At a busy intersection in Soweto, a three-dimensional kitchen juts out from a colourful wall, a thin wisp of smoke curling into the air as commuters pause to watch. The scene is part of Owakhe Media’s recent mural for Unilever’s Knorrox brand, and it illustrates a shift in out-of-home (OOH) advertising, from static billboards to immersive, community-centred experiences.
OOH, also called out-of-home advertising, refers to any media that reaches people while they are outside their homes, billboards, bus shelters, and in this case, large wall murals. For brands targeting South Africa’s township market, OOH offers a way to appear in the daily routes of shoppers, students and taxi passengers, something that digital screens cannot replicate once a user scrolls away.
According to the 2025 South African Township CX Report, township consumers value affordability, trusted local retailers such as spaza shops, and increasing digital connectivity. The report, cited by Owakhe Media, argues that marketers must treat townships as a collection of distinct micro-communities rather than a single mass market. This insight drives the placement strategy behind the Knorrox murals.
Owakhe Media activated 23 murals across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. The company says all sites met their estimated reach targets, resulting in zero under-delivery. It also estimates the campaign generated monthly impressions equivalent to about 55% of South Africa’s 63.5 million population, a figure that illustrates scale rather than individual reach.
Location intelligence, the practice of mapping pedestrian flow, taxi routes, retail nodes and community hubs, guided the choice of walls. In Soweto, the Pimville mural sits opposite Maponya Mall on Chris Hani Road, near the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus. The Diepkloof mural marks a primary entry point to Soweto close to Nasrec and FNB Stadium, while the Orlando East mural stands on Mashupa Road near Orlando Stadium. By aligning murals with high-traffic corridors, brands can appear repeatedly as consumers move through their environment.
For FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies like Unilever, the benefit goes beyond awareness. Owakhe paired the large murals with spaza-shop and store-level branding in the same neighbourhoods. A shopper might first see the Knorrox mural while commuting, then encounter the product on a shelf at a local shop, reinforcing the brand at the moment of purchase.
Creativity is the other half of the equation. The Orlando East mural, titled “Bringing the Kitchen to Life”, extends a three-dimensional kitchen from the wall and uses a live smoke effect to simulate cooking. The installation draws on Knorrox’s “We Give A Bull” campaign, which supports community kitchens. By turning a static wall into an interactive experience, the mural captures attention in a media landscape saturated with digital content.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to reach township consumers, the story offers two take-aways. First, data on foot traffic, transport routes and local retail patterns can inform cost-effective OOH placements. Second, integrating the mural with on-ground retail activation creates a bridge from awareness to purchase, a tactic that can be scaled to smaller budgets through partnerships with local media agencies.
While the Knorrox campaign demonstrates the potential of township OOH, the approach still requires careful planning. Brands must verify that a wall sits on a genuine high-traffic route and that the creative execution resonates with local culture. Misplaced or culturally tone-deaf murals risk wasting spend and alienating the very community they aim to engage.
As digital advertising continues to dominate, township wall murals remind marketers that physical presence still matters, especially when it is rooted in community insight and innovative design. For SMEs, the lesson is clear: a well-placed, thoughtfully designed mural can turn a passing glance into a lasting brand relationship.
Source: Bizcommunity. For more on leveraging local media, see our SME & Entrepreneurship coverage.
