The Digital Solutions Group (DSG) has launched Broadband into the market with a mission of restoring value to independent publishers while giving advertisers efficient reach and performance across verified local media. It is a “credible, local alternative to global ad platforms”.
Headed by digital maven Vincent Maher – recently appointed co-chair of the Digital Transformation Fund, member of MMA’s Future of Marketing CMO Board for Middle East and Africa and leader of the AI Leadership Coalition for Sub-Saharan Africa – AI-driven Broadband aggregates inventory from publishers across the country.
This includes vernacular and regional outlets. The inventory will initially inventory be available to buyers via programmatic private deals. But the plan is for Broadbrand to evolve into a full programmatic exchange in future phases.
The platform also includes optional support for AI-driven ad performance optimisation, an approach it says delivers 30x to 50x better results in digital advertising campaigns for advertisers.
“We don’t need to wait for policy to protect local media. We can build new systems now that give publishers a fighting chance,” says Maher. “That’s the promise of Broadbrand.”
We asked Maher to explain Broadband’s offering in more detail.
Q: How will Broadbrand ‘restore value to independent publishers while giving advertisers efficient reach and performance across verified local media’?
Broadbrand brings together independent publishers and brands wishing to advertise in a single marketplace. By placing advertising through the Broadbrand network, brands benefit from scale and reach, while publishers gain access to much-needed advertising revenue.
What sets Broadbrand apart is our use of a technology platform that applies AI to improve advertising responsiveness, making media more valuable and delivering better results for advertisers. This technology will be deployed across the Broadbrand network, ensuring that both publishers and advertisers benefit from smarter, performance-driven campaigns.
Q: Can our local market support such a platform in terms of numbers?
The biggest challenge for small independent publishers is that they’re often excluded from national digital advertising budgets due to limited volume and scale. Broadbrand solves this by aggregating the ad inventory of many smaller publishers into a unified network.
This provides the media buying industry with a single point of access to reach these audiences through a single commercial deal, eliminating the need to manage multiple smaller contracts.
The local digital advertising market is large enough to absorb this aggregated inventory without requiring brands to increase their budgets, making it easy to include smaller publishers in national campaigns without compromising on scale or efficiency.
Q: How have publishers reacted to the offering thus far?
Broadbrand is an emerging player in the South African media landscape, and we already have several publishers lined up for trials, including community publications that participated in SANEF’s digital transformation project. These are the types of publishers that often struggle to access national digital campaigns despite their strong local relevance.
On the demand side, we have multiple national media buyers ready to take part in media performance trials. In practice, we’ve already been using the same underlying technology on open exchanges for brand campaigns, where we’ve seen performance gains of 10 to 40 times above average.
We expect this level of performance to translate well for local publishers, making Broadbrand a compelling and scalable solution for both sides of the ecosystem.
Q: How will Broadbrand deliver ‘an advertising model that recognises the value of local journalism, broadens opportunities for smaller publishers, and gives advertisers transparent, high-quality reach?
Broadbrand delivers on its promise by putting local journalism at the heart of its advertising model. Instead of funnelling spend through global platforms, Broadbrand facilitates a direct link between advertisers and local publishers—especially smaller, vernacular-focused outlets that are often overlooked.
This approach allows advertisers to reach highly engaged, niche audiences with transparent performance metrics and brand-safe environments.
For publishers, it means better monetisation, more control over adverts on their sites, and a revenue model that supports independent journalism. We are also introducing a requirement for publishers to be members of the Press Council to ensure adherence to journalistic best practices.
Ultimately, Broadbrand broadens access, levels the playing field and reinforces the value of quality, accountable local reporting.
Q: How will it broaden opportunities for smaller publishers in terms of scale?
Broadbrand broadens opportunities for smaller publishers by aggregating them into a powerful, unified marketplace that offers scalable reach to advertisers across diverse local audience segments.
Currently, many of these publishers rely heavily on local advertising sales and have been unable to scale their digital operations due to limited revenue and capacity.
By participating in the Broadbrand platform, they gain access to national advertising budgets without the need to invest in additional sales staff or complex advertising infrastructure.
This creates a path to revenue growth that supports their expansion, allowing them to focus on producing relevant content while the platform handles commercial aggregation and campaign delivery. It’s a model built to unlock scale and value for those who’ve historically been excluded from it.
Q: How will monetisation work?
Monetisation on Broadbrand works through aggregated private marketplace (PMP) deals, allowing advertisers to buy premium inventory from a curated network of local publishers via programmatic channels.
Unlike open exchanges, Broadbrand offers a controlled environment with transparent pricing, brand safety, and verified performance metrics. Inventory from smaller publishers is pooled to offer national-scale reach through a single commercial agreement—making it easy for advertisers to buy, and meaningful for publishers to earn.
In addition, Broadbrand offers a bundled ad creative service that produces high-impact rich media ad units, designed to boost campaign performance and engagement. These creative formats are optimised using AI and are included as part of our managed service.
The Broadbrand Digital Agency team will also include Broadbrand inventory in all client media campaigns, ensuring consistent demand and further reinforcing monetisation opportunities for publishers in the network.
Q: How long did it take to build this platform?
The Broadbrand Ad Network is a hybrid of different technologies and integration methods, designed to maximise performance, scalability, and accessibility. We began building the platform in March last year, initially focusing on testing the AI optimisation layer to ensure it could consistently drive stronger ad responsiveness and campaign outcomes.
Alongside the technology development, we’ve been actively engaging with publishers and media buyers to shape the commercial model and confirm market appetite. Broadbrand also includes a Digital Agency division and a Media Sales division, both of which operate alongside the ad network to offer a complementary set of services. This structure allows us to deliver a complete solution: strategy, creative, media execution, and performance, all under one roof.
Q: What are your plans for the first year of operation?
In our first year, we’re focused on three key objectives. First, we aim to build a strong base of local publishers who are successfully monetising their digital ad inventory through the Broadbrand network. This involves onboarding, performance testing, and ensuring consistent revenue flow to make participation sustainable.
Second, we’re working closely with national advertisers to demonstrate that Broadbrand inventory delivers more value, both in performance and pricing, compared to buying inventory from internationally owned platforms. Our goal is to show that local media can compete on results, not just principles.
Third, we’re building a community of media buyers who are equipped to deliver high-quality outcomes for their clients while supporting South African media. By aligning interests across the ecosystem, we’re creating a more resilient, transparent and locally driven advertising environment.
