Resilience, creativity, and impact: The dentsu Africa story

This year has been about more than awards, but we are proud of the recognition that reflects our commitment to excellence. From dentsu Kenya making history as the first Kenyan agency to win a Grand Prix at the Loeries, to the launch and rapid growth of Merkury, our proprietary innovation platform, we have shown that creativity and technology can drive meaningful impact.

Merkury is changing the game. Today, it connects brands to over 120 million verified consumers across 10,000+ touchpoints in key markets including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa and we continue to grow. It is not just a data solution; it is a dynamic ecosystem that enables precision, relevance and scale for brands looking to engage Africa’s diverse audiences in smarter, more impactful ways.

Our purpose extends beyond business. Through CSR initiatives across the continent, we have invested in education, sustainability, and community empowerment; because true success is measured in lives changed, not just campaigns delivered. One example is dentsu Zambia’s partnership with the National Heart Hospital, a shared-value initiative aimed at tackling cardiovascular disease; one of Zambia’s leading causes of death. Through this collaboration, we are using our communication and marketing expertise to amplify health awareness, strengthen community engagement, and support sustainable innovations like PVC billboard recycling for hospital use.

Another powerful initiative is Dentsu Creative SA’s collaboration with POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse). With gender-based violence at crisis levels in South Africa, we launched the Donate + Create campaign; a nationwide, crowd-sourced campaign that transforms solidarity into action. At its heart is a reimagined POWA logo, where the letter “O” becomes a living symbol of unity, built collectively by individuals who donate and create their personalised symbol via a dedicated microsite. This campaign turns passive awareness into active participation, giving survivors visibility and hope while mobilising citizens to fight GBV.

Recently, we celebrated big wins at the Financial Mail AdFocus Awards, where dentsu Africa won the African Impact Award and Carat were recognised for outstanding work, taking home the Media Advertising Agency of the Year Award. We are also proud that our CEO, Dawn Rowlands, was named Industry Leader of the Year, a testament to the vision and leadership that drives our network forward.

To our teams across Africa: thank you for your relentless focus, creativity, and passion. To our clients, thank you for trusting us to innovate and grow together. This is not just about awards, it is about impact, and we are only getting started.