In June 2017, GeoPoll engaged 3,710 youth respondents aged between 15-35 years old in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa with the aim of understanding how the shift towards mobile usage due to increasing mobile and internet penetration is affecting the reach and consumption of advertising in those countries.

In the first part of this series on advertising to youth in Africa, we focused on the rise in consumption of digital advertising among this demographic. We explored on the advertising call to action, as well as the role that online channels are playing in being a source of information for consumers in their buying process.

In this second and final part of the series, we focus on advertisement recall as well as the most creative advertisements as voted by our panel of respondents of this straw poll. The aim was to determine how easily consumers recall advertisements they encounter on different media daily, which media channels they consume these ads from, and which advertisements they felt were very creatively done hence the recall factor.

The insights from this survey are not representative of the total population in these countries, however, they do give us some valuable pointers on the consumption of advertising by the youth demographic. It also provides insights for marketers, media buying and creative agencies on how their target market is responding to their messaging.

Advertisement Recall
Advertisement recall measures a respondent’s recollection or recall of an advertisement.  The respondent’s answers provide insight to the most memorable attribute of the advertisement. Generally, ad recall is requested immediately after the respondent views the advertisement. Recall is lessened over time. The GeoPoll audit retail service is one of the most effective ways of measuring ad recall. It is done using the mobile phone via sms as the respondent consumes the advert from whichever media.

The advertisements with the highest ad recall among youth consumers across the multiple platforms included in the survey are by the Coca-Cola Company. Their TV advertisements enjoying the highest recall at 13%.

As we breakdown the advertisement recall by channel, the top 3 most recalled brands by youth consumers from TV advertisements were: Coca-Cola, Omo and Ariel. From the print adverts: Omo, Airtel data packages and Coca-Cola had the highest recall. From radio: Coca-Cola, Omo and Ariel reigned high. Finally; Omo, Coca-Cola and Ariel had the highest ad recall from their out of home advertising.

Most Creative Advertisements
Coca-Cola advertisements were picked as the most favorite among respondents across all media due to their creativity and ad-recall factor. Looking at advertisements in the respective media channels, the 3 most listed favorite TV adverts across respondents who consume TV are: 1) Coca-Cola at 11% 2)Nivea Personal Care (6%) and 3)Indomie Noodles and Omo at 2% each.

From those who consumed print, most voted Nivea advertisements as leading in creativity, followed by Omo and Always. From radio,  Coca-Cola advertisements lead closely followed by Nivea skin care; Tigo and Movit tie at number 3. Among the respondents who consumed internet, Coca-Cola was voted as number one, Nivea skin care and Tigo followed closely. Finally, from Out Of Home (OOH) advertisements, Nivea body lotion advertisements were voted as number one closely followed by Coca-Cola, Omo and Movit tie at number 3.

Brands and Youth Consumers
The strive by marketers, creative agencies and media buying agencies to capture the attention of their target market in unique ways is greater now even as the consumer and media platforms become more segmented. Getting the consumer’s attention is not as easy now; the future promises some curveballs.

Download the full infographic on Advertising to African Youth Consumers today!

*This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in June among 3,710 youth in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania using the GeoPoll Mobile application.

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According to our survey in February on mobile usage and media consumption, there is an increasing dependency on technology and a mobile first approach by youth consumers in Africa. This trend is being driven by African millennials with Africa having the highest youth population in the world. African millennials are increasingly using social media sites as tools for communication and as their first source for news and information.

Although extensive research on media and consumer trends in Africa shows a growing transition of consumers and audiences away from traditional media towards online media, television remains a highly significant contributor to consumer spending.

In a white paper presented at last year’s PAMRO conference for Media & Media Researchers in Africa, Waithera Kabiru the Digital Marketing Manager, Coca Cola Southern and East Africa posed the following questions to marketers; why is media investment not in line with the activity that is going on online? If African consumers are spending much more time online versus print or even TV, why is there still an under-investment in online channels?

In June 2017, GeoPoll sought to better understand how youth consumers are interacting with the advertising they encounter from the multiple sources of media consumed daily. We interviewed 3,710 youth aged between 15-35 years old in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa with the aim of determining the specific media platforms they consumed the ads from and how online advertising is fairing against above the line advertising media namely TV, radio and print,  in terms of reach and effectiveness.The insights from this survey, though not representative of the total population in these countries, provides valuable insight into the consumption of advertising by youth and the rise of digital advertising’s reach.

