Dentsu is strengthening its commerce leadership with the appointment of Ansa Leighton-Buys. In this role, Leighton-Buys will lead the strategic development of commerce marketing across the dentsu network, working closely with brands and retailers to design connected commerce strategies that influence buying decisions across systems and accelerate measurable growth.
The framework evaluates the projected customer value over 52 weeks, enabling brands to gain deeper insight into sustained customer relationships and future revenue streams
The recent amendments to the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) regulations introduce a formal compliance framework for direct marketing in South Africa, having taken effect from 15 April 2026.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) on Thursday released its first Campaign Data Standards from Project Eidos, introduced in February, for public comment, available through June 14.
New AI ad tech startups are coming out of the woodwork, but Kovva is staking out a less glamorous niche than most: using agents to deal with the cross-platform chores that have mostly resisted automation. “The idea is that a media buyer can delegate their workflows,” said James Hassett, Kovva’s CTO and a co-founder, “and we’re concentrating on the ones that cause operational pain, the really tedious ones.”
OpenAI’s ChatGPT began serving ads to non-logged in users, expanding the pool of available inventory and targeting options for brands using the platform. But OpenAI’s large language model (LLM) could develop an entirely new pricing structure beyond CPMs or cost-per-click (CPC) for advertising before the company begins to allow more advertisers to buy media.
“What we want to do is use technology in a way that actually does bring people together,” Heineken’s CMO told us. It’s always been hard to break the ice with a stranger. It’s a little easier when there’s common ground—like a shared hobby, interest, or cultural taste. That’s the thinking powering The Clinker, a smart band that wraps around Heineken beer cans and bottles.
The Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) South Africa’s Next! Conference 2026 will focus on what is working in practice, bringing together the broader marketing industry to explore what drives growth in today’s fragmented and fast-evolving landscape
France’s Canal+ has signed a new multi-year renewal deal with SA Rugby to keep all of the South African Rugby Union’s (Saru) domestic competitions, Springbok women and junior age-group matches on MultiChoice’s SuperSport in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the first sports content contract Canal+ has signed with a South African sports federation body since it took over MultiChoice in September 2025.
Meta is reportedly working on two new agentic artificial intelligence tools, which would enable users to let its Artificial Intelligence systems conduct tasks on their behalf, including shopping, with minimal human guidance.