Accepted rules often do not apply. The advertising agency thought it had done a good deal. The 
billboard on a busy main road near the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, was perfect for the 
client's product. The advertisement was duly pasted up. 


But on checking the site a few days later, the agency found its ad was barely visible. Someone 
else had built another billboard directly in front of it and put up an ad of its own. Even that 
was no guarantee of success. Not long afterwards, a third billboard sprung up on the site. 


Welcome to advertising in Africa, where the rules that govern the industry in SA and other 
regulated markets often don't apply. Actually, says Ogilvy Africa MD John Little, that's an 
extreme example of the lack of discipline that can complicate advertising in Africa. But there's
no doubt that advertising agencies can face challenges they are unlikely to find elsewhere. 


Ogilvy has the biggest African network coverage of any advertising agency. It operates in 43 
countries, though it has no permanent office in nearly half those. Many of the markets in which 
it operates are not English-speaking, but Little says English is understood and usable in most. 
Even so, he says, "we sometimes manage with difficulty". 


One of the first lessons advertising agencies must learn when doing business in some countries 
is that media monitoring is vital, particularly on TV and radio. Just because a spot has been 
booked, confirmed and paid for doesn't mean the ad will appear. Most advertisers want a specific
time slot or to appear with a particular programme. However, says Little, "half the advertised 
TV and radio schedules are wrong. They either don't flight at all or they are at the wrong times.
You have to constantly watch out for your advertisements to make sure they appear and that you 
are getting what you pay for." 


Other obstacles include faulty telephone systems, e-mail links that may or may not work on a 
given day, dodgy postal services, and heavily state-regulated media environments. Even company 
intranets run into problems. "Most African countries can't access our source material," says 
Little. "It takes too long." 


Understanding markets can often be difficult. Detailed market research like SA's All Media 
Products Survey (Amps) is limited to a handful of countries such as Kenya, where marketers have 
added the first letter of the country's name to create Kamps. Living standards measures (LSMs), 
by which SA consumers have been categorised for many years, may have detractors in this country 
but marketers elsewhere would love to have them. 

"The research science is often not exact," says Little. "In some markets one is working on one's
own judgment." Despite all the downs, there are plenty of ups as well. Consumer and advertising 
spending in some African countries is increasing at an extraordinary pace - admittedly off a 
low base. 


Angola, for example, is growing at a "fantastic rate", says Little. "Lots of multinationals are 
getting involved there." TV and radio advertising are booming in a country that is still 
recovering from a decades-long civil war. Little says it is the biggest African growth market 
for MultiChoice and DStv. 


Cellphone providers are also enjoying a boom through most of the continent, mainly as a result 
of a general shortage of fixed lines. And everyone, it seems, loves to drink. "Beer and 
cellphone companies are among the top five advertising spenders in pretty well every African 
market," says Little. 


Experiential advertising - which allows consumers to taste, touch and experience products - is 
a growing feature of marketing in SA. It's already big in much of Africa. Many countries lack 
the level of access to TV, radio, newspapers and billboards that South Africans take for granted.
So road shows, carnivals and sampling events are major consumer drawcards in several markets. 


In Angola, says Little, DStv uses human billboards as one of the means to get its message across.
Most TV campaigns used in African markets are adapted from international campaigns. Advertising 
produced in those countries may not be expensive but it is often not very good either. Radio and
outdoor, though, are more commonly produced within the markets for "local insight".
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