We are reinforcing TV Ads with Adpump advertising model – S& T Media CEO

S&T Media is a new outdoor advertising firm that focuses on place-based advertising. The firm recently secured multimillion naira seed funding from EchoVC for capital expenditure as its business is soft and hardware driven. The firm’s co-founder, Soji Ogundoyin told BusinessDay that the firm is pioneering Adpump advertising innovation at filling stations. The Adpump is digital advertising platform for connecting on-the-go consumers. The Adpump combines the benefit of the traditional television with the benefits of digital video, sound and hyper local messaging. With innovation, Soji said though there are challenges, but advertising will survive but companies must be cost effective and seek for more value. Excerpts

Could you let consumers in to your company?

S&T was formed in 2014 by Tolu Roberts and myself as partners. Our focus is on place-based advertising. This is a sub-sector of outdoor advertising market. It is a sector that we feel has not been fully tapped into and people that have tried, have not done it innovatively especially in Nigeria. You need some innovation to get in to the outdoor advertising front. That is why we came up with Adpump. It is digital screen that we place on top of petrol pump. As consumers are buying petrol, we are actually communicating to them.

The innovation is premium for brands and any type of messaging; not just advertising but messaging service as it  has the power of captivating the audience.  When buying petrol the audience is predispose to listen to the messages that are targeted at them. It is brilliant platform. Since petrol stations are commercial centres, it is not just about cars, but it serves as bus-stops, convenient stores and places consumers buy recharge cards and places for relaxation as vehicles park to rest before continuing their journey. So we feel it is a place to actually use for communication to the large demographic audience.  It is outdoor- targeted advertising.

Though filling stations are commercial places, but do you think the commuters would have the time to watch and listen to the adverts

Yes we do. Thanks for television which has the captivating power. We grow up watching TV. Many people are already aware of adverts that prop up on our TVs, and when you see the adverts on outdoor, it gives you the nudge you need. We believe that the same Ad the consumer sees on TV at home, is now seen at filling stations and there will be instant recognition and this will create actual drive for action. We are reinforcing TV Ads, not try to replace them but reinforce them in outdoor medium.

Since the introduction of this target advertising, what is the impact so far?

We have our pilot locations with Oando after the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil. Within the pilot phase, we worked out the technicalities of it. It must be noted that the TV screens are networked. We speak to our screens remotely through 3 G network. Within the 6 months of our installations we made sure that we have the system perfected. Once you purchase Ads with us and since it is networked, you are purchasing across the aggregates of locations which gives the reach and targeted audience you want. We also partnered with Channels TV which allowed us to show Channels TV news. We have other media partners. By these partnerships we managed to gauge the impact. The impact has been tremendous. In terms of metrics, we believe that Adpump gives value not only on cost but in terms of metrics. We can tell the sales that happen in each location thereby translating to the number of eyeballs. We want to be equivalent to biggest TV shows in Nigeria.

This appears to be a good innovation but do you think that 22 inch TV screen is big enough at filling stations to arrest attention

It is wide enough to attract attention because it is not in TV screens only but audio as well. Because we deal with the biggest oil downstream sector operators, they have procedures on how you buy petrol. They request that you turn off your engine and not use the phone and the next is that they request that you look at the metre. This is adding value as you are tended to look at the TV. We believe that over 95 percent of those that come to filling stations see the TVs.

What security to forestall stealing the TV sets?

We have our own security strategies. You literally need to have the key to the pumps to steal the TVs.

Some filling stations don’t open at 5am and some close before 12 midnight, so how do you operate within this time belt

The way it works is that we aggregate everything. For now we have about 17 locations across Lagos State. Some of the stations are 24 hours service. These stations balance out with other stations that close at about 10 pm.

Are you saying that this kind of innovation is what the outdoor industry needs at this time especially when advertisers are weighing where to place Ads for impact

Exactly. As advertisers become discerning and look for more value and more efficiency in the advertising space, this kind of platform gives them what they need. It is no more business as usual as advertisers get smarter about advertising. And we hope we can be the companies that give value to brands and media buyers to get more efficient purchase.

If you have more messages on the TV screen, how do motorists who spend about 4 minutes at filling stations see other Ads?

The whole cycle is 4 minutes. What we do is have 30 seconds news content, then 30 seconds advertisement of one Ad, then 30 seconds entertainment and 30 seconds sports. This is television condensed within 4 minutes. If you come any time, you must get the messages within the 4 minutes cycle.  At the platform we provide consumers with all they want.

Why should an advertiser choose Adpump advert platform than the billboard on the street

It about price and efficiency. For half of the price of about N150 million on a billboard, the advertiser can have 17 locations across Lagos dealing with a minimum of 1,800 vehicles per day. It is reinforced targeted advertising for the same reach. For Adpump, you are predisposed to listen to the entire advertisement than when you are on motion. Again we have nationwide partnership with our filling station partners. Currently we are starting in Lagos and we are likely to extend to West Africa all linked. An advertiser can segment areas within our platforms he/she wants the adverts run. The advertiser may not buy all the locations.  A client can push different products at different audiences/markets.

What other products is the consumer expecting from S & T?

We are actually working on another platform, Adage. You would be hearing about this very soon and we plan to launch it with Spar and other supermarkets. It is a TV screen to be placed on the isle and as you are walking for shopping, we would be able to communicate to you. Hopefully, this will drive instant sales and instant purchases.