Why major advertisers are turning to spaza shops to promote their brands

We have leveraged our network to establish agreements with spaza owners across the country

To reach the economic heart of townships, major advertisers have turned to Proactive’s Spaza Media, branding multiple spaza shops that reach middle market segments of South Africa.

However, the decision to use Spaza Media is about more than just reaching the right audience: it’s a way for socially conscious brands to invest in economic transformation. This is a media solution that create shared value, benefitting brands and spaza owners, and supporting enterprise development within townships.

Building brands through shared value

Spaza Media is an innovative offering from Proactive in response to a perceived gap in the market. Since launch it has attracted attention from a number of South Africa’s most iconic brands in the business and financial sectors.

Informal spaza shops form an integral part of township economies, contributing to local food security, self-employment and community cohesion. Yet due to a lack of business skills, access to funding, and limited regulatory support, spaza shops often fail to reach their full potential. 

One aspect of this is the spaza media industry. Up till now, this has typically been governed by loose arrangements that see spaza owners receive little or no remuneration, with branding frequently cluttered, poorly maintained, and offering little opportunity for brand dominance.

Spazas are often at the heart of township communities, home to many South Africans, and we believe this is a missed opportunity. To address this, we have leveraged our network to establish agreements with spaza owners across the country. Spaza Media uses the storefront to display a single brand, enabling an impactful, clutter-free media opportunity, and placing the brand top of mind at the point of purchase.

What excites me most about this new product is being able to offer a media solution that allows brands to support sustainable businesses and uplift communities, while getting an impactful message across.

It is not only of benefit to the brand, it also serves spaza owners, who receive consistent media rentals and a revamped storefront, while developing and sustaining black-owned township SMEs who are responsible for managing rentals, store branding and maintenance – ensuring that branded storefronts look good throughout campaigns.

In figures: Why brands are opting for Spaza Media

Spaza Media is a powerful medium – spaza shops are central to their communities and are usually situated in high traffic areas. As such, people see this advertising almost every day – either when they go to shop, or while passing by. So, it’s not surprising that, according to TGISA 2021A[1]:

• 53.2% have seen spaza branding 
• 44.7% use township spaza shop branding for important news or information

And, after seeing spaza branding, people act:

• 15.2% redeemed a voucher with a mobile phone
• 13% researched a product or service online
• 21% went to a store to buy a product after seeing spaza branding
• 16% talked with friends about a product, service, or brand

Moreover, spaza branding is generally liked:

• 27.1% think that spaza branding helps them in their purchasing decisions
• 17.4% says spaza media helps promote the Kasi culture
• 22% says it uplifts the community
• 19% say spaza branding helps unite South Africans in using the same brands

Building brands, building communities

By drawing on our media expertise and capabilities, Proactive has created a media solution that provides an opportunity for major blue-chip brands to build their presence and brand affinity at a grassroots level, while also fuelling economic transformation. Ultimately, we want to disrupt and transform media opportunities within communities in a way that benefits all stakeholders – and at Spaza Media we do just that.