EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINIBUS TAXIS AS AN ADVERTISING MEDIUM IN AN EMERGING MARKET

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1 EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINIBUS TAXIS AS AN ADVERTISING MEDIUM IN AN EMERGING MARKET Thérèse du Plooy, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa Giselle du Plessis, University of Pretoria, South Africa ABSTRACT This study explored the effectiveness of minibus taxi advertising in South Africa by interviewing regular minibus taxi commuters about their attitudes, perceptions and attention of minibus taxi advertising. Data was collected from 360 commuters in Tshwane, one of the largest metropolitan areas in South Africa. A stratified sample was applied by intercepting minibus taxi commuters at the eighteen formal and semi-formal taxi facilities. A structured questionnaire, with 5-point Likert scales, was used in order to measure the different constructs. The results showed that the captive audience had strong positive feelings towards advertising in general and enjoyed looking at advertisements and found it entertaining. A strong positive attitude towards taxi advertising is evident. Perceptions towards taxi advertising are overall positive and taxi advertising attracted attention. An integrated approach should be followed utilising traditional advertising mediums combined with out of home media and specifically taxi advertising to reach the emerging market. INTRODUCTION Until recently OHM (Out-of-home media) has been one of the last options to be considered for advertising campaigns, but it has become more attractive to advertisers lately. The expenditure on traditional media such as television, radio and newspapers has experienced dramatic decline during the recent economic recession. The fragmentation of mass media worldwide resulted in a decrease in the popularity of traditional media such as newspapers and television, with increasingly more being spent on new media such as the internet and mobile phones. Lately there has also been a positive shift toward OHM which is evident from the growth experienced in several international market. Fortenberry and McGoldrick (2010) reported that a total of approximately $6.99 billion was spend on outdoor advertising in the USA in 2007 with billboard advertising accounting for 66% of this expenditure. The growth is significant, with expenditures doubling over the previous decade, yielding an average growth rate of 6.1%. Globally outdoor advertising has also increased significantly, comprising around 14% of the advertising spend in China and Japan and more than 10% in France and Greece. The drastic increase of the popularity of OHM in Russia after their inclusion in the free market system is also remarkable. In particular large billboards, are encouraged because there as it is regarded as an indication of prosperity in Russia. It can be expected that the international growth trend of OHM should also be the case in South Africa, however the contrary seems to be the case. Specifically transit advertising is currently an underutilised OHM, despite that it might the one medium that can offer the solution to the increasingly cluttered outdoor advertising space (Du Preez, 2007). Despite the international growth and increasing attractiveness of OHM it also received relatively little attention in the marketing literature (Wilson & Till, 2008; Veloutsou & O Donnell, 2005). There still seems to be a lack of published research on the South African commuter market and how to use transit advertising effectively. This is clearly an area that needs to be explored more in depth and is therefore the focus of this study. MINIBUS TAXI ADVERTING AS TRANSIT MEDIA Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association 757

2 According to Du Plessis (2010) outdoor advertising falls under support media. Outdoor advertising which includes billboards, posters and in-transit advertising forms part of support media. Transit advertising is aimed at commuters making use of transportation services on a daily basis, including buses, taxis, commuter trains and aeroplanes. Three types of transit advertising can be identified: Posters found inside buses, taxis and trains, outside posters that are placed on the sides, backs and/or roofs of buses, taxis and trains and floor displays, island showcases and electronic signs that can also be found in airports, train stations and taxi ranks. Veloutsou & O Donnell (2005) explains that transit advertising is mostly used as a secondary advertising medium that works best in conjunction with other mediums. It is believed to be very effective in reinforcing existing brand or brand messages and less so to create awareness for new brands. Transit advertising can also be considered one of the most cost effective means of reaching a bigger audience according to Mudeliar (2008). Gray (2008) also suggests that transit advertising allows for extended coverage and detailed, repetitive messaging. Vehicle branding is specifically designed to engage commuters while queuing in large volumes at taxi ranks and bus depots. In addition to reaching thousands commuters every day transit advertising