelligence. Establishing an independent, credible measurement structure to determine effectiveness, impact and recall of our various media platforms was as important to our future business growth as it was to our clients’ campaign successes. More important though is our philosophy of not just doing research for research’s sake, but applying this data in our business decision-making processes,” continued Kevin.

 Key insights of the 2005 survey showed that Rank TV has firmly embedded itself as regular feature in the commuter landscape, with almost three-quarters of respondents reporting they watched for up to an hour on weekdays, and two thirds watched Rank TV between one and three hours over weekends. Other media platforms, including Commuter FM and Star Music, as well as interactive promotions, bus, train and trailer advertising showed positive spontaneous ad recall results, with longstanding advertisers outperforming newcomers by far, clearly showing that continued use of these media deliver the best results.

To further add value, “The Official Guide of South African Commuters 2005”, a publication packed with detailed information on ComutaNet’s 2005 independent research results, media platforms and key insights into the local commuter market, will be available by end June 2005. This goldmine of information presents an invaluable resource tool for marketers designing campaigns aimed at this market.

www.comutanet.co.za