Media release article

Prepaid vouchers: the perfect way to reach a mass market in SA

Blue Label Media, a subsidiary of Blue Label Telecoms Limited, has introduced a powerful form of advertising that enables marketers to easily reach the millions of South Africans who rely on prepaid vouchers to recharge their cellular airtime. The new advertising recharge voucher makes it cost-effective for brands to reach consumers wherever they are, including those that don't have easy access to TV, newspapers or the Internet.

This advertising platform allows marketers to print a message or call to action on prepaid airtime and electricity vouchers distributed through Blue Label Telecoms, one of the largest producers of recharge vouchers in South Africa. Blue Label distributes some 100 million prepaid vouchers every month, reaching an LSM 1-8 audience with its products.

Says Wayne Miller, head of Blue Label Media: "Our media platform offers South African brands a cost-effective and measurable way to communicate with its target market countrywide. We provide a medium that offers more immediacy and a higher level of engagement than traditional advertising, in a format that delivers a response from consumers. This is a medium that guarantees eyeball penetration as users see the advertising message when they look at the recharge pin."

This form of advertising is perfect for a range of advertising needs, says Miller. It can be an important way of positioning a brand at the forefront of a customer's mind, introducing and promoting a product or service, or transmitting an educational message.

Prepaid voucher advertising communicates a message to the customer as he or she recharges airtime or electricity, driving an immediate response. Blue Label Media can offer national, provincial or regional campaigns, so that brands can reach one of the biggest mass market audiences in the country, or to a specific geographic market.

Blue Label's vouchers are sold through cash and carry outlets, wholesalers, retail outlets, hair salons, train stations, spaza shops, shebeens, and filling stations. The vouchers even reach markets that are difficult to reach with other advertising messages, such as rural areas and informal settlements.