Business
B-BBEE Advertising Marketing Sector Codes: How Agency Ownership and Skills Development Shape Who Wins Work
How South Africa's Media Industry Is Structured - Who Owns What, and Why It Matters
A working map of the South African media economy: the large publishers, the public broadcaster, the commercial radio groups, the pay-TV and streaming operators, and how ownership concentration shapes what gets published.
The board — what this title covers
News
Appointments, account moves, results and the week's industry business.
308 pagesMediaBroadcast, radio, publishing, streaming and the audience research behind them.
100 pagesMarketingBrands, campaigns, segmentation, loyalty and the discipline of getting bought.
65 pagesAdvertisingAgencies, creative work, out-of-home, awards and how the trade is paid.
162 pagesDigitalProgrammatic, retail media, influencers, platforms and applied AI.
34 pagesBusinessThe economics of the industry: adspend, ownership, regulation and compliance.
13 pagesOpinionArgument and analysis from the people who work in the industry.
28 pagesArchiveReporting published on this domain when AdVantage ran as a monthly print title.
686 pages
MediaHow the SABC Is Funded, and Why the Licence-Fee Argument Never Ends
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has long relied on a mix of advertising, TV licence fees, and government grants. But as of 2023, the SABC drew 57% of its revenue from advertising, 16% from TV…
MediaHow Community Radio Works in South Africa – and Why it's a Serious Buy for Advertisers
South Africa's community radio sector got fresh regulatory wind on 12 August 2026, when the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) awarded 18 new broadcasting licences from a pool of 93…
MediaHow Radio and TV Audiences Are Measured in South Africa: BRC, RAMS and the Establishment Survey Explained
The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) runs large national surveys, including the Establishment Survey of 25,000 respondents, as the foundation for radio and TV audience measurement in South…
MediaWhat Happened to Print in South Africa - What Closed, What Survived, and What It Costs Now
South Africa’s print market is not “dead”; it is split between collapsing mass-market newspapers, a publisher shift toward digital subscriptions, and a smaller set of print formats that still retain enough…
Business
The economics of the industry: adspend, ownership, regulation and compliance.All of Business ›
Business
Adspend and the Economy: How Advertising Budgets Track the Business Cycle
Advertising expenditure is strongly pro-cyclical: it moves more than GDP and consumption over the business cycle, with marketing budgets typically being cut faster and deeper in downturns, and the pattern of…
Business
Starting an Independent Agency in South Africa: The Practical Checklist
The registration process with CIPC involves choosing a unique business name and obtaining necessary licenses and clearances, including a trading license and tax clearance certificate from the South African…
Business
POPIA Marketing Rules in Practice: What South African Marketers Can and Cannot Do With Customer Data
Unsolicited marketing by email, SMS, phone or other electronic means is unlawful in South Africa, according to section 69(1) of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The only way an organisation…
Business
Media Regulation in South Africa: Navigating ICASA, BCCSA and the Press Ombud
South African media complaints are adjudicated by a complex network of bodies, with the regulatory landscape divided between statutory authorities like ICASA, the complaints body for NAB-member broadcasters,…
Advertising
Agencies, creative work, out-of-home, awards and how the trade is paid.All of Advertising ›
Advertising
Out-of-Home Advertising in South Africa: Formats, Measurement and the Rules
The Revised South African Manual for Outdoor Advertising Control (SAMOAC) forms the backbone of outdoor advertising control, setting a national framework for how municipalities regulate this public medium. Yet…
Advertising
How Agencies Get Paid: Retainers, Project Fees, Commission and Performance Models
Advertising agencies today use a diverse mix of fee models, from retainers and project fees to commission and performance incentives. This variety isn't static—trends and norms shift regularly. According to a…
Advertising
What South African Advertising Is Allowed to Say: The Self-Regulation Rulebook
South African advertising is mainly governed by industry-led self-regulation through the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) and its Code of Advertising Practice , which provides a formal complaints and appeals…
Marketing
Brands, campaigns, segmentation, loyalty and the discipline of getting bought.All of Marketing ›
MarketingHow a Marketing Campaign Is Built in South Africa: From Brief to Launch
Every marketing campaign in South Africa runs through a clear sequence of stages, each with its own decision points, checks and approvals. The process begins with the client brief, where objectives, audience,…
MarketingHow South Africa Segments Its Consumers: From LSM to Multi-Dimensional Profiling
The Living Standards Measure (LSM) remains the most widely recognised system for segmenting South African consumers, despite institutional and methodological changes in the industry. Developed by the South…
MarketingHow Retail Loyalty Programmes Make Money - and What They Are Really Buying
South Africa’s loyalty market is booming, with projected growth of 11.2% annually and a forecast value of US$384.3 million by 2024. Yet behind the drive to capture retail customers lies a more sophisticated…
MarketingMultilingual Advertising in South Africa: English Dominates, But Vernacular Languages Gain Ground
The South African Constitution acknowledges 11 official languages, yet nearly 80% of television advertisements aired in 2004 were exclusively in English. This stark contrast sets the stage for a critical look…
Digital
Retail Media Networks in South Africa: What Suppliers Need to Know
The ability of Shoprite to leverage the shopper data of over 33 million Xtra Savings loyalty members to power targeted in-store and radio campaigns exemplifies the rise of retail media networks in South…
Digital
Influencer Marketing in South Africa: Rates, Contracts and Disclosure
Influencer marketing in South Africa is governed by a formal social media code that requires written contracts, clear disclosure of any material brand-influencer relationship, and explicit handling of usage…
Digital
AI in Advertising and Newsrooms South Africa: The Newsroom Reality
Per press statements from recent years, artificial intelligence is no longer a looming future; it is already pervading South African newsrooms and advertising agencies . The Press Council of South Africa’s…
Opinion
Anatomy of a Media Plan: What It Includes and How to Read It
A media plan is more than a vague strategy document; it is a working schedule that ties concrete objectives, audiences, timings, channels, and budgets to a measurable campaign executed across a range of media…
Opinion
Brand Building Versus Performance Marketing: What the Evidence Says About the Split
LES BINET and Peter Field, two analysts whose work for the UK Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), have identified a specific mix of brand and performance spend as the most effective across…
The archive. 686 pages of industry reporting published on this domain when AdVantage ran as a monthly trade title — appointments, campaigns, awards and research from the South African industry. Nothing there has been updated. Open the archive index.
