Kalahari Ads takes to the streets

Kalahari Ads will this week roll out a nationwide campaign to take the service to the streets and introduce street merchants to the mobile classifieds platform.

Aimed at emerging SMMEs with no Internet connectivity, the Kalahari Ads 'Street Browser' project hopes to help merchants improve their business opportunities.

Bronwyn Johnson, head of marketing at Kalahari Ads, says: “We will be showing them how to extend their physical presence into the 'always on' marketplace offered by the Internet via their smartphones and computers.

“Our virtual street browser teams will be engaging with merchants and consumers at the marketplaces and showing them how to utilise the online platform to their benefit both on PCs and mobile phones.”

Kalahari Ads, an online classifieds platform owned by Naspers, was launched at the beginning of the year. A month after its launch, the service was made available on mobile with the intention of making it accessible to all types of cellphones.

According to Johnson, a team of between eight to 10 team members has been assembled to work in the communities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. The team will educate both buyers and sellers about the Kalahari Ads service (which includes mobile, Web and print).

The Street Browser initiative's first port of call will be the Earth Fair Market in Cape Town from tomorrow, and thereafter will have a presence nationally at most marketplaces across the country.

While Kalahari Ads currently isn't releasing any figures regarding which mobile devices are most widely being used to access the platform, Johnson says 20% of the site's traffic comes via mobile phones - particularly after hours and on weekends.

“By far one of the most popular categories is jobs; jobs wanted and positions being advertised,” says Johnson. “Services are also popular: artisans, freelance workers and small business owners are finding Kalahari Ads a useful platform to market their services.”

A large number of emerging businesses use their mobile devices as their sole means of connectivity, according to Johnson.

“More than a third of SMMEs do not have Internet connectivity even though there are 3.9 million Internet users in SA that they could be targeting with their offerings. Micro businesses cannot afford to be without an online presence and it is incredibly important for targeting potential customers as part of their business development.”

While Johnson says any street merchant can use the mobile platform to market their products, the current initiative is directed at the more niche merchants such as those at flea markets and festivals. The service will assist them to set up business listings and provide updates on their movements between marketplaces.

“We're all about developing local community trade. We build our services so that buyers and sellers in local communities can find each other in a safe environment,” notes Johnson.

“We chose to take our virtual platform to the streets because we wanted to meet with them where they are - on the streets.”

At the time of Kalahari Ads' launch, World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck said SA is in an interesting phase of digital evolution where the cellphone is rising fast to meet the online needs of those who are still cut off from the world of the Internet.

Goldstuck explained that in the South African mobile market context, there is a great need for services that cut across technological barriers. “The intentions of Kalahari Ads seem to be well-geared towards addressing that need.”

“We want to make it as easy as possible, and lower the barriers to entry into the online classifieds market,” comments Johnson.

“Mobile is a strong arm of our business and will always be one of the tools we use to facilitate trade. As the mobile landscape changes, more South Africans have access to feature-rich phones and the Internet, and this enables them to use free classifieds services.”