How Talk360 Became the Talk of the Town with MotionAds

Talk360 is a global calling app that enables users to make affordable international calls to any mobile or landline number, even if the recipient doesn’t have the app. With a footprint in over 200 countries, Talk360 makes reliable cross-border communication accessible to anyone, particularly in emerging markets. The company is on a mission to break down barriers to connectivity while building brand trust and awareness in new territories.

Talk360 had been using radio and digital advertising, but those alone weren’t enough. Traditional outdoor media like billboards and street-pole ads were both expensive and logistically difficult to secure, which made them a suboptimal channel for reaching high-density target areas. 

They also needed to expand their referral/agent network without incurring high costs or admin overhead. They were searching for a solution that could simultaneously amplify their brand message and grow their customer base through agents. 

Jonathan Katende from Talk360 summarized the challenge:

“We wanted to gain broad exposure of our brand while converting new customers.”

MotionAds provided a multi-layered solution that addressed both brand visibility and agent recruitment. They deployed delivery bikes with branded top boxes (“moving billboards”) in key areas. These mobile ad units created dynamic exposure across major zones like Johannesburg CBD, Pretoria CBD, and Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs. 

Data-driven targeting played a central role. MotionAds used GPS data, hotspot mapping, and the Uber Eats driver network to identify high potential areas and assign drivers accordingly. They also used drivers themselves as part of the agent recruitment effort; drivers distributed flyers with each meal delivery, encouraging people to become Talk360 Agents. Flyers included QR codes unique to each driver so agent sign-ups could be tracked per driver. 

The campaign began with a two-month pilot. After strong initial performance, it was extended for an additional three months and expanded to 31 bikes (adding Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs). 

Jonathan Katende explained their decision to expand: “We believed in the concept and I was of the opinion that this could give us the additional push to target our new customers.” 

Also, one of the delivery drivers, Neville, shared what the campaign meant for him: “When they told me there are incentives, I took it with both hands knowing that I have to put my name on the globe… The opportunity that I saw was both MotionAds and Talk360 growing and therefore offering us more incentives at the end of the day. I enjoy Talk360 incentives as they added for my family outings and airtime. To sign them up it wasn’t hard because I explained to them it was R10 for more than 30 minutes compared to the international rates for local networks. I even showed them on my phone how much a minute cost versus Talk360. So a lot of them signed up. A guy wanted to buy a R100 voucher to call internationally. I asked him how many minutes he would get and from there I showed him with the same R100 how many minutes he would get using Talk360. He was so pleased even with R10. Thereafter he referred another 2 people to join Talk360.” 

The campaign delivered strong, measurable outcomes. In six months, it achieved over 30 million brand impressions. The fleet of bikes covered 175,480 kilometres, and 37,862 flyers were hand-delivered. 

Talk360 recorded a 167% increase in customer acquisition and 130% growth in revenue in 2022. Additionally, the agent network grew by 33%, partly thanks to the drivers becoming Talk360 Agents. The campaign also played a role in helping Talk360 secure an additional R53 million in seed round funding just five months after the campaign began.

Jonathan Katende reflected on impact:

“We got the results we were hoping for, especially at a brand awareness level. A few people that I know sent me pictures of the bikes on the road which was gratifying to see.”

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