Friday, March 20, 2009

Video marketing changing the way the World see Africa.

ONLINE video is changing the way the world sees Africa, encouraging tourism to the continent. People can now find a variety of video content on Africa at their fingertips.

“While a few years ago a tourist might have asked you whether there are lions in the streets in South Africa, now you can type this question into YouTube and get a video tour of the suburbs of Johannesburg, showing that we do indeed have paved roads and traffic lights,” says Pierre van der Hoven, ceo and co-founder of Southern Africa Direct, a television channel promoting the continent to the international market.

The Southern Africa Direct television channel broadcasts 24/7 to more than nine million Sky subscribers in the UK. It goes live on the web at
www.southernafricadirect.com and is complemented by an on-demand video library. The channel aims to provide engaging, informative and entertaining content about lifestyle, culture, travel and commerce.

“We’ve all heard the saying ‘content is king’. We firmly believe that while there is a place for so-called user-generated content, the likes of which we are seeing on YouTube, as the fad wears off people will return to seek out professional, high-quality content. We want to provide them with the largest choice of such content on Africa,” he adds.

The number of people watching video online increased by 45% in 2008 and with broadband speed becoming faster, the upward curve is set to continue. Van der Hoven believes this trend holds immense potential for Africa to market itself as a tourism destination internationally.