provides detailed information about specific products. Transit media has the potential to bring the advertisers message straight to the consumer in new, creative and attention-grabbing formats that differ tremendously from the tedious, worn-out traditional outdoor mediums. Transit advertisements cannot be ignored as easily as other mediums, because it cannot be switched off as one would with a television or radio, and it grabs attention whether standing still or in motion (Mudeliar, 2008). Advertisers increasingly also integrate OHM types with other media in their advertising campaigns to increases the effectiveness significantly. Transit advertising can be combined with radio advertising (Gray, 2008) or mobile phones can be used to generate feedback that allows advertisers to examine who is viewing and interacting with the messages (Wayne, 2010). It should be noted that public transit and taxis in emerging markets such as South Africa are rather different when compared to developed countries. The emerging market in South Africa makes use of a combination of transport i.e. bus, minibus taxi s, metered taxi s, trains and motor vehicles. More than one mode of transport would often be used to reach work or home on a daily basis. The South African taxi industry has minibus taxi s transporting up to 16 passengers as well as smaller taxi s transporting fewer passengers. The emerging market mostly makes use of the sixteen-seater minibus taxis. The minibus taxi industry is carrying 65% of South Africa s public transport passengers which consist mainly of the emerging market. The role of taxis will be mainly to provide feeder services to larger carriers of people such as the Bus Rapid Transit and Gautrain (Van Zyl, 2009). Commuters are seen as a captive audience in a controlled environment, considering that minibus taxi commuters in South Africa spend on average about 29 minutes on a taxi trip being exposed to media (OHMSA 2, 2010). Two recent studies on transit media include taxi advertising (Veloutsou & O Donnell, 2005) and airport advertising (Till, 2008). Veloutsou and O Donnell (2005) conducted exploratory research in three areas in Scotland, on the overall attitudes and feelings towards advertising, outdoor advertising and taxi advertising from the perspective of the targeted audience. This study confirmed the high reach of outdoor advertising and found that effectiveness of taxi advertising was dependant on the level of exposure, area of habit (work, live and travel) and the amount of information that outdoor advertising conveyed. It was suggested that taxi advertising should be used as a secondary medium in an IMC campaign to reinforce a message, to support an already established brand or to inform on developments related to the advertised brand. Wilson and Till (2008) look at the effectiveness of airport advertising by observing how air travelers interact with this type of transit media and surveys to measure the recall and recognition. The location, format and size of the advertisements in the airport terminals were assessed based on their level of exposure to passersby. This findings revealed how the size and shapes of the advertising format, as well the number of words in the copy influence recall and recognition. The major findings confirmed the importance of influences such as location or placement of the advertisements as well repetition on brand recognition. These findings of this study are evidently also applicable to other transit media such as taxi, bus and train advertising. However, very little has been published on transit media, more specifically mini-taxi bus advertising in South Africa. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 758 Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association

3 The following objectives guided the study: To explore the general view of regular minibus taxi commuters towards advertising in general. To explore the view of regular minibus taxi commuters towards taxi advertising. To investigate the perception towards taxi advertising by regular minibus taxi commuters. To investigate the attention paid towards taxi advertising by regular minibus taxi commuters. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Data collection and sampling Data for this study was collected by 360 personal interviews with regular minibus taxi commuters in Tshwane, one of the largest metropolitan areas in South Africa. These commuters form part of the large emerging market in South Africa. Trained interviewers under close supervision conducted the fieldwork. A stratified sample was applied by intercepting minibus taxi commuters at eighteen formal and semi-formal minibus taxi facilities in the selected area. Respondents who passed the data collection point at or close to the selected taxi ranks were screened to ensure they were regular minibus taxi commuters and invited to participate in the study. Measuring instrument Veloutsou and O Donnell s (2005) structured questionnaire was used as basis for this study, but had to be adapted for the South African market. The adaptation was done based on the input of media experts at one of the largest Transit media companies in South Africa. The questionnaire