News
Spark Media ‘leaps into local’ with new digital ad offering
Spark Media, South Africa’s leading print media sales company providing hyperlocal advertising solutions, has launched a new digital media sales arm. 29 Feb 2024 Read more

New advertising opportunities for retailers as load shedding changes consumer purchase patterns
How is load shedding impacting economically active South Africans when it comes to the main meal of the day? Are they putting different items into their shopping baskets to help them prepare load shedding-friendly meals, or are they changing what, when and how they eat to deal with this ongoing challenge? 30 Jan 2024 Read more

Spark Media in the 'Big Apple' for Retail's Big Show
As media owners, we are often on the receiving end of comments like 'This is a global directive' or 'South Africa is so far behind the State's and Europe'. So, we sent two of our intrepid explorers off to New York City for a few days to find out what's really happening in retail. 8 Mar 2023 Read more

Local papers continue to dominate as SA's top-performing print media
Despite tough economic pressure, local media continues to outperform daily, weekly and weekend newspapers. 1 Mar 2023 Read more

Q3 Audit Bureau of Circulations Analysis (ABC/VFD)
Statistics show that when it comes to reaching consumers across South Africa, the local media segment outshines daily, weekly and weekend newspapers. 22 Nov 2022 Read more

Pamro 2022 "Elevating media measurement and evaluation in a resilient Africa"
The Pan African Media Research Organisation (Pamro) is hosting its much anticipated 23rd annual conference. Pamro 2022 is being hosted in Cape Town at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Conference Centre, Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 October. They have invited Borderless Access to present a paper - the same team that partnered with Spark Media to conduct their 8th edition of Roots research. 20 Oct 2022 Read more

Roots 8.0 launch 2022
We are very excited to be able to bring the 'future-proofed' Roots to market in October 2022. 20 Sep 2022 Read more

New head of sales on board at Spark Media
Spark Media is pleased to announce a new addition to our leadership team. Chris Halstead, previously a business unit head in our team, has been promoted to head of sales, a significant addition to our leadership. 15 Sep 2022 Read more

Q2 2022 Audited Circulation analysis (ABC/VFD)
Local newspapers as a category continue to be the dominant force in the print media landscape accounting for 84% of all audited newspapers. 25 Aug 2022 Read more

Hive brings you Think Wi-Fi
Hive has partnered with Think Wi-Fi to offer our clients the ability to build positive brand awareness and strong brand equity in never before reached markets (with a combined spending power of R26bn). 18 Jul 2022 Read more

A new dawn at Spark Media
Spark Media is excited to announce the appointment of a new group executive, and changes in the management team. Rob Fedder, a Caxton and CTP group executive, will be leading the Spark Team. Spark has also appointed new departmental heads in the sales and marketing team and refined the existing exco team. 15 Jul 2022 Read more

Hive Digital Media appoints new general manager
Hive Digital Media is excited to announce the appointment of Katherine Bell as the company's new general manager (GM). Katherine Bell takes over the reigns from Kristin Louw, who leaves the company to pursue new opportunities. 23 Jun 2022 Read more

Q1 2022 ABC/ VFD summary
The South African print category continues to recover, showing year-on-year growth of 10.9%, from 6,043,707 in Q1 of 2021 to 6,700412 in Q1 of 2022. 23 May 2022 Read more

Are 'influencer fatigue' and distrust signalling a comeback for traditional advertising?
Deemed unfashionable by some for the past decade, the tide may be turning for news brands as consumers begin to question the credibility of influencers and other non-traditional advertising platforms. 23 Mar 2022 Read more

Q4 2021 ABC/ VFD summary
The print category has become quite the divergent one. Local newspapers have a disparate trajectory from its daily and weekly/weekend counterparts. In fact, the tables have turned in the past 20 years and local newspapers are now dominant force in the print media landscape where they used to be the small players. 22 Feb 2022 Read more

Local media group gets learnings from Big Apple: National Retail Federation 2022
Servaas says: "It was a revelation, to listen to industry experts, learn from case studies and experience new technologies which have given rise to innovative business models." 14 Feb 2022 Read more

Hive Digital Media enters into strategic partnership with Think WiFi
Hive Digital Media has entered into a progressive business partnership with Think WiFi to accelerate ad-funded Wi-Fi access to under-served communities. Through Think WiFi's strategically placed technology and infrastructure, along with Hive Digital Media's sales and ad serving expertise, this partnership is set to offer advertisers access to a market that was previously highly challenging to reach. 3 Feb 2022 Read more

