For over a decade, South Africa’s media industry has been driven by a relentless pursuit of performance. Every click, view and conversion has been tracked, optimised and reported, transforming media from an art guided by intuition into a science powered by evidence.
This performance-centric approach has delivered measurable returns and operational efficiency. Yet, it has also exposed critical limitations: fragmented insights, siloed reporting, and inconsistent attribution have obscured the holistic view of the consumer.
Today, as technology, data, and audience behaviours evolve at unprecedented speed, the industry faces a pivotal inflection point: How do we move beyond performance media to embrace connected intelligence?
The rise of connected media
Globally, the media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. TV, digital, retail media, and commerce are converging into a unified consumer ecosystem. The emergence of Connected IDs – tools that recognise audiences across devices, platforms, and transactions – is revolutionising how media is planned, activated, and measured.
Imagine a consumer streaming a cooking show on a connected TV, purchasing ingredients via an e-commerce app, and later engaging with a grocery delivery ad on social media.
Connected media links these moments, enabling us to measure not just channel performance, but true consumer behaviour and intent. This integrated view of the audience journey turns fragmented data into actionable insights and impressions into real impact.
South Africa is witnessing early signs of this evolution. Checkers Sixty60’s integration of retail media, digital advertising and mobile-first commerce exemplifies how connected planning can seamlessly bridge brand building and conversion, while Takealot’s commerce-driven campaigns demonstrate the power of understanding behaviour across the consumer journey.
These cases prove that even in markets with fragmented data, connected ecosystems can unlock new opportunities – where intelligence, not just performance, drives growth.
Why connected media matters for South Africa
South Africa presents a unique blend of challenges and advantages. Fragmented data sets, walled gardens, and uneven digital adoption complicate identity-based planning. Yet, the country’s mobile-first environment, robust retail loyalty programs, and expanding connected TV landscape position it to leapfrog traditional data models.
The real opportunity lies in collaboration. Media owners, technology partners, agencies and brands must work together to establish a privacy-first identity framework – one that connects audiences without compromising trust. By doing so, we have the opportunity to build a planning ecosystem where insights, not impressions, guide decisions.
Connected media is about more than measurement. It’s about context and insights – seeing beyond clicks and conversions to understand intent, emotion and behaviour. It’s about connecting the dots across platforms and, more importantly, across purpose.
The strategic imperative for media leaders
For media strategists and planners, this shift is transformative. Planning will no longer be about simply optimising CPMs or executing channel buys. Instead, it will require architecting connected ecosystems that unify brand, content and commerce.
Connected intelligence demands fluency in data and a creative mindset – one that sees patterns, predicts needs and crafts meaningful experiences. The role of the media professional is evolving from manager to strategic orchestrator of attention and experience.
The next era of South African media success will be defined by those who can build bridges:
- Between data and creativity
- Between media and commerce
- Between technology and human understanding
The future belongs to those who embrace connected ecosystems and design experiences that matter. Connected intelligence is not the final destination – it is the foundation for a more intelligent, integrated and inspired way to connect with audiences.
As we move beyond performance, we can finally answer the question that has long challenged our industry: not just how many people we reach, but who we reach, how, and why it matters.
Contributed by Lynette Naidoo on behalf of the AMF Board. The Advertising Media Forum (AMF) is a collective of media agencies and individuals including media strategists, planners, buyers and consultants through whom 95% of all media expenditure in South Africa is bought. The AMF advises and represents relevant organisations and aims to create open channels of communication and encourage and support transparent policies, strategies and transactions within the industry.
