As private or out-of-home TV networks gain acceptance as an important part of the marketing mix, local pioneer Three Blind Mice is poised to capture its market share Chances are that if you`ve recently queued to do some banking, visited the taxman, gone to the local airport to catch a flight, or gone to gym, you would have tuned in to a growing phenomenon: a private TV station.

Local company Three Blind Mice (TBM) claims worldwide pioneering of this application, for a combination of technology and market force reasons.

Launched in 1999, and amassing a tidy collection of technology and innovation awards along the way, the 25-man operation offers clients all three elements necessary for what is known as an out-of-home, or OOH, TV network - technology management, content creation and media/advertising sales. For this it uses its video over IP network, made possible by satellite multicasting.

Today the company, with an annual turnover of some R20 million, operates a network of about 1 200 plasma and TV screens at more than 700 sites countrywide.

Although the company set out to market its service in the African public and private sectors, as a cost-effective, high-reach solution to tackle illiteracy and culture differences in rural areas, market forces seem to dictate otherwise.

Change of plan

With the digital OOH TV market beginning to establish itself as one of the fastest-growing advertising mediums in the US and the UK, TBM CEO Pierre van der Hoven says the company is beginning to get enquiries from these regions, and even from as far afield as Hong Kong.

These developments notwithstanding, Van der Hoven intends to keep calling SA TBM`s home base - "content creation in South Africa is cheap, and with digital technology, your location is essentially irrelevant," he says.

"The market continues to grow, and even in South Africa, marketers are beginning to realise the opportunities this medium offers," he adds.

Marketers aren`t the only ones though. TBM also delivers tailor-made content to more than 180 individually addressable South African Revenue Service sites countrywide, for internal training to staff and external communication to taxpayers.

It also manages a so-called captive audience network for the local tourism industry, known as the tourist TV network, with TV screens located at SA`s three major airports, in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, and in American Express and Rennies Bank foreign exchange branches countrywide.

Such a private business network has several applications: clients use it for staff training, brand building, information services, promotions, social responsibility or sponsor extensions.

"It`s ideally suited to organisations with multiple departments, branches or offices that are geographically separated, and have a need to communicate with staff or customers, or to train personnel at different locations," notes Van der Hoven.

Two pilot projects it is currently involved with illustrate the point: the City of Joburg and are both investigating its service.

The City has installed a private TV network at ten of its People Centres to communicate with residents, while Standard Bank is considering installing a broadcast service at nine branches to test its efficacy for customer communication.

The latter project could prove quite a coup for TBM, should it prove successful, as the bank has some 600 branches throughout SA.

Innovation ambassador

Van der Hoven was recently appointed as an innovation ambassador by government in its effort to champion the cause of sustainable innovation across SA`s public and private sectors. The announcement was made at the launch of the call for entries for its Innovation and Sustainability Awards 2005. Although four innovation ambassadors, meaning persons who "have made a significant contribution to the cause of innovation", were appointed, he is the only private sector nominee.

"Innovation is such a difficult concept to get to grips with, that I think government wanted to give it a face and some practical stories," he explains.

Van der Hoven`s story is that he is a chartered accountant with an MBA, and extensive media experience. After a broad career with the , he founded Mopani Media, which went on to win a commercial radio licence for Yfm and the only private free-to-air national TV licence for eTV. For the last six years, TBM has been his focus.

Although Van der Hoven is somewhat concerned about the lack of structural support for innovative entrepreneurs in this country, he is convinced that the will is there, both on the part of government and the private sector, and now he calls for some implementation of this will.

"Structures don`t support young businesses: I for one have never had access to banking finance in all my ventures, so what chance does a disadvantaged or uneducated person have? Moreover, we don`t celebrate the concept of trying in this country - we don`t support people who fail," he observes.

"My advice for entrepreneurs is not expect everyone to believe in your idea - grit and hard work and perseverance is what it`s going to take to convince them. It`s sad how a lot of people just give up too easily," he remarks.

"And yet South Africans are so innovative and entrepreneurial, you just have to go to Soweto to get a sense of the commercial buzz."

Tags: Innovator:  Pierre  van  der  hoven