Q3 2021 ABC/ VFD Summary
A good news story: In South Africa, the newspaper category as measured by the Audit Bureau of Circulations is showing an 11.4% increase when compared to the same period in 2020. The total number of South African newspaper copies circulated is 5,808,965 in Q3 2021 up from 5,215,921 in Q3 2020. 23 Nov 2021 Read more

Don't panic! The attention economy future looks bright
As a global thought-leader in the field of attention as a currency and the founder of Amplified Intelligence, Nelson-Field explains the causes, consequences and course correction for the media industry. 13 Oct 2021 Read more

Free webinar - No Attention! No Impact! Cause, Consequence and Course Correction
Spark Media proudly brings you yet another ground-breaking webinar on Cause, Consequence and Course Correction presented by international guest speaker Professor Karen Nelson-Field. 14 Sep 2021 Read more

Local newspapers - modest heroes in SA's media landscape
Spark Media hosted Dr Jammine, director and chief economist of Econometrix who presented an informative view on Media Spend: Opportunities in challenging times. 30 Aug 2021 Read more

Q2 2021 ABC/ VFD
Local newspapers are once again the modest heroes in the newspaper category. Resisting the dramatic "print declines narrative" that seems to make news headlines globally - the South African local newspaper business model is proving resilient, stable and necessary as locally relevant news is fundamental to living in uncertain times. 24 Aug 2021 Read more

Register for our free webinar: Media Spend. Opportunities in Challenging Times.
Spark Media, a division of Caxton/CTP, in collaboration with Dr Azar Jammine from Econometrix, will be hosting a free unmissable webinar on Thursday, 26 August 2021, 10-11am. By gathering and analysing comprehensive quantitative data, Dr Azar Jammine will unpack local media spending habits and the opportunities that have emerged in these challenging times. 19 Aug 2021 Read more

Hive Digital, a distinctive media agency relaunches its website
Hive Digital is a relatively new business media entity that has continued to make great strides in providing unique and innovative digital media solutions. These cost-effective and result-oriented solutions have earned this business brand a place among digital media industry leaders in South Africa. 22 Jul 2021 Read more

Print pairs well with all media
Different media brings different things to the party 12 Jul 2021 Read more

Local newspapers reach desirable segments of the market better than any other print media
Bridgette Manamela, business unit head at Spark Media looks at how local newspapers reach various categories of shoppers, appealing to many sought-after market segments. 9 Jun 2021 Read more

Caxton delivers in-home
According to Tracy Schloesser, business unit head at Spark Media, there aren't many things that can get into a South African home anymore. A look at the sophisticated systems, distribution networks and the necessary checks & balances required for the physical delivery of local newspapers in 2021. 1 Jun 2021 Read more

The secrets of local success
Karen Geurtse, who is head of Caxton Local Media explores the secrets of local success. Readers rely on the locally relevant content as a reflection of their communities and enjoy reading "news they can use" in their everyday lives. 28 May 2021 Read more

The scoreboard does not lie
A Local Focus is a Caxton Local Papers and Spark Media initiative to focus business decision-makers attention on the local newspaper market, which has remained resilient through the testing times of the pandemic. In the last quarter of 2020, an average of 4,885,614 local newspapers were distributed regularly. 17 May 2021 Read more

Hive Digital Shared Services partners with Conversion Rate Pros to offer a brand-new service to businesses
Hive Digital Shared Services, a division of Caxton CTP, has partnered with Nick Wright of Conversion Rate Pros to offer a new service that will help businesses get the most out of their websites. 29 Mar 2021 Read more

Spark Media's local papers are alive! ABC's show an 8% increase in Q4 denoting a positive trajectory
Free and sold local papers make up just over 78% of the total 6.1 million newspapers in circulation in the last quarter of 2020. Leaving the remaining weekend, weekly and daily titles to make up 22% of the total newspapers in print. 17 Feb 2021 Read more

Look and please do touch!
A new brand has been launched within the Caxton local media stable offering integrated campaign solutions on page, on site, via social and out of home with the added ability to deliver samples directly to homes. 23 Sep 2020 Read more

Caxton still leads the pack
2020. What a year it's been. Despite a delay of five months, Caxton Local Media proudly announced its top performers of 2019 in an online presentation this week. The annual awards is Caxton's opportunity to acknowledge, for the 31st year, who the top dogs are in a fiercely contested race to the finals with 30 winners emerging from the more than 1,200 entries. 11 Sep 2020 Read more

