MOST Awards in pictures: Celebrating excellence

The return of the MOST Awards was celebrated widely, with media owners and media agencies out in force celebrating service excellence in the media business.

Merissa Himraj, winner of the Shepherd Award (she’s also a former Media Agency Legend), said of the awards, “Last night at the 2025 Most Awards I was reminded why I do love this industry I am in. I am the person I am today because of the generous spirit and guidance of my own Sheperds across the years, grateful that I get to pay this forward in a meaningful way as I work on ensuring the longevity of our industry. Well done to the MOST team for a lovely event and massive congratulations to all the winners.”

Big winners on the night were Mediamark, generous with their praise. “Congratulations to all the winners, your ideas, innovation, leadership and passion continue to redefine what excellence looks like in media.”

Mediamark were winners of Best Radio Sales Team, Best Multimedia Sales Team, and Best Trade Marketing Services plus Mediamark Digital taking second place in the Digital category and Mediamark digital earning second place Overall Media Owner!

“A massive thank you to our amazing brands, clients, partners, and peers for your continued trust. You’re the reason we keep pushing boundaries, delivering creativity, innovation, collaboration, and world-class service every step of the way,” said the Mediamark team.

Of Media Owner Rising Star, Naritive SA wrote, “Our MD, Nicci van Niekerk, has been nominated at this year’s MOST Awards, and that’s no small thing. The MOSTs are decided by the people who live and breathe this business every day. The peers who know the difference between loud and legendary. We’re proud, but not surprised. Nicci leads Naritive with the same energy we put into every campaign: fearless, bold, and impossible to ignore.”

Spark Media was delighted with its win. “Just in! Spark Media takes home the Media Owner: Print award at the MOST Awards 2025! Huge shoutout to our amazing team and clients for keeping print alive, local, and loved.”

The SABC’s Justice Leshilo added, “The MOSTAwards2025 brought together South Africa’s brightest media and marketing minds – and the SABC was proud to stand alongside them in honouring industry excellence and innovation. From powerful conversations to live crossovers and our moment on stage – we continue to champion the partnerships that shape the future of media.”

Perennial winners The MediaShop said, “We’re proud to share that The MediaShop has been awarded 2nd place for Media Agency of the Year at the 2025 MOST Awards! 🏆✨️This achievement is a true reflection of our team’s passion, dedication, and relentless drive to deliver meaningful media solutions that make an impact. A heartfelt thank you to our incredible clients, partners, and our unstoppable TMS family – this one’s for all of us 🙌”

Dentsu South Africa honoured their Media Agency Rising Star, Megan Sayle. “We’re proud to announce that Megan Sayle, Head of Strategy at Carat South Africa has been honoured with the Media Agency Rising Star Award at the prestigious MOST Awards 2025. This award recognises exceptional individual performance in the media industry and reflects her relentless commitment to delivering value and driving strategic success for our clients. We couldn’t be prouder of this well-deserved recognition.”

Congratulations to all the winners this year.

You can read The Media’s MOST Awards magazine here. Just click on the cover and download.