EBM Group dominates 2025 Footprint Awards
With a record 284 entries received this year, the Footprint Awards celebrated the country’s most outstanding projects in retail marketing in the last year. EBM’s results reflect its consistent ability to pair insight with innovation across its diverse portfolio of shopping centres nationwide, including Sandton City, Mall of Africa, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Liberty Promenade and others, while implementing unique strategies for every mall it markets.
Gold that glitters
EBM’s campaigns claimed six Gold awards, each demonstrating distinctive creativity and measurable impact. Eastgate Shopping Centre was awarded two Golds for The Scoop Shop, a fresh take on Easter that transformed the traditional celebration into a vibrant ice-cream experience. Sandton City earned Gold for Momo’s Magical Adventure, an original live theatre production that introduced a new generation of young audiences to the magic of performance through a captivating in-mall setup. Liberty Promenade was recognised for its Next Generation Musical Showcase, a youth-driven initiative themed “Stay Safe in Cyberspace,” which used music and dance to explore the importance of digital safety. Mall of Africa achieved two Golds – one for its successful Sook x Tyla pop-up collaboration and another for a LEGO® activation at Mall of Africa, both of which drew enormous engagement and excitement.
The Sook x Tyla collaboration also earned EBM the distinguished Spectrum Award, cementing the agency’s claim as the leaders in South African retail marketing. The activation attracted thousands of fans to experience Tyla’s world through music, fashion and design, with queues of enthusiastic supporters drawn to the mall to participate. This campaign also recently won a Global Visual Victory Award at the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) Awards in Las Vegas, extending its success to the international stage.
Consistent excellence, global recognition
In addition to the Golds and Spectrum Award, EBM’s total haul included 18 Silver and 34 Bronze awards, a remarkable achievement that highlights the agency’s strength in both creative concept and execution.
“The aim with the marketing we craft is always to deliver strategic storytelling that connects with people in unique ways and drives commercial success,” says Darren Katz, CEO at EBM. “To be recognised not only with the industry’s highest local accolade but also on global platforms reinforces the strength and depth of our work.”
Michael Wilson, COO at EBM, adds, “These awards recognise the collective creativity and strategic flair that our team brings to every campaign. Whether at home or abroad, our work continues to resonate because it’s authentic to each centre’s story and audience.”
Following its recent international wins at the ICSC Global Awards in Las Vegas and the Solal Marketing Awards in Warsaw, EBM’s performance at the 2025 Footprint Awards further confirms its standing as one of the most awarded and respected retail marketing agencies in the country, and the company isn’t stopping there. With a growing presence in the rest of Africa, EBM continues to expand its creative reach, delivering world-class campaigns that celebrate local relevance while setting new benchmarks for retail marketing excellence.