Having evolved into one of the largest privately owned outdoor media groups in South Africa, the ADreach group of companies has elevated its management team to corresponding heights with the appointment of media management guru Harry Lee-Rudolph to the position of Head Office General Manager; with financial buff Ken Mourant taking the reigns as Group Financial Director.

Delivering street furniture innovations for the cost effective delivery of marketing messages to highly defined commuter and pedestrian audiences countrywide, the ADreach group’s powerful media alternatives offer a unique set of benefits and opportunities to the marketer. Street Pole Ads is the only outdoor advertising medium that facilitates a series of sequential creative pole ads that tell a story, repeatedly, on a single road. Together with Street Name Ads and Event Ads, they make up the national ADreach network of more than 40 000 advertising signs.

Competing aggressively with other outdoor alternatives, the group has enjoyed constant growth in terms of outdoor media market share. Increased credibility of ADreach mediums is evidenced by increased usage by SA’s big brands - known to traditionally stick to above-the-line media - including the likes of SAB, DSTV and Samsung. Numerous new sites have been secured, with ADreach signs now available in Lydenberg, Sabie, Middleburg, Graskop and Mafikeng, among others.

The group is always looking at new ways to upgrade outdoor media offerings, and over the next year, every piece of ADreach street furniture will undergo major upgrades for improved functionality and aesthetic appeal. Existing formats will increase by 35% in size – offering clients increased value (and impact) for their money. A brand new, exciting, and very effective product is set to be launched by the end of 2008. In addition, the group is actively working with various metropolitan councils and 2010 host cities for upgraded street furniture elements that offer huge marketing opportunities, while delivering consolidated streetscapes that present a clean, consistent and unified city look and feel.

“Our rapid expansion over the last few years has been driven essentially by the effectiveness of the Street Pole Ads medium, as well as a strong entrepreneurial spirit that exists within the group,” explains ADreach Joint CEO, Brad Fisher.

Fisher continues: “The board recognised the need to lift its management up to a more professional level, …hence its decision to create the position of General Manager for our Head Office in Johannesburg. We were delighted to identify Harry Lee-Rudolph as the ideal candidate for this position. He has 20 years of media experience, and has managed complex operations highly successfully in the past. He will build a more structured and cohesive team at ADreach, which will be well positioned to serve the group for its exciting prospects over the next few years. Our newly appointed Group Financial Director, Ken Mourant, has in fact been pulled out of retirement to take up his new position with ADreach! His vast experience (Financial Director for groups such as Mercedes Benz) not only in the financial arena but [also] in general management and strategic roles made him a matchless candidate for this position, and an invaluable addition to the increasingly proficient ADreach team”.