The Bookmarks Digital Rankings 2025 is the first official ranking system to recognise excellence across South Africa’s digital ecosystem.
Ogilvy has been awarded the position of top digital agency, followed by TBWA\ Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg and Joe Public
KFC South Africa leads the brand rankings, with City Lodge Hotels and Daily Sun in second and third place respectively. Among production companies, Darling Films secured the No 1 position, while IIE-Vega topped the college/university rankings.
The individual rankings span disciplines from strategy and user experience to animation, copywriting, data, and art direction, among others, and spotlight some of the country’s most influential digital talent across creators, technologists and strategists.
This is the first time long-term performance data has been consolidated and published as a formal benchmarking tool
— Chris Borain
Developed in collaboration with the Loerie Awards Company, the rankings consolidate award outcomes into a formal benchmark, delivering a transparent, standardised and objective framework for assessing long-term performance across companies, brands, educational institutions and individual practitioners. Rankings are derived from points allocated to Bookmark awards (gold, silver, bronze, craft and finalist distinctions), leveraging a methodology adapted from the established Loeries scoring model.
Chris Borain, executive director of IAB South Africa, says the introduction of the digital rankings reflects IAB South Africa’s commitment to strengthening the industry through measurement, education and acknowledgement, the three core pillars of the organisation’s mandate. “This is the first time long-term performance data has been consolidated and published as a formal benchmarking tool for agencies, brands, publishers, production companies, universities and individuals,” he says.
Pippa Misplon, chair of IAB South Africa’s Agency Council and IAB SA Bookmarks Committee lead adds: “Benchmarking talent and performance is about more than recognition; it’s about building a culture of excellence that pushes all of us forward. The digital rankings will help the industry track progress, celebrate leadership and ultimately elevate the standard of digital work in the country.”
To view the full IAB South Africa Bookmarks Digital Rankings 2025, visit thebookmarks.co.za.
The big take-out: The digital rankings will help the industry track progress, celebrate leadership and ultimately elevate the standard of digital work in the country.
