Spectrum: South Africa’s own innovative local video streaming platform

Spectrum, Caxton’s exciting new locally produced video-on-demand platform, has been successfully launched across 73 Caxton-owned local news websites. Spectrum aims to provide relevant content to connected individuals, on a hyper local level; ensuring that South African advertising spend stays within our borders and funds locally produced programming and journalism.

Spectrum’s stats already prove that the demand for local video is abundant. Between its launch in December 2018 and January 2020, the platform has seen almost 9.2 million plays, over 2.5 million unique browsers, and enjoys an outstanding average dwell time of 3 minutes and 47 seconds.  Spectrum’s dwell time speaks to its value as an advertising platform, indeed according to thinkwithgoogle, 90 percent of people say they discover new brands or products on video platforms. And 2019 saw “Near Me” searches top trending search behaviour in South Africa. Now South African consumers can discover local content in a brand safe, contextualised and non-intrusive video environment.

In terms of Spectrum’s usages clients can:

• Reuse and amplify already existing content assets
• Drive brand awareness
• Sponsor branded content within a channel
• Sponsor a full channel
• Run pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads
• Run in-stream ads
• Obtain in-depth and on-going reporting on campaign performance

Designed and built by local tech company Tysflo (Spectrum’s software development partner) the data compression technology used by the platform ensures a maximum data consumption rate of 1.2mb/s, 40% less than competitors. This ensures that a diverse range of viewers can access its HD channels and video-on-demand content in an exceptionally data-friendly way.

All content on Spectrum has been curated, and advertisers have power over the context in which their communications will appear.

Speaking to the importance of brand safety, Alan Shenton, COO of Tysflo, says: “Caxton enjoys high levels of trust owing to its accountability, and the trustworthiness of its sites grows confidence in clients’ brands. Essentially, the integrity of Caxton’s content lends credibility to clients’ products and services. This isn’t only brand safety; it’s leveraging a reputation built over many years.”

The many commercial opportunities afforded by Spectrum are overseen by a collaborative partnership between Caxton’s digital marketing wing, Hive Digital Media, and radio broadcasting media sales house, United Stations.

Regarding the commercial opportunities for Spectrum, Hive Digital’s CRO, Parmeshan Moodliar, notes: “The platform offers clients the opportunity to use professionally produced, relevant video content to create meaningful connections with Caxton’s large and varied audience – segmented at a hyperlocal level.

Being South Africa’s undisputed leader in community news, Caxton’s ability to target viewers at a finely grained geographical area is a key differentiator and a key value proposition.”

Be a part of the Spectrum video revolution that offers you effective brand awareness, brand safety and ensures that South African media in all parts of the value chain benefit equally. Contact Hive Digital Media’s Team on info@hivedigital.media/ +27 10 492 8391.  For further insight visit our new website www.hivedigital.media.