The reason behind Caxton local newspapers free subscription model
The recent announcement of News24's paywall introduction, in order to sustain the accuracy and independence of their news, has highlighted the truth about the importance and the cost of news. "Newsgathering and dissemination is an expensive business." 21 Jul 2020 Read more

Rejuvenation of local print media
Contrary to popular belief, local papers are healthy and thriving. People anticipate the arrival of their local paper delivery on a weekly basis and have been delighted with the growing array of inserts and the innovative ways brands are using this media. 7 Jul 2020 Read more

The importance of marketing during a pandemic
Have you heard the line 'cut the marketing budget' since Covid-19 hit our shores? It's any marketer's nightmare, and contrary to what we have learnt from previous situations like the one we face today. 8 Jun 2020 Read more

Caxton commercial printers reopen
In light of President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the nation on Covid-19 announcing that the country's lockdown would be eased over five levels to revive the economy, Caxton is pleased to announce that its commercial print plants and cold-set print factories have re-opened as of Friday, 1 May 2020. 4 May 2020 Read more

Is attention the new media currency?
At the end of last year Spark Media and Caxton commissioned international attention technology company Lumen to utilise its eye tracking software in qualitative research to measure attention on its local newspapers and lifestyle magazines. The results will be out in early March. It's everything that was expected and so much more! 24 Feb 2020 Read more

Spark Media executes another successful Sports Day
To thank and spoil their clients, Spark Media has successfully held another annual Sports Day, themed 'Spring Break', complete with a variety of games to test the mental and physical 'availability' of their guests. 18 Sep 2019 Read more

Spark Media celebrates strong women!
In celebration of this week's upcoming Women's Day, and as a nod to August as Women's Month, Spark Media invited each of its female colleagues to flex their feminine muscles. 8 Aug 2019 Read more

#ROOTS2019 sheds light on buyer behaviour
Why do we need to understand buyer behaviour? As marketers, advertisers and brand growth specialists, we are all in the business of building brands, looking for opportunities to talk to potential buyers or product users by geographic area and potentially influence behaviour. This works best when we understand what makes consumers tick. 23 Jul 2019 Read more

#ROOTS2019 sheds light on buyer behaviour
Why do we need to understand buyer behaviour? As marketers, advertisers and brand growth specialists, we are all in the business of building brands, looking for opportunities to talk to potential buyers or product users by geographic area and potentially influence behaviour. This works best when we understand what makes consumers tick. 28 Jun 2019 Read more

#ROOTS2019 mapping the more economically active South Africa
Set in motion with in-field interviews in March 2018, South Africa's largest quantitative community survey #ROOTS2019 is ready to be launched in June across South Africa. The all new ROOTS 2019 will unveil new and insightful stories coming out of local geographic areas. 4 Jun 2019 Read more

Big, bigger, biggest #ROOTS2019
Constructed, layer by layer, brick by brick, the all new ROOTS 2019 will be unveiled to the marketing, advertising and media industries this coming June. In the meantime, some influential media personalities have provided their thoughts and expectations of #ROOTS2019. 14 May 2019 Read more

#ROOTS2019 - Building insights with Lego
Roots, with a random sample size of more than 27,000 respondents, is South Africa's largest and longest running consumer shopping behaviour survey, and Spark Media launches Roots 2019 in June. 6 May 2019 Read more

#ROOTS2019 is coming!
The building blocks of #ROOTS2019 are all coming together! The individual pieces are being expertly constructed to deliver South Africa's largest urban community quantitative survey. Set for release in June this year, some industry heavyweights have shared their expectations. 17 Apr 2019 Read more

Exciting changes ahead for Spark Media
Spark Media is happy to announce that as from 1 March 2019, the company will be separating its digital and print sales divisions into two distinct entities. 6 Mar 2019 Read more

Caxton and SPARK Media ready for the festive season!
This is the state of Caxton Printer's factory floor right now! 29 Nov 2018 Read more

Only advertise on trusted publisher websites!
A large media company recently published an exposé on fake news websites and advertisers that mistakenly landed up advertising on these platforms. Spark Media's solution to online advertisers is practical while offering solutions and ideas to help brands be safe and stay safe. 11 Oct 2018 Read more