was then pre-tested with a convenience sample of 30 students who make use of minibus taxis as their major form as transport. The students demographic profile matched the target profile and could therefore be used to pre-test the questionnaire. A 5- point Likert scale was used to measure respondent s attitudes, perceptions and attention towards minibus taxi advertising. The following major aspects were included in the questionnaire: Commuting profile, general attitudes towards advertising and taxi advertising, perceptions of taxi advertising, attention towards taxi advertising as well as preferred advertising media. The main findings of the study will now be described. Profile of the Sample DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS The profile of the sample is shown in table 1. The demographic profile of the sample is as follows: 46.7% males and 53.3% females made use of minibus taxi transportation. The majority (71%) of respondents were between 19 and 40 years old. It is also clear that majority of the minibus taxi commuters are employed, earning a disposable income or were students The household income of the majority of respondents (54%) are below R7 999 per month, while almost 20% has an household income between of R9000 and R per month. Ninety-three per cent (93%) of commuters interviewed were black Africans. It can be seen that the type of transport usually used by a large majority of the respondents was minibus taxi s (90%), followed by bus transport (28%) and trains (16%). Many commuters make use of a combination of modes of transport. The results reflect the considerable amount of time commuters spend on public transportation either waiting for minibus taxis or commuting. The most common aspects commuters thought about in the taxi were their money, their budget, getting a job. After that they thought about family/children/friends. Their work/task for the day was also on their mind. The activities commuters kept themselves busy with most while in the taxi mostly were looking out of the window followed by listening to the radio, talking to other passengers and chatting on their cell phone. This was followed by reading a magazine and the newspaper. This indicates the important role the integrated marketing communication mix plays in reaching commuters in different ways. Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association 759

4 Table 1 Profile of the regular commuters Gender Male % Female % Age group % % % % Working status Work full-time % Work part-time % Housewife % Student % Retired % Self-employed % Unemployed % Monthly household income R0-R % R8 000-R % R R % R % Race group African White 8 2 Coloured 16 4 Asian 0 0 Type of public transport usually used Taxi % Bus % Train % Time spent commuting per day 0-30 minutes % minutes % minutes % More than 1 hour % Thinking about when in the taxi My money, my budget, getting a job % My family /children/friends % My work/task for the day % My ambitions, my dreams, my holiday % What I am having for my next meal % What I am doing after work % What I need to make for dinner % What shopping I need to do in the week % My safety % My destination % Activity while in the taxi Looking out the window % Listening to the radio % Talking to the other passengers % Chatting on my cell phone % Reading a magazine % Reading the newspaper % Watching TV in the taxi % Regular minibus taxi commuters view on advertising and taxi advertising The view of the respondents on advertising and taxi advertising will be describe in the following section. When considering their general feeling towards advertising, it is interesting to note that the commuters felt strongly about advertising being a valuable source of information and that advertising keeps them up to date with new product feature developments. The commuters had a strong positive feeling towards advertising and enjoyed looking at advertisements. Only a small percentage (16%) of commuters felt advertisements were 760 Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association

5 irritating but nearly a third of the commuters felt that advertising is misleading. Just more than half felt that advertisements were entertaining. Table 2: General feeling of regular commuters towards advertising Frequencies % Mean SD Disagree/ Disagree Neutral agree/ Agree Overall I feel positive towards advertising % 18% 75% Advertising is a valuable source of information % 5% 92% Advertisements are irritating % 33% 16% I like to look at advertisements % 20% 70% Advertisements are entertaining % 32% 57% Advertising keeps me up to date with new product feature developments % 11% 83% To me advertising is often misleading % 37% 27% To me there are too many advertising % 20% 59% The strong positive attitude towards taxi advertising is evident when looking at commuters attitudes specially towards taxi advertising (table 3). Two thirds of commuters perceptions towards taxi advertising were very positive. The findings of the study are far more positive than one would anticipate. It is unexpected to find contemporary consumers expressing positive views towards the use of any advertising medium, as it is well established that the people often makes every