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When Local Language Meets Global Default

19 Aug 2026 Media

South Africa's multilingual reality can get lost when local languages present a challenge for developing language technology. media update considers what it means when the language we use does not fit the systems built to understand it.

South African languages and AI AI and African languages Code-switching Vernaculars South African vernaculars Code-switching South Africa South African language technology Language technology African language AI datasets Indigenous languages in AI

The Cost of Disconnected Marketing and Operations

20 Aug 2026 Marketing

media update considers what happens when businesses experience misalignment in marketing and operations by looking at the recent SPAR Chairman and Deputy Chair's resignations as case study.

SPAR SAP implementation failure SPAR leadership crisis SPAR share price decline SPAR retailer profitability SPAR supply chain problems SPAR litigation SPAR independent retailers SPAR Chairman Mike Bosman resignations SPAR Chairman resignations

The Human Edge in an Automated Communications Industry: A Q&A With Kevin Welman

5 Weeks ago Publicity

media update talks to Kevin Welman about how agencies can balance integration with specialist knowledge, creativity with commercial value and technological efficiency with human relationships to build lasting credibility.

AI in communications AI in public relations External communications strategy Storytelling in communications Human relationships in PR Measuring communications ROI Kevin Welman Director of ByDesign Communications Co-founder of ByDesign Communications

When Purpose Meets People — A Q&A With Tarri Parfitt

18 Aug 2026 Publicity

media update talks to Tarri Parffit about how the Smile Foundation communicates humanitarian influence and keeps people at the heart of the cause.

Tarri Parfitt Smile Foundation Smile Foundation CEO Tarri Parfitt CEO Smile Foundation South Africa Women’s Day Smile Foundation Women’s Day Breakfast NGO communication NGO

Roots to Reinvention — The Editor's Note

4 Weeks ago Publicity

Spring notoriously signals new beginnings, meaning most industries lean on this symbolism for their own gain. media update considers how publicity campaigns can offer an edge to an overdone story by rooting a brand's future in its own history.

Brand heritage Brand storytelling Publicity campaigns Brand history Brand reputation Heritage marketing Spring day Spring publicity Public relation strategies Brand identity Heritage marketing

The Digital Publishing Equation: From Traffic to Audience Relationships

Yesterday Media

AI crawlers continue to extract journalism with little traffic, if any, in return. Publishers from the United Kingdom (UK) debate newsletters and direct-audience strategies required for newsrooms to survive, while South Africa's Digital News Transformation Fund shows independent newsrooms already turning platform dependence into real self-built audience growth.

AI AI crawlers AI crawlers in journalism South African news websites AI Digital News Transformation Fund Compensation for journalism Publisher traffic decline AI Newsletter strategy publishers Independent newsrooms South Africa Direct audience relationships media

Taste as an Editorial Skill

5 Weeks ago Media

media update considers how technology and trend culture shape our relationship with taste, and why developing discernment and an independent perspective remains essential to editorial judgement.

Taste Culture Cultural trends Tech’s influence on culture AI influencing culture Pierre Bourdieu Consumer culture Social media trends Editorial judgement

Building a Data Profile: A Q&A With Melissa Mc Nally — Part One

1 Week ago Marketing

media update talks to Melissa McNally about the assumptions behind audience research, from the limits of consumer personas to the risks of AI-led targeting, and how research can keep pace with changing needs and motivations.

Audience research Consumer behaviour Audience segmentation Consumer personas AI audience targeting Marketing data analytics Consumer insights Audience targeting strategy Melissa Mc Nally SoundInsights Kagiso Connect Kagiso Media Radio

When Literacy Development Meets Easy Answers: A Deeper Look at South Africa’s Literacy Crisis

3 Weeks ago Media

media update considers how our relationship with AI and the decline in reading for pleasure fit into South Africa's literacy crisis.

South Africa literacy crisis AI and reading comprehension International Literacy Day 2026 Next Chapter Jozi literacy initiative Reading for pleasure South Africa 60th anniversary of International Literacy Day

How Spaces Shape the Stories We Tell About Them

2 Weeks ago Publicity

media update considers how the way we experience our surroundings can influence what we believe about them, and why changing that perception requires more than a fresh coat of paint.

