Ads24’s Afrikaans bundle readers are twice as likely to travel by air than the norm, but there are no stats on whether they choose chicken or beef. They want to travel more, 55% would like to spend more money on holidays. These Afrikaans readers like to get around (in their own car), they are three times more likely to own a vehicle and then it’s likely to be a Toyota, Volkswagen or Ford.

Having said this, they are money conscious and 60% of Ads24’s Afrikaans readers would like to spend more money on savings. The top three banks that they use are ABSA, FNB and Capitec. They are three times more likely than the South African average to have a home loan. These readers also don’t take risks when it comes to health, 35% have medical aid which is 21% higher than the South African average.

“Just trust me on this one: People are more likely to absorb your message and accept your credibility if you communicate to them in their mother tongue. I am an ABSA client. I get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I go to an ATM and the machine prompts me for my language. I feel good every time I press ‘Afrikaans’. Ignore this sentiment at your own peril,” says Bun Booyens, editor of Die Burger.

In an article in Screen Africa, Franette Klerck GM of the Pendoring Awards says; “There’s no doubt that the Afrikaans market is huge and very profitable. So why do we see fewer and fewer Afrikaans ads and why don’t we see Afrikaans copywriters in agencies? Why is ad spend for this market nowhere close to the household spending power of this group? Surely, if we look at the statistics, we should see more Afrikaans rather than English ads?”

“Tough economic conditions are often used as the main reason for cutting budgets for Afrikaans advertising (and the other vernacular languages). Marketers maintain that it has basically become impossible and too costly to segment their markets and to develop a communication strategy for each target segment,” says Klerk. “So what do marketers with limited budgets do? Quite clearly they follow a shotgun approach and hope that with an English campaign they will have a much wider reach (because everybody mostly understands English) and believe or hope that an English message will be understood and resonate with everyone.”

“Everywhere in the world the value of mother-tongue advertising is respected and appreciated. If you live in Holland, Spain or France or any other country where English is a second or third language, (but also the commercial language) you will not find the majority of consumer advertising messages in English. So why does a benevolent ignorance and assumption exist in South Africa that all South Africans understand English? And where does it leave Afrikaans advertising? We know for a fact that Afrikaans-speaking people are extremely loyal to their language, today even more so than ever before,” adds Klerk.

“I believe it’s time for marketers to face the facts and once again take cognisance of the purchasing power of the Afrikaans market and of their loyalty to their home language, unshackled and free-spirited. At the same time, agencies and media houses also have a responsibility to inform their clients about the statistics of this hugely profitable market,” says Klerk. “Local as well as international research has proven time and again that the style, wit and impact of a commercial message is far more powerful when it’s delivered in the home language of a target market. Hence the return on advertising investment should be significantly higher for companies that recognise this truth.”

The Ads24’s Afrikaans newspaper titles combo reaches over 3.2-million unduplicated readers through both print and digital, this includes Netwerk24 and Media24’s Afrikaans newspapers Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad and Rapport. The Ads24 Afrikaans market bundle reaches 51% of the total Afrikaans market which is the second biggest market in SA.

Beyond Ads24’s vast number lies their communities, groups of loyal consumers who trust them to deliver quality news content across their media platforms. Ads24 Afrikaans titles take brands to the heart of Afrikaans communities.

For more information, visit adsman.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.