The rapid growth of communication agencies in Africa was precipitated by large global groups scaling their businesses to create a significant presence across a continent full of promise.
Keen to gain a foothold in previously unchartered territory, acquisitions by global conglomerates started with South African agencies selling their privately owned businesses over a decade ago. Today a hefty share of local and African marketing spend is channelled through five locally based communication agency groups and their affiliates in Africa.
To add to the stampede, South African owned companies forever on the lookout for expansion opportunities, moved across the border, followed by their trusted communication partners.
In many cases ‘people on the ground’ were sought to ease the passage. This prompted a plethora of associations, affiliations, partnerships and joint ventures. It was not possible to unpack ownership patterns in time for this edition of The Media magazine. However the listing suggests significant global and local business interests within the communication sector.
In our inaugural issue on Africa, The Media covered information of particular use to South African based marketers. The listings provide fascinating insight into how communication groups have spread their wings across Africa.
| DENTSU AEGIS | ||
| Vizeum | Owns: South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda is in the process of being finalised | Associates: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Carat | Owns: South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda | |
| INTERPUBLIC GROUP | ||
| The MediaShop | Owns: South Africa | Associates: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| FCB | Owns: South Africa, | Associates: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Morrocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Réunion, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| McCann | Owns: South Africa | Associates: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP | ||
| OMG Africa | Owns: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania | Associates: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| OMNICOM MEDIA GROUP | ||
| PHD | Owns: Kenya, South Africa | Associates: Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria |
| OMD | Owns: Algeria, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa | Associates: Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda |
| TBWA | Owns: South Africa | Associates: Angola, Botswana, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Réunion, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| PUBLICIS | ||
| Zenith Optimedia | (declined to give information) | (declined to give information) |
| Starcom MediaVest Group | (declined to give information) | (declined to give information) |
| WPP/GROUPM | ||
| Mindshare | Owns: Kenya, South Africa | Associates: Mindshare has a presence in all East African, West African and SADEC countries either through utilising the services of its sister agencies under the GroupM company, or through affiliates |
| Mediacom | Owns: Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia | Associates: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, Zimbabwe |
| Ogilvy | Owns: Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia | Associates: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Zimbabwe |
* Disclaimer: All efforts were made to ensure accurate information and as comprehensive a listing as possible. Any unavoidable omissions will be included when the article is updated.
This story was first published in The Media’s Africa Annual. The Media Online will be carrying reports on media in various African countries over the next few weeks. Read the Africa Annual digizine here. #AfricaAnnual
