Derrick
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In South Africa comparative advertising is not allowed, but in the outdoor advertising space it is far easier to get in the face of your competitor.
A drive around the offices of MTN, Vodacom and Neotel reveals that the larger telecoms players use billboard advertising as far more than brand awareness or informing consumers about their latest offerings.
In-your-face advertising
Vodacom decided a great spot for a billboard advertisement of their new broadband prices is right on the border of the MTN Innovation Centre. Vodacom must have done their homework, because only a few meters from their billboard CellC also invested in outdoor advertising space for their products.
No doubt, Vodacom’s closer proximity to the MTN fence is the top spot, but CellC could clearly not pass the opportunity to also utilize this great location.
It is however not only MTN’s current office park which turned out to be a great location to attract customers to other cellular providers. Right across the Vodacom headquarters MTN invested in a large warehouse, appropriately carrying a massive MTN logo and their colours on the front.
Some people speculate that this warehouse is more valued as a marketing tool than a warehouse. Call it tit-for-tat, smart marketing or even competitive gamesmanship the bottom line is that these companies are not scared about ruffling their competitors’ feathers.
These companies are however still rookies in the field of in-your-face advertising. Placing your billboard on the border of your competitor’s office park or getting a warehouse across the road is just not good enough for Telkom.
They took it to the limit: placing a large billboard right in front of Neotel’s offices, inside their office park. It can’t be pleasant to see your competitor’s advertising on a daily basis, but that begs the question who allows such prime advertising space to be snapped up by a competing firm?
I for one find these advertising scuffles entertaining and even refreshing, and hope that Neotel finds a way to somehow get in the face of their competitor as well.
Here is a look at Telkom’s advertising right outside the Neotel offices: http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showphoto.php?photo=341
A drive around the offices of MTN, Vodacom and Neotel reveals that the larger telecoms players use billboard advertising as far more than brand awareness or informing consumers about their latest offerings.
In-your-face advertising
Vodacom decided a great spot for a billboard advertisement of their new broadband prices is right on the border of the MTN Innovation Centre. Vodacom must have done their homework, because only a few meters from their billboard CellC also invested in outdoor advertising space for their products.
No doubt, Vodacom’s closer proximity to the MTN fence is the top spot, but CellC could clearly not pass the opportunity to also utilize this great location.
It is however not only MTN’s current office park which turned out to be a great location to attract customers to other cellular providers. Right across the Vodacom headquarters MTN invested in a large warehouse, appropriately carrying a massive MTN logo and their colours on the front.
Some people speculate that this warehouse is more valued as a marketing tool than a warehouse. Call it tit-for-tat, smart marketing or even competitive gamesmanship the bottom line is that these companies are not scared about ruffling their competitors’ feathers.
These companies are however still rookies in the field of in-your-face advertising. Placing your billboard on the border of your competitor’s office park or getting a warehouse across the road is just not good enough for Telkom.
They took it to the limit: placing a large billboard right in front of Neotel’s offices, inside their office park. It can’t be pleasant to see your competitor’s advertising on a daily basis, but that begs the question who allows such prime advertising space to be snapped up by a competing firm?
I for one find these advertising scuffles entertaining and even refreshing, and hope that Neotel finds a way to somehow get in the face of their competitor as well.
Here is a look at Telkom’s advertising right outside the Neotel offices: http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showphoto.php?photo=341