Alternative Media Usage in Uganda
A paper presented by Bryan Ngonzi of The Solution Company
1.0 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT MEDIA IN UGANDA
1. 10% of Ugandans are actively using the internet.
2. 83% of persons aged 37-65 yrs., use news papers, Television and radio as their source of news and information.
3. youth aged 14- 28, use the mobile phone as the primary source of information.
4. For the urban youth TV has been replaced with Movies and series, the radio with mp3 players and IPhones, among these people internet is the source of news, especially using social networking sites.
5. with the advent of mobile phones, SMS has increasingly become a means of communication.
6. Mobile telephony in Uganda stands at about 12 million subscribers shared among the 5 major service providers.
7. Outdoor media generally follows the busiest road networks; its effectiveness is based on traffic flow on a particular road.
2.0 What is communication Media?
Communication Media is any channel or route one takes to get a message to the intended target audience.
What makes communication effective is getting 3 things right:
Knowing your audience
Crafting a message that communicates; i.e, is easily understood
Using the right channel or media choice.
Any wrong combination of these 3, and you have an ineffective communication campaign and useless strategy
3.0 What then is alternative media?
For there to be Alternative media there has to be conventional media. By better understanding conventional media we can then demystify Alternative media.
Therefore conventional media are those media channels or modes of communication that have been around and generally accepted as the primary forms of mass communication.
Examples include:
- TV
- Radio
- News Papers
- Outdoor i.e Billboards, Suburban signs
- Magazines and other forms of print
- postering
Basically, nothing new both for the communicator and the audience. Alternative Media on the other hand, brings in the kick to communication because it is new and unconventional, the delivery of the message is the first captivator, and then the message follows.
Alternative media derives its success from the captivation of attention in a short period of time and creating immediatd Top of Mind Awareness.[ explain Top of Mind Awareness)
Alternative Media simply put is an innovative, highly engaging way of reaching the audience with a message that will create mass awareness with high message retention levels that result in desired action.
Alternative Media has also been called Through The Line Media, because it oscilates between ATL and BTL, utilizing and merging both forms of communication tactics.
Alternative Media has been around with us for quite a while because it thrives on the limitations of Conventional Media.
4.0 Limitations of Conventional Media
Literacy levels are low, making it difficult to translate the message into as many languages as the audience allows
limited reach, based on accessibility of road and communication networks, there is a direct relationship between, road access and information dissemination, if a news paper van can't access a village because of poor roads, chances are high people in that place dont have electricity, if no electricity, no TVs or mobile phones.
it is expensive
it is very generic and thus neglegible.
5.0 What forms of Alternative Media exist in Uganda
Alternative Media is perpatuated in Uganda by 3 main forces,
1. Telecommunication services of the mobile phone
2. Extention of internet access in urban and peri urban locations
3. Rural electrification.
The common forms of alternative media are divided based on the demographics of target audience. The demographics are divided into classes from A-D catering from high end, first class consumers or individuals to low end poor persons or communities. The forms of Alternative Media commonly used in Uganda include:
1. Road shows
2. Mobile Audio-Visual Units
3. Mass SMS blasts
4. Social Network sites like, facebook, twitter, youtube,
5. Local video hall
6. Point of Decision
7. Mobile Automated Phone calls.
8. Viral campaigns, both electronic and verbal
9. Guerrilla Marketing
6.0 A case study of Alternative Media Use in Uganda
1. Presidential campaign 2011- the use of Viral campaign and Automated Phone Calls
2. UHMG: Viral campaign, Point of Purchase for Protector Condoms and GENEXT Campaign for smaller families.
3. Coca Cola: video hall activation for EURO CUP
4. Electoral Commision: viral campaigns, road shows, for 2011 Election.
7.0 Advantages of Alternative Media
1. Innovative. Based on the innovation involved, the audience engagement and message retention is higher.
2. Far reaching: A/M is able to reach fringe communities not easily reached by conventional media such as, the illiterate, places with limited electrification access.
3. It is relatively cheaper in terms of cost per view or Share of Ear.
4. It is effective based on the engagement of the audience, majority of the A/M channels allow for audience engagement and participation.
5. It is more exciting and not easily turned off
6. Messages tend to be more refined and straight to the point
7. Higher retention levels of messages because of the uniqueness and multi-sensory delivery involved.
8.0 Limitations of Alternative Media usage in Uganda
1. Aversion to change
2. Low levels of professionalism
3. Measurables for monitoring can be difficult to determine
4. Limited accessibility because of electricity, and internet penetrations
5. Based on conventional media budgets, extra costs are hard to justify.
9.0 What to keep in mind while considering Alternative Media as part of a communication strategy.
1. It is complementary: innovative and exciting as alternative media may be, it is more effective working in combination with conventional media.
2. Professionalism: The precision required to pull off an alternative media strategy is immense and hardly found at the corporate office, find a professional to design, execute and monitor that campaing
3. KISS: the fundamental communiction rule applies, keep it simple stupid.
4. Matching: through research find out who the real audience is, to the last detail of what they have for supper and what time they sleep, who do they believe, detail like that will create a fool-proof message which is the goal of communication.
Conclusion
Alternative media is effective on results per dollar because it is founded of innovative ways of communicating radical and simple ideas.
Firms, organizations and Brands that will not shy away from investing in doing the unusual will not be disappointed when they achieve equally unusual results..
The consumer has become a connoisseur for advertising, and communication, alternative media will definitely tingle his pallet, and move his wallet.