Media Consumption and Frequency
According to the survey, the top three most consumed forms of media on a daily basis are the internet (46%), TV (25%) and radio (24%) with the internet having the highest daily usage rating of 7.09 points.  

Today’s youth has become more outspoken about their buying experiences and interactions with brands before, during and after purchasing goods and services. The age of the second screen phenomenon in which these young consumers are more likely to be on their smartphone as they watch TV, encounter outdoor media or even as they listen to the radio. This is due to the increased growth in smartphone in usage as compared to other media forms. Digital ads are the most encountered advertising media consumed mostly through smartphones.

According to the poll, those who encountered advertisements reacted by either buying the product, going online to seek more information or going on social media to share their thoughts and opinion on the ads.

Unlike the pre-internet era, youth no longer have to wait until the next time they are out shopping to get more information about a new product or service. The information seeking phase of the consumer buying process is shorter thanks to the internet. This new channel has enabled consumers to easily search for, inquire about or discuss the product or service from whichever device is closest to them when encountering an advertisement.

Information search is crucial to consumers who encounter ads from various sources. 22% of respondents indicated that they went online to read up on the product/service they saw in an ad. Social media is increasingly becoming a popular platform for consumers to discuss and engage with brands.  In fact, 8% of respondents also indicated that they had used their social channels to speak about an ad with 15% reaching out and engaging the brands in the ads directly on their online channels.

Youth, Brands and Digital Advertising

As the internet continues to enjoy increased usage among the surveyed age group, there is a need for businesses to seek deeper insights on their marketing strategy around this demographic. Actions such as online information gathering on brands and social media interactions about and to brands continue to see a surge in growth as consumers who encounter brand advertisements seek to be better informed.

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*This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in June among 3,710 youth in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania using the GeoPoll Mobile application. 

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GeoPoll found that despite an active and engaged youth, youth question the accountability of their governments and the role in which they can take as political participants. They do, however, identify and value governance—whether it manifests in service delivery, free speech, or voting.

Critical to understanding youth participation in civic and political processes, GeoPoll wanted to know how well youth trust the systems designed to facilitate these very processes. When asked to identify the biggest failure of the current government, nearly half of all participants identified corruption. This was identified as the primary concern in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda; and the second biggest issue in Nigeria and South Africa, where respondents chose unemployment as a larger concern.

When further asked if the government represents the interest of one’s community, only one-third of respondents said “no” across all countries. Ghanaian respondents responded the most positively with 79 percent saying “yes.” Results were consistent across demographic groups with both men (64 percent) and women (62 percent) saying “yes” at high rates. Similar rates were found among subsets of age brackets among youth.

Despite these concerns, youth are civically active—exercising free speech and actively participating in democratic processes. Compared to other media sources, the top choice for the daily news source for youth respondents was social media (33 percent), aside from Kenya and Ghana where TV and Radio were more popular. Two-thirds of respondents noted that they post political opinions and viewpoints on social media.

Combining all 5 countries, 90 percent stated they were registered to vote and 71 percent noted that they voted in both the last national and local elections. Sixty percent noted they are affiliated with a specific political party, with 75 percent in South Africa.

Youth are optimistic about the role they can plan in their communities and in their government. More than 60 percent of youth polled are engaged in voluntary community service. The same proportion of respondents identified working with others in their community to help solve an issue. When asked about sentiments around the future of Africa depending on youth, 76 percent strongly agreed followed by another 14 percent who somewhat agreed.

They identify positive developments by their government: 27 percent of respondents reported that they consider infrastructure improvement among the top government achievements and another 20 percent reported improvements in education. Approximately 37 percent of respondents in Kenya and 32 percent

in Uganda reported that they considered infrastructure improvements an achievement, more than twice the other three countries.

Africa’s youth will play an increasing role in governance and civic participation. Identifying their perceptions and the best means to engage youth are critical steps to understanding the impact they can and will make in the future.

About GeoPoll Straw Polls

GeoPoll is the world’s largest real-time mobile survey platform, reaching a growing network of more than 320 million users in 30 countries worldwide on a deeply granular level and at unprecedented scale. Through partnerships with telecom providers—and a multimodal platform powered by text, voice and web-based communications—GeoPoll enables organizations to gather quick, accurate and in-depth insights on anything from consumer preferences to access to basic government services.