Johannesburg inner city Johannesburg public spaces inner-city regeneration urban regeneration Johannesburg Johannesburg heritage buildings community development Johannesburg socio-spatial divides Ponte Tower challenge The Barbican

The Optics of Defence: AAD 2026 Through Communication's Lens

2 Days ago Publicity

African Aerospace and Defence's (AAD's) air show is on everyone's lips after this past weekend's impressive display of skill, but the exhibition's story began decades before the first jet took to the Waterkloof skies. media update considers how AAD evolved from a simple air show into a major civil and military industry event.

African Aerospace and Defence AAD 2026 Aerospace exhibition Defence exhibition Air Force Base Waterkloof South African Air Force Aviation industry Defence industry Aviation AAD 2026 event AAD exhibition

Taking Local Global — What Durban FilmMart 2026 Asks of African Storytellers

2 Weeks ago Media

Africa's leading film finance market returns this coming October under the theme Shifting Worlds: Turning Towards Ourselves. media update looks at how local stories reach global audiences without losing what makes them local.

Durban FilmMart 2026 African film finance market Shifting Worlds Turning Towards Ourselves Talents Durban 2026 African cinema storytelling cultural context in storytelling decentering the single story African filmmakers global audience

African Parks Appoints VML South Africa as Digital Agency Partner

3 Days ago Marketing

Conservation NGO African Parks has partnered with VML South Africa with the aim to share the stories, celebrate the partnerships and highlight conservation outcomes across its portfolio.

Future Nation Schools Calls for Greater Focus on the Quality of Children's First Year of Education Ahead of 2027

Yesterday Publicity

South Africa has spent years asking whether children are ready for school. As Grade R becomes part of the country's compulsory schooling framework, an equally important question is whether schools are ready for the child.

Trevor Noah Returns to Captain South Africa's Comedy "National Team"

2 Days ago Marketing

After taking South African comedy to audiences around the world, Trevor Noah is returning home for a collaboration that celebrates the industry where his own journey began.

Your Agency Model Isn't the Problem — Your Operating Model Is

6 Days ago Marketing

When you ask marketing and agency leaders what's keeping you up at night, increasingly, the answer is the same: How do we actually operationalise AI in a way that creates measurable business value? Organisations have adopted AI tools, but they haven't redesigned how they operate around them, says Lynn Madeley, CEO of High Performance Matters.

There's Still Business to be Done Before Year-End

6 Days ago Marketing

Like clockwork, as the final quarter rolls around, attention turns to whether a business will hit its annual sales target. How much still needs to close? Which deals can realistically land before year-end? What does the pipeline look like against the target?, says Lauren Pybus, Creative Director and Marketing Manager at Euphoria Telecom.

Cresta Awards Reveals 2026 Finalists

6 Days ago Marketing

The finalists of the 2026 Cresta Awards have been revealed with Plan.Net leading the way. The company, part of Serviceplan Group, has 27 entries shortlisted, opening up a clear gap between the German agency and all other contenders.

The Optics of Defence: AAD 2026 Through Communication's Lens

2 Days ago Publicity

Kaya 959 Announced as Radio Partner for Nedbank IMC 2026

3 Days ago Marketing

According to Harvard Business Review's analysis of recession-era marketing data, the evidence has exposed that businesses that held or grew their marketing spend through recent downturns came out of them growing 17% faster than the ones that pulled back.

South African Documentary Hearts Remember Set to Screen on World Alzheimer's Day in Johannesburg

3 Days ago Media

The South African documentary Hearts Remember (Pelo ya hopola) will officially premiere in South Africa on Monday, 21 September, coinciding with World Alzheimer's Day. The film was recently presented at the International Alzheimer's Association Conference in London this past July.

Numerator Brand Footprint 2026 Analysis Shows Growth in South Africa's FMCG Market

3 Days ago Marketing

South Africa's FMCG market has returned to growth in 2025, with consumer spending increasing 3.3%, a significant turnaround from the 2.4% decline recorded in 2024, according to the latest Brand Footprint 2026 analysis from Worldpanel by Numerator.