Global advertising and marketing services company Monks, founded by legendary media man, Sir Martin Sorrell, has bought a 25% stake in South Africa’s full-service digital marketing agency, Hoorah.
The move is part of its plans to expand its footprint into the African continent.
Previously known as Media.Monks, the operating brand of UK-listed S4 Capital is a global digital marketing agency with a focus on Al-driven solutions.
It specialises in creating innovative and personalised brand experiences, offering a wide range of services, including creative production, content marketing, social media marketing, and data analytics.
Shaune Jordaan, group CEO and founder of Hoorah, says Al has transformed how marketers work over the past decade, especially in Africa where businesses are starting to use marketing Al tools to engage, convert and retain customers.
Jordaan believes the investment will enable Hoorah to compete against larger players and accelerate its Al expansion plans on the African continent.
Natural partnership
“At Hoorah, we embrace new ways of partnership and doing business,” he adds “We are here to disrupt the advertising landscape as we know it by creating innovative and personalised brand experiences at scale. This is the same approach that Monks has taken, making this a natural partnership.
“Further, S4 and Monks understand the importance of having the right Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) equity partner in South Africa, which is critical for our clients, for our teams and for access to scale new business opportunities.”
Hoorah now has access to the full suite of Monks’ best-in-class, Al-first marketing and advertising services. Clyde Mallon, Hoorah COO adds “We are very excited about this partnership. With access to Monks’ global capabilities we are better positioned than ever to disrupt the agency landscape with new operating models and AI-enabled ways of working.”
Jordaan and Mallon continue as shareholders in the business, maintaining their leadership roles, and are committed to this new chapter of success and growth.
The transaction was handled by Hoorah’s outgoing board members Adam Fine and Eran Brill, who believe Monks is well-positioned to take the business to the next level.