GeoPoll leverages its platform to engage mobile users through ad hoc “straw polls” that provide insights into real-time sentiments of current events. This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in March 2017 among 3,300 youth in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria using the GeoPoll mobile application.

Straw Poll Specs

• Countries surveyed: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda
• Language: English
• Mode: SMS, GeoPoll App
• Questionnaire length: 16 questions
• Median survey completion time: 20 minutes
• Sampling frame and approach: men and women, aged 15-34, drawn from GeoPoll’s user database based on web recruitment
• Total sample size: 3,300
• Fieldwork duration: 2 days

Photo credits: EPA/Nic Bothma

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Based on a rapid survey conducted by GeoPoll earlier this year, over 50% of earnings by youth consumers is  spent on personal care. This is much higher than gambling. As noted in the report, gambling is becoming popular among male African Millennials in SSA due to their high affinity towards sports and the proliferation of local sports betting players.

As highlighted in that report, this is still a very nascent industry and in the survey on spending habits, only 3 percent of Youth consumers in SSA indicated that they spend part of their income on gambling.

In this deep dive report, we sought to further explore the effects of continued targeted marketing by betting companies towards this age group and get better insights into; exactly how much is spent, how frequently and on what, are the youth betting.

Gambling frequency

Most youth (54%) in SSA have tried their hand at gambling. Kenya has the highest number of youth who have participated in gambling or betting in the past at 76% followed by Uganda at 57%. Ghana has the least number at 42%

The frequency of gambling is highest among Kenyans compared to their fellow Africans. Whilst the rest bet mostly once a month, a majority of Kenyans bet once a week. As seen in the graph below, sports betting is the most preferred. The fixtures for football matches especially the English premier league are over the weekends.

Sports Betting
 

Among the most popular gambling options, football betting reigns in all other countries except in South Africa. Kenyan youths bet the most with 79% of bets placed on football matches.

In South Africa, lotteries are a more preferred gambling choice compared to football, casino, racing and poker.

Mobile usage

The mobile phone has become the most convenient tool for those gambling. 75% of those who bet do so using their mobile phones with Kenya having the highest number of mobile usage for gambling at 96%. South Africa, though having the highest rate of mobile penetration in Africa, has the lowest usage of the mobile for gambling at 48%.

The Jackpot

Kenya is the leader in the most amount of money spent on gambling. Unlike youth in other African countries, most Kenyan youth bet once a week spending about $50 per month mostly on football bets. Youth elsewhere spend less than 50USD a month and most bet only once a month.

The average amount spent on bets is below $50 per month. A majority have never won any amount above $50.

Mobile phones have become the African Las Vegas. Football betting and the popularity of English football leagues continue to grow in a symbiotic way with a growing youth population that continues to be defined by its uptake of technology. Although the stakes are not yet high, all the signs are there of a steady and unfettered domination of sports entertainment and gambling in sub-Saharan Africa.

This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in March 2017 among 3,879  youth in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania using the GeoPoll mobile App.

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As detailed in our earlier reports on the African Millennials series, Africa has the highest youth population in the world with 200 million people aged between the ages of 15-24. The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 African Economic Outlook report prepared by experts from the African Development Bank (AfDB)

Millennials across the world are defined by their uptake of technology. Affinity to technology by millennials world-wide and specifically so in the west is a study that is currently ongoing and continues to be a fascinating undertaking especially in regards to the African Millennials.

In our continuing series on Sub Sahara African Millennials, we sought to understand this affinity towards technology and more specifically, mobile technology among African Millennials.

Despite lack of access to smartphones and reliable internet connectivity, the level of uptake and penetration in Africa has hit major milestones in the last 5 years.  According to a report published by GSMA on Africa’s mobile economy in 2016, smartphone adoption in Africa has doubled in two years. Among Sub-Sahara African countries, South Africa has the highest number of smartphone subscribers at 34% followed by Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya.

Media Consumption

Like their global counterparts, African millennials are increasingly using download sites to access video entertainment and social media sites as tools for communication and a source of news and information. Mobile data continues to be the most used means through which African millennials access the internet. Social network platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and twitter have become an integral part of everyday life with over 60% using social media as their primary source of information. Television comes a distant 2^nd at 25% with newspapers being the least important source 6%.

