"In today's complex environment, agencies must leverage their 'Creative Capital' to drive growth for their clients, if they want to drive growth for themselves," says Vicki Buys, Managing Director of Ogilvy and the 2025 AdFocus Awards Chairperson.

"The awards will celebrate agencies that demonstrate how they have successfully built their own agency value — financial performance, talent, culture, innovation — and delivered tangible business results for their clients through strategic and impactful creative solutions. The focus will be on the business of creativity, not just the art of it," adds Buys.

2025 Jury

According to the awards, the jury comprises industry leaders from both agencies and clients. Jury members serve a two-year term. Buys will be joined on the jury by returning jurors:

  • Katherine Madley, Executive: Marketing, Brand and Digital at Pick n Pay
  • Sbu Sitole, CCO and Founder of The Odd Number
  • Chris Botha, Group MD at Park Advertising
  • Yatish Narsi, Chief Marketing Officer at MultiChoice Group, and 
  • Dustin Chick, CEO at Razor PR, The Up & Up Group.

New Jury Members

The AdFocus Awards also welcome the following new jury members:

  • Musa Kalenga, Group Chief Executive Officer at Brave Group
  • Carl Willoughby, Chief Creative Officer for TBWA\Hunt Lascaris
  • Paula Hulley, Managing Director at Digitas Liquorice
  • Tanya Schreuder, CEO of Juno, and
  • Mukondi Ralushayi Kgomo, Co-Founder and CEO of Think Creative Africa. 

"I am really looking forward to the debate in the jury room with this diverse panel of judges. Everyone on the panel believes in the business of creativity and is well placed to judge who the leading agencies in their categories are," says Buys.

The AdFocus Awards Categories

AdFocus Agency Awards

  • Large Agency of the Year
  • Medium Agency of the Year
  • Small Agency of the Year
  • Specialised Agency of the Year
  • Public Relations Agency of the Year, and 
  • Media Agency of the Year. 

AdFocus Category Awards

  • Transformation Award
  • Partnership Award
  • Africa Impact Award, and 
  • Agency Group of the Year.

AdFocus Individual Awards

  • Shapeshifter of the Year
  • Industry Leader of the Year
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, and 
  • Student of the Year. 

The overall award, Agency of the Year, is selected by the jury from among the entries, says the awards. 

How to Enter the 2025 AdFocus Awards

To enter the 2025 FM AdFocus Awards, entrants will need to complete an online questionnaire and submit supporting documents on the AdFocus Awards website.

According to the awards, the entry process comprises:

  • Register an account on the AdFocus Awards website.
  • Receive a confirmation email.
  • Log in to the AdFocus Awards website.
  • Fill in the questionnaire for the award category you'd like to enter.
    • For agency awards, first select 'Agency Details' and ensure that the type of agency reflected in the drop-down menu (i.e., Large, Medium, Specialist and so on) corresponds with the award category you'd like to enter. Then click 'Save'. Next, select 'Entry Details' to access the questionnaire.
  • Once you've completed the relevant questionnaire, click the 'Submit' button.
  • Each questionnaire requires supporting documents. To upload these, click the 'Upload Files' button at the bottom of the page. Once uploaded, the filename will appear in a list below the button, serving as confirmation of your upload.

The AdFocus Awards concludes that the awards gala will take place on Wednesday, 26 November. 

For more information, visit www.adfocus.co.za. You can also follow the FM AdFocus Awards on X.

*Image courtesy of contributor