Picture this: a corporate giant, desperate for fresh PR firepower, fires off a glossy RFP. Agencies scramble, pouring blood, sweat and late nights into bespoke pitches, says Bernadine Coles, Meropa Communications Deputy Divisional Head of Corporate.

Every June, the South African marketing industry does something curious. It sets aside an entire month to talk about youth, and then spends most of it talking about age, says Marilize Jacobs, Founder of VocalCord PR & Reputation Management, and Thabani Mnyakeni, Chief Creative Officer at TM Relations.

South Africa is no longer an emerging loyalty market. It is a mature one. The 2025 / 6 Truth and BrandMapp Loyalty Whitepaper found that 85% of economically active South Africans use loyalty programmes, up from 82% in the previous year, says Len Lubbe, CEO at LoyaltyPlus.

For decades, the instinctive answer to business growth and influence was marketing. That made sense in a world where brands could largely define themselves through campaigns, buying attention through select channels at scale, says Sharleen James, Managing Director of Razor PR.

Tiger Brands has announced it has reached a milestone in its renewable energy journey, with solar power now operational at seven of its manufacturing sites across South Africa, aimed at helping to reduce the company's reliance on non-renewable energy sources while lowering its carbon footprint.

A key figure behind Kaya 959's evolution into one of South Africa's radio and cultural brands is returning to the station's wider commercial ecosystem.

Today consumers have endless market options — and brands are finding that customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted. media update's Venelize de Lange considers how retail businesses are adapting their strategies to stay top of mind. 

Venelize de Lange from media update talks to Nicky McArthur about the decision to launch a new print magazine in 2026 and how this move challenges industry assumptions about print's decline in value. 

Cape Town Tourism (CTT) has announced that it has won three Gold Awards at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA). 

The South African travelogue series, Breaking Down Borders Africa, has been awarded a Silver international Telly Award in the Best Travel and Tourism Television Series category. The announcement was as the Telly Awards has celebrated their 47^th year.