S&T Media set to grow with $1m investment
L
a go s - b a s e d d i g i ta l a d ve r t i s i n g
company S&T Media has secured seed
funding to invest in AdPump - the only
digital advertising network in Africa to target
consumers at petrol pumps.
Echovoc partners has committed up to $1
million for AdPump, which will be invested
in expansion, product development,
hardware and staff secure acquisition. The
investment was secured after AdPump’s
successful rapilot to launch and install 160
screens across Lagos in 17 strategically
located filling stations
In March, S&T Media also secured exclusive
retail deals with international outlet Spar
and Spanish-based CityDia, to install their
latest innovation, AdEdge, an in-store digital
advertising screen that installs screens on
the aisle shelves to bring commercials to the
p o i n t
o f
p u r c h a s e .
S&T Media has signed exclusive distribution
deals with a number of Nigeria's filling
station companies, including Oando Plc,
Forte Oil and Total Plc., totalling 1,000
stations across the country. The company
has also signed up key advertising partners
including Etisalat, Jumia, Smile
Communications, House on the Rock, GT
Bank and Mall for Africa.
Tolu Roberts, S&T co-founder says: “Since
inception we wanted to create platforms
that can give brands the location-based
reach they crave in a more efficient and
targeted manner. Securing institutional
funding with the right investor has allowed
us to accelerate that vision, as we rapidly
develop and install platforms that connect
brands with digitally-captivated consumers.
“With EchoVC on board, we have found
more than just an investor but also a partner
who understands effective growth of tech
start-ups. We are confident that we can
penetrate the advertising market with our
innovative platforms whilst leveraging on
E c h o V C ' s s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e r s h i p s ”.
Launched in 2014, AdPump has secured the
sole distribution rights for 22 inch in-pump
digital screens in Africa. The team installs
the digital media screens in filling stations
and programmes them with advertisingsupported content which is viewed at the
p
u
m
p
s
.
With content deals with some of Nigeria's
largest broadcasters, including Channels TV,
HipTV and Pulse.Ng, to show the latest
news, sports and entertainment news,
AdPump screens have already recorded
over eight million audited views, with each
location recording 60,000+ visitors per
month and each visitor spending an average
of four to six minutes at the station, up to
f o u r
t i m e s
a
m o n t h .
Eghosa Omoigui from EchoVC Partners
added: “We were impressed with S&T
Media's ingenuity in developing new routes
to market for advertisers in Africa, namely
via location-based digital. The velocity at
which they've built a for-Africa product,
attracted content suppliers, key advertising
partnerships as well as a distribution
News
network with such notable brands, is a
combination of their excellent product, as
well as the market's willingness to use
targeted marketing methods to reach their
e n d
u s e r.”
Having secured advertising partnerships
with some of Nigeria's biggest brands, S&T
Media are also looking to open the digital
advertising space up to the country's
millions of SMEs and are rolling out an online
media purchasing tool for those with more
conservative ad-spend budgets.
"With this innovative tool, SMEs will be able
to pick and choose which locations they
would like to advertise across our network
of screens, either at the pump and at retail
stores, directly from our website. This
empowers small business owners, who have
limited advertising budgets, to have more
control over their marketing messages. This
is also a first in Africa," Roberts said.
Nigeria's advertising spend currently stands
at about N100b ($500m) a year, and
according to PWC, is the fastest growing
market in the world, boasting 15.1% CAGR.
Capitalising on the continent's fast-growing
consumer class, and working with both
homegrown and global brands to connect
products and services with end users,
AdPump is marrying the latest technology
with hyper-targeted messaging.
Source: brandarena.blogspot.
com.ng
Whilst telco companies and multinationals
are responsible for the majority of
advertising spend on the continent, there is
a growing awareness of the need for a voice
in the market for smaller companies.
Signage vol.1 No2
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