effort to avoid the increasing number of advertising messages attempting to catch their attention. More than two thirds of the respondents indicated that they are familiar with the brand names advertised on taxis, supporting the view that taxi advertising is very effective to reinforce an existing message or to maintain high levels of awareness for leading brands. Table 3: General attitudes of regular commuters towards taxi advertising Frequencies % Mean SD Disagree/ Disagree Neutral agree/ Agree Overall I feel positive towards taxi advertising % 28% 60% I like to look at taxis covered in advertisements % 28% 55% I like to look at advertisements inside the taxi % 26% 54% I like to listen to radio advertisements inside the taxi % 21% 66% The concept of taxi advertising is a creative one % 26% 63% I have spoken to other people about the branded taxis/taxi advertisements I have seen % 17% 32% I am familiar with the brand names advertised on taxis % 14% 67% Taxis with advertisement are usually cleaner % 35% 30% Taxis with advertisement are usually safer % 34% 19% Taxis with advertisement are usually more comfortable % 35% 23% Two thirds of the commuters perceive taxi advertising to be creative and novel, implying that it can also be used to attract the attention of this target market to launch new brands. Listening to radio advertisements is highly associated with commuting in a taxi, clearly supporting the integration of radio advertising with transit media to increase the effectiveness of a campaign aimed at this market. Only one third of commuters discuss advertisements on taxis with other consumers. There was not a strong positive feeling that taxis with advertisement are usually cleaner, safer or more comfortable. Perceptions towards taxi advertising are overall positive (table 4). Most of the respondents interviewed enjoyed taxi advertising and almost 60% perceive it as an important source of information when making purchase decisions. Interesting to note is that the majority of commuters do not perceive taxi advertising to be Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association 761

6 clutter (52%) or as visual pollution (58%). Thirty two percent of respondents agreed that reckless driving might influence their attitudes towards the advertised brand. Table 4: Perception towards taxi advertising by regular commuters Frequencies % Mean SD Disagree/ Disagree Neutral agree/ Agree I like advertisements on taxis % 28% 53% Taxi advertising is a valuable source of information to me % 26% 58% Taxi advertising makes the environment look unattractive % 27% 15% There are too many taxi advertising % 29% 19% Reckless driving by taxis drivers influence my perception towards the advertised brand negatively % 24% 32% When considering commuters attention paid towards taxi advertising (table 5) it can be seen that 71% of the commuters reported that they have noticed advertisements on passing taxis. Advertisers should therefore capitalise on the fact that taxi advertising has the ability to attract attention,. A total of 69% of respondents indicated that they read advertisements on passing taxis, and 64% inside taxis. Table 5: Attention paid towards taxi advertising by regular commuters Frequencies % Mean SD Disagree/ Disagree Neutral agree/ Agree I often notice brands/advertisements on passing taxis % 14% 71% I often read brands/advertisements on taxis % 12% 69% I often read brands/advertisements inside taxis % 19% 64% I pay attention to the new branded taxis/taxi % 29% 48% advertisements. I remember branded taxis/taxi advertisements more than advertisements in other media % 25% 23% Table 6 reflects the reliability of the data in the different dimensions of the research instrument. Dimensions 1, 2, and 4 of the research instrument tested reliable. Dimension 3 did not test reliable with a score of Reliability scores should be 0.70 to show that the items are a good measure of the construct. Table 6: Reliability Cronbach s Alpha Dimension 1: General feeling of regular commuters towards advertising 0.75 Dimension 2: General attitudes of regular commuters towards taxi advertising 0.78 Dimension 3: Perception towards taxi advertising by regular commuters 0.49 Dimension 4: Attention paid towards taxi advertising by regular commuters 0.75 RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The following conclusions and recommendations can be drawn from the main findings. Taxi advertising has a lot of potential and is still seen as novel and it has not yet been overused Products and services targeting the emerging markets can successfully reach them through taxi advertising. This captive audience can be reached through extensive exposure and increased frequency to transit media due to commuter s daily routines. As finance is important to this group it is an ideal opportunity for banking services advertisements and job opportunities to be advertised in the taxi. 762 Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association

