Taxi tech: targeting township audiences directly with Sebenza
Sebenza’s free wi-fi on thousands of taxis and buses gives brands direct access to the R900bn township economy
Money changes hands every day in townships. The total market value of the township economy is estimated to be R900bn — a missed opportunity for brands who don’t understand this market or struggle to reach it. The good news is that Sebenza has direct digital access to this vast swathe of consumers on their daily commute via its free wi-fi offering on thousands of taxis and buses nationwide.
Brands can use Sebenza’s in-platform advertising, whether static or video, equipped with geo-targeting and quickly accessible market insights. And all these efforts are trackable to support marketers in measuring campaign performance.
“Commuters are spending an average of 87 minutes a day travelling — not to mention interprovincial travel — and, considering the high cost of data, the Sebenza wi-fi offering is filling the connectivity, access to information and entertainment gap. In other words, they’re an engaged market,” says Wesley Dorning, Sebenza co-founder.
More than small change
Africa is known for its hustle. Young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are innovative and hard-working, despite the challenges of unemployment and slow economic growth. Typically, those on the move are the main economic contributors in the townships. While lower-earning households might typically spend the bulk of their earnings on essential items, reports show that eating out at restaurants or takeaways makes up a similar proportion of spending across all income categories, showing that this market should not be underestimated.
Marketing with Sebenza not only gets your products and services into the hands of the household breadwinner through targeted advertising, but also taps into taxi and bus routes that have been mapped with a considered understanding of consumer movement. Sebenza has saturated urban areas with high volumes of commuters and reached more than 4-million commuters with data worth more than R90m to date.
“We’re about that constant feedback loop, offering value to commuters as well as brands. Real-time data allows our sales and campaign management teams to consistently monitor and improve in-platform targeted campaigns, helping us pivot and tweak our strategies for the best results,” says Dorning.
More hits, less misses
At a time when businesses are also feeling the pinch, getting the most out of your marketing efforts is imperative. This is where data-driven campaigns through proximity marketing like on-board public transport wi-fi can be useful. Sebenza’s smart technology allows for tactics such as location and time-of-day targeting, which increases the chances of reaching the right consumer with the right message at the right time. Additionally, its innovative in-platform survey tool offers valuable insights into the key demographics, preferences and behaviours that drive user engagement — crucial to tapping into kasi culture.
To date, Sebenza has seen much success working with brands. For a local gaming company, website traffic doubled during campaigns promoting sign-ups and giveaways — achieved through aligning their physical betting shops with saturated taxi routes and targeted sign-ups in the platform. For another client, this time in fibre, location targeting and personalised creatives using local lingo resulted in a higher-than-benchmark click-through rate. Another example is how sales spiked for a tech client after it used the platform’s market insights.
Work with Sebenza
Sebenza is at the forefront of bridging the digital divide and providing easier access to township consumers through cutting-edge technology. As SA’s leading taxi wi-fi company, it offers brands opportunities to interact with an engaged audience, showcase their products, and establish a strong community presence among commuters.
“We have built robust digital infrastructure and formed successful partnerships within the public transport industry, enabling brand partners to seamlessly connect with our customers through our proven model,” says Dorning. “Sebenza acts as the missing link that connects businesses to this market, allowing them to focus on their core strengths while we take care of the rest.”
With Sebenza leading the way in innovation, brands can now easily tap into the township market, opening up a world of possibilities for growth and engagement.
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This article was sponsored by Sebenza.