Shortlisted finalists for the 2021 FM AdFocus Awards

Tumi Rabanye, 2020/2021 FM AdFocus jury chairperson

Since their inception in 1990, the Financial Mail AdFocus Awards have established themselves as the leading platform for individuals and agencies to be recognised - not only for their creative marketing skills - but for their overall business acumen. The Awards have grown to become a landmark on the South African marketing and communications landscape, where business effectiveness is the primary measurement tool. This year, FM AdFocus celebrates Advertising’s Game Changers 2021.

With the state of our world permanently changed, this year’s entries demonstrated the zeal of agencies and clients’ readiness to move forward, says Tumi Rabanye, the 2021 FM AdFocus jury chair. “That was itself a demonstration of our theme for 2021, Game Changers. The theme permeated all our discussions when adjudicating and we were not short of examples! In the nomination categories we were moved and inspired by the entries, inviting reflection on what it takes to make it. What I concluded during the course of the adjudicating is that game changing should not be an occasion but a sustained behaviour.”

The 2021 Financial Mail AdFocus finalists are (in alphabetical order):

AdFocus Large Agency of The Year finalists

• Joe Public United Johannesburg
  
• M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg
  
• TBWA Hunt Lascaris

AdFocus Medium Agency of The Year finalists

• Grey
  
• Grid Worldwide
  
• HelloFCB+
  
• Machine

AdFocus Specialised Agency of The Year finalists

• Demographica
  
• Levergy
  
• MakeReign
  
• Triple Eight

AdFocus Digital Agency of The Year finalists

• Fresh AF
  
• Mark 1 Media
  
• RogerWilco Digital

AdFocus Public Relations Agency of The Year finalists

• Atmosphere Communications
  
• Eclipse Communications
  
• Razor Public Relations /M&C Saatchi Group

AdFocus Media Agency of The Year finalists

• Carat
  
• M&C Saatchi Connect
  
• Mediology

AdFocus/IAS Partnership Agency of The Year finalists

• Joe Public - Chicken Licken
  
• The MediaShop - Shoprite/Checkers
  
• TBWA - MTN
  
• TBWA - Spar

AdFocus African Impact Award finalists

• Dentsu International
  
• TBWA Hunt Lascaris
  
• Triple Eight

AdFocus Transformation Award finalists

• Joe Public United Johannesburg
  
• Levergy
  
• Tripe Eight

Adfocus Adaptability Award finalists

• Eclipse Communications
  
• Levergy
  
• Triple Eight

AdFocus Student of The Year finalists

• Janine Louw - Red & Yellow
  
• Niamh Aremband - IIE Vega
  
• Zahra Khan - IIE Vega

A special mention will be made in the Small Agency of the Year category. The Lifetime Achiever, Industry Leader and Shapeshifter awards will be announced at the event.