A decade of Insight: Scopen marks 10 years in SA

Scopen is celebrating a decade in South Africa with an invitation-only anniversary event in Johannesburg on 24 February 2026 (Image source: © 123rf 123rf)

Since launching locally in 2016, Scopen has grown from an ambitious research initiative into one of the most robust benchmarks of agency and marketer relationships in the market.

What began with 70 in-depth interviews has expanded to more than 550 senior decision-makers in 2025; this is remarkable, especially as the research is built on something increasingly rare: face-to-face conversations that last an hour, not a survey link.

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Keynote address

The morning programme will feature a keynote from César Vacchiano, president and CEO of SCOPEN, unpacking global and local industry trends and sharing insights from the latest 2025 study.

“We have been delighted by the response to Agency Scope since the study’s first edition in 2016,” says Vacchiano.

“What started as a new initiative has grown into a respected industry benchmark in South Africa for both marketers and agencies.

“I look forward to sharing Scopen’s latest global insights and our vision of global trends in the industry, alongside the local perspectives gathered in 2025.”

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Most admired marketing and agency professionals

Then we hand over to those at the coalface: a roundtable with a four-member panel comprising Scopen’s most admired marketing and agency professionals.

The discussion will tackle the sharp end of modern marketing, including adapting to AI, budget pressure, understanding the consumer, differentiation and proving ROI.

The event will also recognise those people who have earned their peers’ respect—honouring the most admired professionals of the decade across marketing, media and creative disciplines, alongside the most balanced creative and media agencies.

Certificates will be presented to marketers who have consistently contributed their time and insight to Scopen fieldwork.

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IAS there from the start

Johanna McDowell, Scopen's partner in South Africa and CEO of the IAS (Independent Agency Search & Selection Company, has been there from the start.

For her, the milestone is both professional and personal, "Ten years of Scopen has given us a deep, evolving picture of what marketers actually need from their agencies and where the friction points lie.

“Some factors have remained constant, but others have shifted dramatically—a pattern that speaks to the market's maturity and restlessness.

“It’s also kept us connected to global shifts, helping us anticipate when and how those changes will land here. Celebrating a decade of that insight with the people who contributed to it feels exactly right."

The guest list sits at around 90—deliberately—as the event is designed as a morning for the people who built this story, not as a broadcast event.

Invitations are being extended to leading agencies and marketers from the past decade, and Scopen subscribers.