The second screen phenomenon though not highly prevalent among African Millennials, is one that might change with time. 57% of African Millennials say they sometimes use their smartphone while watching TV, 35% said they are always on their phone. This can be attributed to data costs which are still relatively high in many African countries compared to the rest of the world as well as changing preference among this group on choice of entertainment.

Access to video entertainment among African Millennials is undergoing a significant shift.  There is decreased demand for bootleg DVDs generally across the countries that took part in the survey except in Ghana. According to the survey, more millennials in Africa are accessing their movies and TV series entertainment through online downloads. They spend the least time in the cinemas compared to the other ways of accessing video entertainment selected for the survey. Subscriptions to online video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Showmax are still relatively low with a majority indicating that they do not use these services. Out of those who indicated that they are using it, Netflix is the most popular.

Usage Habits

When it comes to the most preferred mode of communication among millennials, Kenyan and Tanzanian Millennials prefer texting (62%) & (54%) whilst Nigerians and Ghanaians prefer calling through the mobile operator (58%) & (51%). Mobile data calls through WhatsApp and Facebook messenger are still not as widely used.

The use of social media platforms such as has become second nature to African Millennials’ lives; WhatsApp and Facebook rank among the platforms with the most usage. 56% have created and are most active on WhatsApp  , while 31% are active on Facebook. Not only do African millennials spend more time on their smartphones than on any other gadget on a daily basis, but they are also more likely to be on WhatsApp chatting. A majority (46%) are actively engaged daily in at least 1-3 WhatsApp groups.

Part of this study was to determine whether or not Sub-Sahara African millennials are addicted to their phones with typical signs of addiction being how often they use their phones, if they took their phones with them to the bathroom, where they placed their phones while sleeping, and if they walk around with a power bank. Whilst this survey does not serve as a psychiatric evaluation, 81% said they place their phone next to their bed while sleeping, 48% carry their phones with them to the washroom and 31% walk around with a power bank incase their phone runs out of battery power.

Phone addiction is starting to manifest itself among African Millennials as 48% use their smartphones while in the bathroom.

Mobile Apps

Not only do African millennials spend more time on social media sites, but they also spend as much time gaming. The most downloaded app by category are social networking, gaming, instant messaging, banking/finance, education, health & fitness.  Ugandan, Ghanaian and Kenyan millennials have more game apps downloaded on their smartphone than any other application. The use of power banks though evident is not yet prevalent.

African Millennials are vanguards of a future Africa and technology is becoming an integral part of it all. As younger millennials continue to make their impact felt in almost every sector, a mobile first approach is crucial for any company that seeks to reach this culture-rich group of image-conscious, educated and opinionated individuals.

This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in February 2017 among 2,861 respondents between the ages of 18- 34 in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria using the GeoPoll App.

Download a copy of this report with more detailed graphs.

Read our other reports on this series on African Millennials on spending habits and on side businesses.

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As seen our 2^nd report on this series on SSA millennials, image and how the youth are perceived is very important. There is an opportunity to instill an entrepreneurial mindset among those in college or working.  As noted in our 2^nd report on spending habits of youth consumers in SSA, there are knowledge gaps among African millennials on areas such as effective saving plans, wise investments and financial management. As noted in the report, when asked, many would like to better understand asset financing, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities available in their respective countries. The preference towards commercial loans by many, underscores these needs.

In a continuing series on Sub Sahara African Millennials, we sought to find out the percentage of youth Africans with side business running as they study or work day jobs. This is the third rapid survey in a series on what makes the African Millennials tick, their aspirations, hopes, affinity, and habits as well as get their thoughts on leadership, governance and their future in a digital age in the best way that they know how to communicate; using their mobile phones.

Agriculture tops ICT, entertainment, online business and logistics as the most popular form of side hustle for millennials in the East African Countries; Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In West Africa countries; Nigeria & Ghana, the youth are into less conventional sectors than those mostly associated with the youth such as ICT, entertainment and online businesses. In South Africa, Food & Beverage is the more popular side hustle for many youth.

