MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2021

By Herman Manson. We’ve updated our annual agency revenue rankings to give marketers — and agency execs — an overview of the relative scale of agencies in the South African communications landscape.

Agencies listed in the ranking are included based upon publicly available revenue bands, not billings, for the 2020/21 financial year (April 2020 to March 2021). Billings is the amount of client money that flows through an agency; what you can touch but you can’t keep equals billings (eg gross media or production spend). Revenue is the money agencies get to keep and this is the number we’re looking for.

Trends

Among agencies and group networks with revenue of R200m and over, five moved into a higher revenue band, and one moved into a lower revenue band
Out of the 14 agencies listed with revenue over R200m, 12 were BEE level 1 compliant
We noted an upward trend in staff count at network groups

List movement

Agencies that moved up a revenue band included Wunderman Thompson South Africa (WPP), 99c, Joe Public United, M&C Saatchi Abel (M&C Saatchi), Carat (dentsu), Grid Worldwide (Omnicom), Flume, Rogerwilco, and Levergy (M&C Saatchi).

Agencies that jumped several revenue bands included TBWA\ Hunt Lascaris (Omnicom), Hoorah, Eclipse Communications, Duke Group, and Razor (M&C Saatchi).

Agencies that moved down a revenue band included Nahana (Nahana IPG), Tradeway, DNA Brand Architects, Hellocomputer (Nahana IPG), The Odd Number, Penquin, and Mela Events (M&N Brands).

Agencies that fell several revenue bands included FCB Joburg (Nahana IPG), ProActive Activation Agency, FoxP2 (dentsu) and HaveYouHeard.

MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2021

Agency	Network/ independent	Staff count	BEE level	Group figure	Key clients
R550m+
Incubeta	Independent	160	2	Yes	Shoprite Checkers, Cape Union Mart Group, Hyundai, Sanlam, Europcar
Ogilvy South Africa	WPP	597	1	Yes	KFC, MultiChoice, Cashbuild, AB InBev, VW
Publicis Groupe Africa	Publicis	1 000	1	Yes	Vodacom, Nestlé, Distell, Mercedes-Benz, Nedbank
R450m–R550m
TBWA\ South Africa	Omnicom	498	1	Yes	Spar Group, MTN Group, Liberty Group, Nissan/ Datsun, FNB
Wunderman Thompson	WPP	550	1	Yes	Standard Bank, Telkom Group, Nestlé, BMW Group, Unilever
Nahana Communications Group	Nahana (IPG)	487	1	Yes	Toyota, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Diageo, Debonairs
R250m–R350m
99c	Independent	380	4		Shoprite, Checkers, Ackermans, Spur Corporation, Puma
dentsu South Africa	dentsu	300	1	Yes	AB InBev, Vodacom, Absa, Heineken, Pick n Pay
Joe Public United	Independent	280	1	Yes	Cell C, Chicken Licken, Nedbank, SAB, SA Tourism
M&C Saatchi Group South Africa	M&C Saatchi	350	1	Yes	Telkom, Tiger Brands, Audi, BDO, RCL Foods
TBWA\ Hunt Lascaris	Omnicom	289	1		Spar, MTN, Nissan, Liberty, Stanlib
King James Group	Accenture Interactive (pending)	260	1	Yes	Sanlam, Santam, Pick n Pay, TymeBank, Wesgro
M&C Saatchi Abel	M&C Saatchi	260	1		Standard Bank, Astron Energy, Takealot Group, Namibian Breweries, Lexus + Automark
VMLY&R South Africa	WPP	270	1		Vodacom, MMI, BAT, Colgate, Absa
R100m–R125m
Avatar Agency Group	M&N Brands	100	1	Yes	Tecno, KFC, Old Mutual, Telkom, Edgars
Brave Group	Independent	105	1	Yes	Momentum, Transnet, Absa, Tiger Brands, BP SA
FCB Joburg	Nahana (IPG)	147	1		Toyota, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Diageo, Debonairs
Grey Advertising Africa	WPP	115	1		Distell, P&G, GSK, Mazda, Volvo
IIG Group (Oliver + MORE)	Independent	140	2		Unilever, Diageo, Liberty, Vukile, Adidas
ProActive Activation Agency	Independent	105	1		MTN, Clover, Standard Bank, Pepsico, GSK
Tradeway	Independent	76	1		SAB, Tiger Brands, MTN, Unilever, Mondelēz
R80m–R100m
Carat	dentsu	69	1		Absa, Beiersdorf, Vodacom, Mastercard, Engen
Clockwork	Independent	135	2		Netflix, Microsoft Xbox, BASF, LG, Acer Africa
Demographica	Independent	45	1		Vodacom Business, Macsteel, Nedbank, Engen, SA Tourism
DN/A Brand Architects	Independent	40	1		First National Bank, Barloworld, Telkom, Apple Music, Viacom
Grid Worldwide	Omnicom	53	1		FNB, BetKing, MTN, Sasol, SA Tourism
Hamiltons in Creative	Independent	40	N/A		Food Lover’s Market, Freshstop, @home (digital), Fair Cape (digital)
R60–R70m
Eclipse Communications	Independent	85	2		Netflix SA, Pfizer SA, Country Road, Woolworths, Edward Snell
HelloFCB+	Nahana (IPG)	77	1		Western Cape Government, Ninety One, Lactalis, City of Cape Town, Tiger Brands
Hoorah	Independent	65	2		Nestlé, Sanofi, Miway, Avon, Discovery
iProspect (and Vizeum, which merged into it)	dentsu	47	1		MultiChoice, Clarins, BMW, ABI, Spur
R50m–R60m
Duke Group	Independent	85	1	Yes	BevCo, PepsiCo, Citadel, Satrix, Marriot International
Hellocomputer	Nahana (IPG)	41	1		Toyota, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Austock, Old Mutual
John Brown South Africa	dentsu	55	1		Pick n Pay, Old Mutual, Capitec, Hippo, Life Healthcare
McCann1886	Nahana (IPG)	43	1		Steers, L’Oreal, Reckitt Benckiser, Mastercard, Nestlé
MetropolitanRepublic	WPP	50	1		SA Tourism, GSK, Discovery, Danone SA (Nutriday), Eskort
Rapt Creative	Independent	30	2		Heineken, Jameson, Schweppes, Cipla, Strongbow
The Odd Number	Independent	45	1		MultiChoice, Game, Assupol, Diageo, Newzroom Afrika
R40m–R50m
Flume	Independent	72	2		Woolworths, Astron Energy, Canon SA, Nedbank, Warner Music
FoxP2	dentsu	41	1		FNB, Wimpy, Hippo, 1st for Women, Tiger Brands
Mortimer Harvey	Independent	32	1		Old Mutual, Fidelity ADT, Pure Wild Fund, HeadsUp Entertainment Inc, Spinola Software Solutions
Promise	Independent	61	2		SAB, RMB, AfriSam, PPS, JTI
Rogerwilco	Independent	62	2		Nestlé, Sanlam, iWyze, First Rand Group, The Crazy Store
Sunshinegun	Independent	30	1		Nando’s, AB InBev, Nedbank
Conversation Lab	Independent	45	2	Yes	Unilever, ADvTECH Group, Godrej, Livekindly Collective, LexisNexis
HaveYouHeard	Independent	55	2	Yes	Old Mutual, Campari Africa, Trotters Clothing (UK), Toyota, DHL
Levergy	M&C Saatchi	44	1		Nedbank, Telkom, SuperSport, Energade, New Balance
Magna Carta	Omnicom	27	1		MTN, Old Mutual, Allan Gray, Spar, Clicks
MullenLowe	Nahana (IPG)	36	2		Knorr, Ayoba, LEGO, Edward Snell, PepsiCo
Penquin	Independent	57	1		Suzuki, Microsoft, Grafton Everest, ST Group, Mustek
Razor	M&C Saatchi	30	1		Audi SA, Anglo American, BDO, Tiger Brands, Virgin Active
TwoTone	Independent	29	1		Nestlé, Diageo, Limpopo Tourism, Ghana Oil
R30m–R40m
Boomtown	Independent	55	2		Nestlé, Easigas, Lafarge, Woodlands Dairy (First Choice), Stellenbosch University