7 Advertisers who target this market should capitalise on the positive feelings towards advertising and supply the target market with the information they enjoy about new products and new product development. Product applications and usage will also attract this market s attention. Transit media has the potential to bring the advertisers message straight to the consumer in new, creative and attention-seeking formats that differ tremendously from the tedious, worn-out traditional outdoor mediums. Transit advertisements cannot be ignored as easily as other mediums, because it cannot be switched off as one would with a television or radio, and it grabs attention. A concern for advertisers might be the potential negative effect of dangerous driving by taxi drivers on perceptions towards the advertise brand. This needs to be kept in mind by advertisers and it is advisable to only use reputable suppliers of transit media. The items in the dimensions of perceptions of taxi advertising of the research instrument should be reviewed to ensure future reliability of this dimension. Each variable in the dimension can be considered individually or exploratory factor analysis can be applied to all variables to discover the dimensionality. The challenge is to increase recall of advertisements placed in and on taxis. The fact that traditional media still is the most successful in communicating advertising messages in the emerging market, transit advertising and promotions/samples/demonstrations should be integrated with the traditional television advertising, radio advertising, billboard advertisements and print advertising in newspapers or magazines. There is a big opportunity for advertisers to grow the importance of digital and social media through integration with the traditional media as well as with transit media and especially promotions, samples and demonstrations. An integrated approach should be followed to use traditional advertising mediums and combine it with OHM and specifically taxi advertising. The taxi advertising should be used to remind commuters of products advertised in other media and to reinforce those messages. Radio advertisements can be supported by outdoor advertising, transit advertising and advertising in magazines and newspapers. Taxi advertising will not be as effective if used on its own. Advantages for advertisers using taxi media include flexibility and mobility by accessing areas where other types advertising is not possible, restricted or just too expensive. This media can target minibus taxi commuters by placing a message inside taxis or at the taxi ranks. Driver in cars can also be targeted by branding the outside of taxis. International and national companies who aim to target the emerging market should use an integrated communication approach by using traditional mediums and combining it with taxi advertising. Limitations of the study are that although the attitudes, perceptions and attention of taxi commuters were measured it is not clear how the advertising affects buying behaviour. The respondents may have positive attitudes, perceptions and attention about the advertisements, but do they actually buy the products? Future research is necessary to examine this. The fact that the research was undertaken only in Tshwane, Gauteng could be a limiting factor. Future research should be extended to other areas in South Africa. The high incidence of respondents using minibus taxis as transport medium is due to the fact that the respondents were intercepted for questioning at taxi ranks. It would be interesting to test commuters at bus and train stations and compare the results with this study. REFERENCES Altstiel, T. & Grow, J Advertising Strategy. California: Sage Publications. Bernstein, D Advertising outdoors: watch this space. Phaidon Press. Du Plessis, L Media management. In Du Plessis, F., Van Heerden, N. & Cook, G. (eds.) Integrated marketing communication. 3 rd ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association 763

8 Du Preez, J Tapping into Transit Media Market. Marketingweb. [Online]: b+detail [Accessed ]. Fortenberry, J.L. Jr & McGoldrick, P.J Receptiveness of Black Americans to outdoor advertising. Journal of Business Research, Doi: /j.jbusres [Accessed: ]. Gray, J How to move into moving media. Journal of Marketing, 11(5): OHMSA Digital Platforms in South Africa. 05 Aug 2010 [Online]: [Accessed ]. Pauwels, L Posters, billboards and grassroots media relating to TB and AIDS in the Free State and Lesotho Acta Academica, 1: OHMSA 2, Barbara Cooke to drive Out Of Home media (OOH) research. 31Aug [Online]: [Accessed ]. Mudeliar, T Pollutant or purposeful? Mobile outdoor media investigated. Journal of Marketing. December / January, 2008: Van Zyl, J.E Minibus Taxis as part of a sustainable public transport system in South Africa. Proceedings of the 28th Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2009). Veloutsou, C. & O Donnell, C Exploring the effectiveness of taxis as an advertising medium. International Journal of Advertising, 24(2): Wayne A Text Message Marketing on Outdoor Advertising. [Online]: [Accessed ]. Wells, W., Moriarty, S. & Burnett, J Advertising Principles and Practice. Edinburgh Gate, England: Pearsons. Wilson, R.T. & Till, B.D Airport advertising effectiveness an exploratory field study. Journal of Advertising, 37(1) Spring: Copyright 2011 by the Global Business and Technology Association