Apart from Uganda that has the highest number of youth whose day jobs conflict with their side hustles, millennials in other SSA countries don’t experience this dilemma with many choosing either Agriculture, food & Beverage or less conventional side jobs. Interestingly, it is in Uganda where ICT is the next most popular line for side business, a very close second (20%) to Agribusiness (24.4%) among the youth.

Despite popular belief, not many young Africans have side hustles (37%). According to our survey, Nigeria has the highest number of millennials with side hustles (44.4%) followed by Kenya (40.8%). South Africa has the least with only 30%.

Out of those who indicated that they have side hustles, the main sources of their capital is in form of loans from  banks, relatives, mobile money and micro-finances in that order. Despite their more friendly repayment terms, Savings Cooperatives or Saccos as they are locally known, are the least popular among the youth and rank lower than mobile money loans, micro-finance loans or even bank loans.

Despite the known high interest rates charged by most commercial banks, young millennials in SSA still prefer borrowing from commercial banks (30%) then relatives (23%) before looking at other available options. This can be explained by the renewed focus and targeted marketing at millennials by most commercial banks in SSA. A good number of local and multinational banks have rebranded to have a more youthful look and feel with many introducing mobile banking, customized products and services targeted at millennials. Unfortunately, the same has not happened with many Savings co-operatives which are still viewed as old, boring, traditional, strict entities run by an older generation that does not ‘get’ the youth.

The most popular sources of loans among millennials for their side hustles are commercial banks, relatives, micro-finance, mobile money and Savings Cooperatives (Saccos) in that order.

From the survey, this trend of side hustles is fairly new among young millennials with a majority still in school and a few probably in their first job. Over 73% indicated that they have run the side hustle for less than 2 years. The earnings for many who engage in side hustles is below 200USD per month with over 30% of the extra income going towards  savings while 25% goes towards school fees and a further 20% going towards utility bills.

This GeoPoll Rapid survey was conducted in February 2017 among 1,762 young Africans in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania using the GeoPoll App.

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This is the second survey in a series on African Millennials in which GeoPoll seeks to understand just what makes the African Millennials tick, their aspirations, hopes, affinity, habits as well as get their thoughts on leadership, governance and their future in a digital age in the best way that they know how , using their mobile phones.

Close to 70 percent of Africa’s population now comprises of Millennials according to a 2011 Africa Development Bank report. Africans aged 16-34 account for 65 percent of the continent’s consumer spending (McKinsey 2013 report). The African millennials are vibrant, on the move, tech savvy and image conscious. They are upping their levels of education and are extremely optimistic about their future.

Although the youth unemployment hovers around 12 percent in SSA, young Africans with jobs are taking charge of their future by saving towards education with over 34% of their monthly spend being set aside for this. Among the countries that were part of this survey, Ghana has the highest rate of youth saving towards education at 46%.

Many young Africans in SSA who took part in the survey have jobs (51%), however, a good number still depend on their parents for their upkeep at 32%.

On the commercial side, mobile and e-commerce exists but they have not become part of everyday life for youth consumers in SSA. In East African countries where mobile payments are popular, youth consumers consider mobile payments as cash and  still  prefer it to other modes of payment (71 percent) for daily purchases. It is only in South Africa where credit cards are popular but only second to cash payments.

In a GeoPoll survey conducted in 2016 just after Black Friday online sale on ecommerce in SSA, mobile payments and cash on delivery were still the most popular among youth consumers. Read the full report from the survey here.

Although personal care takes up 56 percent of expenditure among the millennials, the youth in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana set aside a significant amount of their earnings for an investment in education. Advancing in education is one of the most important pursuits for millennials with many saying that they save up to 10% of their monthly earnings towards it. This is in comparison to buying a car, a house or travelling.

Interestingly, gambling is becoming popular among male African Millennials in SSA due to their high affinity to sports and the proliferation of local sports betting players. This is still a very nascent industry. 3 percent of Youth consumers in SSA indicated that they spend part of their income on gambling.

There are knowledge gaps among African millennials on areas such as effective saving plans, wise investments and financial management. When asked, many would like to better understand asset financing, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities available in their respective countries. This is proof that young Africans are striving for financial independence, prosperity and believe in their own ability to charter their own course with a strong belief in the adage “Education is the Key”.
This GeoPoll survey was conducted in January 2017 among 2,726 young Africans in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria using the GeoPoll App.

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