ROOTS 2019 is loading!
South Africa's largest urban community quantitative survey, ROOTS, is currently in field. ROOTS 2019 is set to launch in the first quarter of next year. The new instalment of the survey balances trendability while keeping up to date with current industry developments. 10 Oct 2018 Read more

SPARK Media wins at MOST 2018
SPARK Media has won the highly competitive newspaper category at The 2018 MOST Awards. 17 Sep 2018 Read more

SPARK Media once again hosts international marketing scientist!
SPARK Media, members of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute (EBI), will be welcoming Dr Virginia Beal, Senior Marketing Scientist, to our shores next month. 23 Aug 2018 Read more

SPARK Media celebrates the life of Andy Stanton
SPARK Media is celebrating the life of long-time colleague and close friend Andy Stanton who tragically suffered a fatal heart attack earlier this month. 16 Aug 2018 Read more

Caxton: Not just informing, but uplifting communities
Caxton's local newspapers keep their surrounding communities informed about the latest happenings in the area. But their community investment goes so much further than news. Caxton and each of its newspapers aim to improve and uplift their communities, not only through the investment of financial resources, but by getting actively involved in service organisations and driving initiatives to better their society. 20 Apr 2018 Read more

Caxton Excellence Awards acknowledges local talent
Competition between the various Caxton Local Media's editorial, sales, advertising, management and support staff was stiff at the prestigious Caxton Excellence Awards. Judges were impressed with the top quality work that individuals dedicated to their papers and clients. 22 Mar 2018 Read more

Reach 372,900 business-minded people through targeted impressions
Amongst many other target groups, Spark Media's ignition Target has got the 'business-minded' market covered. The company's programmatic and direct audience solution through the utilisation of their data management platform (DMP), has the capability to collect and deliver relevant, customised interest-based audiences. 14 Sep 2017 Read more

SPARK Media launches SPARK ignition - BUY. SELL. TARGET.
SPARK Media has officially launched its programmatic advertising offering entitled SPARK ignition. BUY. SELL. or TARGET. 16 Nov 2016 Read more

Spark Media's Digital Sales Academy produces outstanding students
Spark Media, a division of Caxton CTP limited, introduced its first-ever digital sales academy in September 2015 with seven interns, after a vigorous interview and selection process. 11 May 2016 Read more

Digital Sales Course created by SPARK Media and Red & Yellow
While there are many curriculums and courses for digital media, strategy, marketing, copywriting, social media, etc., none of them deal with the topic of selling the digital medium to marketers and agencies. SPARK Media together with Red & Yellow resolve the situation by creating a new Digital Sales Course. 9 Feb 2016 Read more

Announcing the SPARK Media Digital Sales Academy
SPARK Media is ensuring a continuous flow of quality digital personnel for the media industry, while 'future-proofing' the company. It is proud to announce a new expansion within the company: the SPARK Media Digital Sales Academy. 1 Oct 2015 Read more

South African website www.all4women.co.za smashes its own record
During the month of July, South African website All4Women, dedicated to everything women, reached new heights as it broke (literally smashed) through the seven million page view benchmark. 26 Aug 2015 Read more

Radio advertising as a medium with Hailstorm and SPARK media
We were joined via telephone by John Bowles, Chief Operations Officer of SPARK media, a brand new media sales house in the marketing and advertising industry. The Caxton subsidiary is borne out of the fusing between NAB, the local newspaper's national advertising sales company, and Habari Media, specialists in digital sales. 6 Aug 2015 Read more

Ad spend in local press on the up
Ranking advertising Spend Within advertising and media platforms is one indicator as to the health of that medium. Although ad spend across the print media is, on average down, local newspapers are Still on the up. 5 Aug 2015 Read more

Habari & NAB come together to create SPARK media
SPARK Media is a brand new media sales powerhouse in the marketing and advertising industry. The Caxton subsidiary is borne out of the fusing between NAB, the local newspaper's national advertising sales company, and Habari Media, Specialists in digital sales. 24 Jul 2015 Read more

SPARK media launch trends on Twitter
SPARK Media launch trends on Twitter. Strategically come Dancing's Twitter hashtag #strategiccance briefly trended on Twitter when the new media sales powerhouse, SPARK Media, was launched. 24 Jul 2015 Read more

SPARK media gives advertisers access to over 28 million duplicated mobile users per month
As of the 1st July 2015, Spark Media has been appointed as the exclusive sales house for Vodacom's Please Call Me product, while also offering advertisers access to Vodacom's full range of other products. 23 Jul 2015 Read more

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