A paper presented by Bryan Ngonzi of The Solution Company
1.0 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT MEDIA IN UGANDA
1. 10% of Ugandans are actively using the internet.
2. 83% of persons aged 37-65 yrs., use news papers, Television and radio as their source of news and information.
3. youth aged 14- 28, use the mobile phone as the primary source of information.
4. For the urban youth TV has been replaced with Movies and series, the radio with mp3 players and IPhones, among these people internet is the source of news, especially using social networking sites.
5. with the advent of mobile phones, SMS has increasingly become a means of communication.
6. Mobile telephony in Uganda stands at about 12 million subscribers shared among the 5 major service providers.
7. Outdoor media generally follows the busiest road networks; its effectiveness is based on traffic flow on a particular road.
2.0 What is communication Media?
Communication Media is any channel or route one takes to get a message to the intended target audience.
What makes communication effective is getting 3 things right:
Knowing your audience
Crafting a message that communicates; i.e, is easily understood
Using the right channel or media choice.
Any wrong combination of these 3, and you have an ineffective communication campaign and useless strategy
3.0 What then is alternative media?
For there to be Alternative media there has to be conventional media. By better understanding conventional media we can then demystify Alternative media.
Therefore conventional media are those media channels or modes of communication that have been around and generally accepted as the primary forms of mass communication.
Examples include:
- TV
- Radio
- News Papers
- Outdoor i.e Billboards, Suburban signs
- Magazines and other forms of print
- postering
Basically, nothing new both for the communicator and the audience. Alternative Media on the other hand, brings in the kick to communication because it is new and unconventional, the delivery of the message is the first captivator, and then the message follows.
Alternative media derives its success from the captivation of attention in a short period of time and creating immediatd Top of Mind Awareness.[ explain Top of Mind Awareness)
Alternative Media simply put is an innovative, highly engaging way of reaching the audience with a message that will create mass awareness with high message retention levels that result in desired action.
Alternative Media has also been called Through The Line Media, because it oscilates between ATL and BTL, utilizing and merging both forms of communication tactics.
Alternative Media has been around with us for quite a while because it thrives on the limitations of Conventional Media.
4.0 Limitations of Conventional Media
Literacy levels are low, making it difficult to translate the message into as many languages as the audience allows
limited reach, based on accessibility of road and communication networks, there is a direct relationship between, road access and information dissemination, if a news paper van can't access a village because of poor roads, chances are high people in that place dont have electricity, if no electricity, no TVs or mobile phones.
it is expensive
it is very generic and thus neglegible.
5.0 What forms of Alternative Media exist in Uganda
Alternative Media is perpatuated in Uganda by 3 main forces,
1. Telecommunication services of the mobile phone
2. Extention of internet access in urban and peri urban locations
3. Rural electrification.
The common forms of alternative media are divided based on the demographics of target audience. The demographics are divided into classes from A-D catering from high end, first class consumers or individuals to low end poor persons or communities. The forms of Alternative Media commonly used in Uganda include:
1. Road shows
2. Mobile Audio-Visual Units
3. Mass SMS blasts
4. Social Network sites like, facebook, twitter, youtube,
5. Local video hall
6. Point of Decision
7. Mobile Automated Phone calls.
8. Viral campaigns, both electronic and verbal
9. Guerrilla Marketing
6.0 A case study of Alternative Media Use in Uganda
1. Presidential campaign 2011- the use of Viral campaign and Automated Phone Calls
2. UHMG: Viral campaign, Point of Purchase for Protector Condoms and GENEXT Campaign for smaller families.
3. Coca Cola: video hall activation for EURO CUP
4. Electoral Commision: viral campaigns, road shows, for 2011 Election.
7.0 Advantages of Alternative Media
1. Innovative. Based on the innovation involved, the audience engagement and message retention is higher.
2. Far reaching: A/M is able to reach fringe communities not easily reached by conventional media such as, the illiterate, places with limited electrification access.
3. It is relatively cheaper in terms of cost per view or Share of Ear.
4. It is effective based on the engagement of the audience, majority of the A/M channels allow for audience engagement and participation.
5. It is more exciting and not easily turned off
6. Messages tend to be more refined and straight to the point
7. Higher retention levels of messages because of the uniqueness and multi-sensory delivery involved.
8.0 Limitations of Alternative Media usage in Uganda
1. Aversion to change
2. Low levels of professionalism
3. Measurables for monitoring can be difficult to determine
4. Limited accessibility because of electricity, and internet penetrations
5. Based on conventional media budgets, extra costs are hard to justify.
9.0 What to keep in mind while considering Alternative Media as part of a communication strategy.
1. It is complementary: innovative and exciting as alternative media may be, it is more effective working in combination with conventional media.
2. Professionalism: The precision required to pull off an alternative media strategy is immense and hardly found at the corporate office, find a professional to design, execute and monitor that campaing
3. KISS: the fundamental communiction rule applies, keep it simple stupid.
4. Matching: through research find out who the real audience is, to the last detail of what they have for supper and what time they sleep, who do they believe, detail like that will create a fool-proof message which is the goal of communication.
Conclusion
Alternative media is effective on results per dollar because it is founded of innovative ways of communicating radical and simple ideas.
Firms, organizations and Brands that will not shy away from investing in doing the unusual will not be disappointed when they achieve equally unusual results..
The consumer has become a connoisseur for advertising, and communication, alternative media will definitely tingle his pallet, and move his wallet.
