Donald Mokgale, business director of Dentsu SSA, elaborated on the company's efforts, stating that they are investing, upskilling and taking real action to promote diversity.

According to Mokgale, they use technology and an interactive, easy-to-navigate platform that empowers Black-owned OOH media businesses and offers them a place to transact. As part of their commitment, dentsu is dedicating 30% of their overall OOH spend to these platforms.

However, creating this investment and platform was not an overnight success. dentsu says that it had to gain a thorough understanding of the space and the challenges faced by Black-owned OOH media owners. One of the problems was that these owners lacked access to agencies, relationships and context, which hindered their access to the market. This then led to a disconnect in the industry, and dentsu could not access some of the strategically relevant sites that these owners had.

According to dentsu, to address these issues, it partnered with Lukhanyo Dyosopu, founder of Light-tech Media Solutions, who shared the same values and commitment to promoting diversity, empowerment and skills development in the industry. Together, they created a tech-based business platform to empower and transform the OOH industry for SME media owners.

The OOH Marketplace platform is an easy-to-use and accessible platform that solves industry problems says the duo. For example, it enables media owners who have no agency networks, relationships, or access to the market to upload their inventory and make it available to clients and agency personnel in real time.

Media agencies can access real-time site availability, option inventory, negotiate rates, book inventory directly with site owners and receive one campaign invoice consolidating multiple media owners.

According to dentsu, the benefits of the OOH Marketplace include:
  • ease of use
  • efficiency
  • transparency
  • accountability, and
  • market access for SME media owners.

dentsu adds that it pledges to invest and drive transformation for small to medium-Black-owned media owners while continuing to support larger global entities. For dentsu, it is not an either-or situation but both.

The company says that it aims to build an industry led by excellence, not by colour or BEE scores. This approach ensures value and innovation, pushing the industry forward.

In conclusion, dentsu's commitment to Black-owned OOH media owners is not just about being black but about promoting excellence, value and innovation. The OOH Marketplace is an example of how information and technology can drive the industry forward and offer access to a wider audience.

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