In a turbulent macro-environment, shifts in consumer behaviour become especially difficult to predict. The past few years have been extremely tough on South Africans from a financial standpoint, thanks to the pandemic, loadshedding, skyrocketing interest rates – hell, even the shortage of eggs. But South Africans keep it moving. We take a pressurised environment in our stride  –  because we’ve always had to. We’ve built extreme resilience, becoming ultra-inventive in how we survive. This agility, however, means that consumer behaviour becomes more difficult to precisely predict. So while we admit to having no crystal ball, here are three major events that we believe will shape SA’s advertising landscape in 2024 – and how marketers will respond. The third-party cookie goes – the rise of the contextually relevant ad With data privacy concerns on the rise, Google has announced its plans to decommission third-party cookies, in line with a more privacy-conscious approach. This is a big one for advertisers, with 41% of marketers anticipating that the loss of the cookie will be their biggest hurdle in coming years, as they lose access to their consumers’ browsing habits and demographical data. Marketers will need to work even harder, and the contextually relevant ad – created in accordance with users’ preferences – is expected to come into its own, as advertisers focus heavily on clever ways of tapping into their audiences’ interests. The Attention Economy remains a battleground – in-game advertising to boom The Attention Economy – a battle for consumer attention as the ad landscape becomes increasingly noisy and human attention spans, in turn, wane – remains a huge focus for marketers in 2024. In parallel, the in-game advertising sector is expected to ignite interest, as marketers realise that gaming offers a highly captive, rapidly expanding audience. A Carry1st study has indicated that over a six-year period, the number of gamers in sub-Saharan Africa rose to 186 million people, more than doubling. Of this number, the vast majority (95%) are reported as playing on mobile, proving the Sub-Saharan Africa mobile gaming market to be the fastest-growing in the world. While gaming offers a completely captive audience, the key is for advertising to become part of the gaming experience – gamers do not want their playing interrupted with videos. Advertisers must discover unobtrusive, impactful ways to seamlessly insert their brands into the gaming environment while penetrating the gamer’s subconscious. Traditional media dominated by the elections – more eyeballs on digital This year is election year and you can expect the ANC, DA, EFF and all the smaller parties to be vying for our votes across every traditional media channel they can access. For consumers, this barrage of election news means that the current length of our goldfish-like attention spans shortens even further. For marketers, this also means that the cost of traditional media advertising will skyrocket, as parties pump huge money into advertising. For this reason, brands typically pull back spending in an election year, as it becomes too pricey. However, this provides more legroom for digital, which is more agile, has a lower cost barrier and a shorter turn-around time. Despite the political noise and loadshedding, TV remains a powerful medium but brands need to be far more strategic in how they insert their messages into the content. No one is interested in ads, they tune in for the content. Now, if you can work your brand into the script of a popular TV show that you know is watched by your consumer, for example, you will have far more brand resonance.

The success of MultiChoice’s Shaka iLembe – its best-performing drama series to date, once again demonstrates South Africa’s appetite for local content. The debut episode was seen by 4.3 million viewers – the highest viewership MultiChoice has recorded for a single episode of scripted content. The show, which tells the tale of the Zulu king, is not only a locally-resonant story, but it also features a local cast and is produced by local production company, Bomb Productions. Then there’s SABC’s Uzalo, available on Viu. Uzalo remained the number one most-watched show in South Africa in December 2023, racking up over 5.8 million views, while Skeem Saam, also available on SABC and Viu, remains hot on its heels. Look to linear TV. The top ten shows currently are all local. Now look to subscription TV; again, all local. What is this telling advertisers? Local content just makes business sense. Urban Brew Studios Keletso Rakuemakoe summed up the ‘why’ well: ”This trend is driven by…a desire for content that reflects the diverse experiences and identities of South Africans, a growing sense of national pride, and an increased investment in the local entertainment industry by broadcasters and production companies.” And what’s even more interesting to note is how great local content is growing South African streaming audiences. Viu, recently hit 4,6 million monthly active users. eVOD, eMedia’s streaming service which also boasts a strong local content focus, announced in June that it had reached a milestone, acquiring 800,000 registrations within two short years following its launch. South Africa has a youthful population with a median age of 27 years, and younger people are generally very comfortable with streaming services and accessing content via multiple devices. This, combined with the fact that the public and private sectors are on an aggressive drive to bring low-cost internet to more people, means rapid growth and new opportunities – even in a market with historically patchy internet penetration. Says the Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts 2023 report, “Africa will have 15.57 million paying subscription video on demand (SVOD) subscriptions by 2028, up from 6.15 million at end-2022,” while PwC’s industry insights report, Africa Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-2026, has stated that VOD’s revenue growth outlook is expected to outpace TV subscription revenue by 2026. This demand for local content will only grow as heavy hitters such as Viu and Netflix – encouraged by viewer eyeballs – invest more into African content production. And so, for advertisers, exploring local content opportunities and including streaming in your platform stack just makes good business sense.

Who is Adiela Dramat? And go! Drop the T, because I prefer coffee! (Good) Drama Queen of the boardroom! Millennial mom to two boys, who is based in Cape Town. Twenty years of media and marketing experience across various disciplines. What series are you currently bingeing? I'm more into movies; I love musicals and movies that are based on real events. The last movie I enjoyed with my boys was Grand Turismo and the next one we’re looking forward to is Dune: Part Two. What is the single biggest thing that will influence how South Africans consume content this year? The SA consumer is a global consumer – in everything, but especially entertainment. What affects how we consume content? Loadshedding, accessible fibre and affordable data. Where do you see content monetisation heading? Across any and all devices. If I need to pick one, it will be the Smart(er) TV. Being audio and sound-enabled via an app and with camera features for social interactions in real-time will lend itself to an enhanced VR experience. Best part of your job? Being at the forefront of digital solutions for ad agencies and brands. Being able to offer the industry something across more than one vertical and maintaining a relevant space at the table.