The World Out of Home Organization (WOO) has announced the results of the first ever independently aggregated global study of programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH) advertising spend, revealing that the channel generated approximately USD$1.4-billion in revenue globally in 2025, equivalent to 7% of total DOOH expenditure.
Why the real AI advantage isn’t efficiency, it’s effectiveness, says project director: AI & Automation, The Up&Up Group, and Scott Reinders, chief operating officer, Connect (part of the Up&Up Group). There’s a seductive story being told across boardrooms right now: adopt AI, move faster, do more with less. From our experience leading AI implementation and media strategy inside the same agency group, being fast is not a competitive advantage when everyone has access to the same tools.
For two decades, the implicit deal was simple: pay for keywords, get customers. That contract is void, and the disruption it caused may be one of radio’s most compelling sales arguments as Google’s AI Overviews feature quietly dismantles the modern lower funnel.
The programmatic advertising industry has made genuine progress on transparency, yet less than half of every rand spent reaches a real person. Viewability, the metric on which the industry built its confidence, was never equal to the task and is hugely gamed by fraudsters.
Slightly Dangerous Co. takes a different approach. Instead of becoming a larger generalist agency, Demographica, Halo and Second Rodeo remain focused on what they each do best and collaborating when clients need broader expertise.
Global has today launched a self-service platform, AdPower, allowing businesses to book audio and outdoor media in minutes, with campaigns going live as soon as the next day. The AdPower platform offers the opportunity to plan, create, book, and measure premium media campaigns in one place, making it easier for businesses who may not have engaged with traditional media before.
Nearly two-thirds, or 62.6%, of media spend in 2026 is being directed toward conversion and awareness, a 10% increase from 2024, according to newly released data from Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey. The findings signal the importance of new customer acquisition and growth for marketers. Loyalty and retention now accounts for less than 15% of overall media spend, a 29% decrease over the same period.
South Africa’s marketing and media sector has a new structural player with the launch of Nobanda Investment Group, a holding company formed by 555 Media Hub founder Nhlanhla Nobanda, alongside Nedbank CMO Khensani Nobanda.
Publicis acquired LiveRamp. Ogilvy invested in sports and creator-focused agency Article 41. At first glance, these deals may seem unrelated or even duplicative. But viewed together, they suggest the agency industry is entering a new era of M&A, one that can’t be judged by yesterday’s playbook.
Media24 has announced a partnership with The Wall Street Journal which will allow South African businesses to purchase bundled corporate subscriptions directly through Media24, thereby combining access to local news coverage by News24, Netwerk24 or Landbou.com with The Wall Street Journal’s global financial and business intelligence in a single package.