Happy Friday Creative	Independent	23	2		PSG, FNB, Vodacom WC, Allan Gray, AB InBev
Hoola	Independent	33	2		Tekkie Town, First Choice, KFC, Trumps, Nulaid
Jellyfish South Africa	Independent	60	2	Yes	Telesure, Investec, First Rand Group, Mr Price, The Mattress Warehouse
Yellowwood Future Architects	Omnicom	30	1		MTN, Nedbank, Pernod Ricard, InnoVent, RMB
R10m–R20m
34	King James Group	14	4		Motus, Game, Betting World, DGB, Famous Brands
3Verse	Independent	22	2		Diageo, Telesure Investment Holdings
ATKASA – Digital Agency	Independent	24	4		Herbalife, Medihelp, Evergreens Fresh Market, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Jewellery Council Southern Africa
Dalmatian	M&C Saatchi	10	1		Renault
Dentsu Performance	dentsu	50	1		BAT, Clarins, MiWay, Cipla, Intel
Duma Collective	Independent	36	1		MultiChoice Group, Chivas, Amstel, Samsung
Ebony+Ivory	Independent	18	1		Brand SA, Sasria, Wits, Sephaku, JSE
GGiSA	Independent	12	2		Dis-Chem, Busamed, WeBuyCars, Tetra Pak, UBS
Halo	Independent	12	2		Pam Golding, Yoco, Exclusive Books, Capital Hotel Group, Naked Insurance
Harambee Communications	Independent	7	1		Standard Bank, MultiChoice, Puma Energy
Ideas Wise & Wonderful (IWW)	Independent	15	1		Gautrain, Brand SA, Broadband Infraco, Landbank, Bombela
M&C Saatchi Connect	M&C Saatchi	16	2		Hollard, Takealot, Lexus, RCL Foods, Premier FMCG
Mark1	Duke Group	32	2		Food Lover’s Market, FreshStop, Mazda, Pepsi, Webafrica
Matrix Group	Matrix Group	65	1	Yes	Talk360, Mitsubishi Motors SA, Racing Association
MediaH	Independent	12	1		Samsung, Subaru, WeThinkCode, MTN
Mela Events	M&N Group	5	2		Standard Bank, RMB, Nando’s, Jaguar Landrover
Retroviral Online Branding	Independent	15	2		Premier FMCG, Gumtree, Russell Hobbs, Liberty, Profmed
SoulProviders Collective	Matrix Group	25	1		AMKA, FMI Insurance, DIDI Global, Digify Africa, Talk 360
Under R10m
BloomInk	Independent	2	1		Maggi, Pikitup, City of Joburg, FullServe
Brandfundi	Independent	3	4		Bateleur, IMM Graduate School of Marketing, Superunion, WundermanThompson, Insight Actuaries
Fresh AF	M&N Brands	8	3		Budweiser, Smirnoff, Steers, DStv, KFC Add Hope
Goodbye Boring	Independent	9	N/A		Junior Colleges, Martins Academy, SOGA
IdeaFoundry	Independent	5	N/A		FBN Quest (Nigeria)
Infestation	Independent	12	N/A		STBB Attorneys, NOSA (SafetySA), V&A Waterfront, Curro, Vodacom
June 15	Independent	5	1		Motus, Bushveld Mining, Khona La Local Stores
Kilmer & Cruise	Independent	9	4		Hill’s Pet Nutrition, CompCare Medical Scheme, Bounty Brands, Dunkeld Trout Hatcheries, Children’s Hospital Trust
One Custom	Independent	5	4		Fortress Real Estate Investments, Cricket SA, Entelect, SA College of Applied Psychology
Orange Ink	Independent	7	4		KFC, 1Life, Interwaste, Imperial, Swissport
Pekuzi Projects	Independent	6	1		Momentum Consult
So Interactive	Independent	11	4		AIG, Logitech, Intercare, Ocean Basket, Reeflords
The Friday Street Club	Independent	10	4		SAB Foundation, Wonga, Remy Martin, Clicks, V&A Waterfront
The Good Guys Creative Agency	Independent	8	1		Old Buck Gin, MultiChoice, Chivas, Black Bottle, Flora
Tin Can PR	Independent	3	4		Philip Morris SA, Rhodes Food Group, Brown Forman, Oliver Agency, DSC Attorneys
Visual Aspiration	Independent	5	1		Sakhumzi Restaurant, Makola Inc, Safana Panelbeaters

Survey notes

The information has been sourced directly from agencies and holding companies through a survey run via MarkLives.com and via our directory service, Ramify.biz, and participation is voluntary. Some agencies which participated last year have since closed down and their information isn’t included in this edition, even if they traded during the financial year in question. Others have chosen not to provide us with the data required for inclusion this year. MarkLives hasn’t audited the figures supplied by agencies; we publish the information provided in good faith.

While revenue bands and staff count aren’t reliable indicators of the health of a business, they do offer important context in terms of the scale of new business an agency can take on and their relative positioning in the industry (in the categories small, medium and large).

We also list black economic empowerment (BEE) scorecard levels as this is important for clients and procurement departments. Of course, a BEE score doesn’t necessarily reflect transformation beyond ownership level but it is a formalised aspect of transformation in our industry, agreed upon by the MAC Charter. We’ve also added up to five key clients for each agency; they offer an idea of the brands that each agency works on. Due to space constraints, we couldn’t include all agency clients.

For more agency listings, please go to Ramify.biz, our free database of agencies in South Africa. Agencies may create their own free profiles as per these instructions.

Updated at 10am on 8 March 2022.