10 Best Advertising Agencies in South Africa

For businesses seeking advertising agencies in South Africa, this shortlist compares documented services and locations. Use it to find options that fit your campaign brief.

1. Ogilvy South Africa

Best for: Businesses seeking advertising and brand design support in Johannesburg or Cape Town. Ogilvy South Africa lists advertising and brand design among its teams, which may suit a brief that combines campaign work with brand design. Its contact page provides a local point of contact in each city. Ask which team would handle your needs and how the services could fit together. Request a quote for your project scope.

2. TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris

Best for: Businesses seeking advertising and broader communications support, with a local office in Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town. TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris describes itself as a full-service advertising and communications specialist. This may suit a brief that needs more than advertising alone. Ask which communications capabilities are relevant and how the agency would approach your project. Its contact page lists offices in all three cities. Request a quote based on your brief.

3. Hamiltons in Creative Company

Best for: Businesses in the Cape Town area seeking campaign work alongside branding, design or digital services. Hamiltons in Creative Company lists advertising campaigns, branding and design, creative direction, and digital among its services. This range may suit a project that needs related creative work as well as a campaign. Its listed office is in Brackenfell, Cape Town. Ask which capabilities match your brief, what the scope would include, and who would be available. Request a quote.

4. New Creative Authority (NCA)

Best for: Businesses seeking campaign concepts, social media support and visual content production. New Creative Authority (NCA) lists campaign conceptualisation, copywriting, social media strategy and management, video production, and photography. This combination may suit a brief that needs planning, social activity and production support. NCA’s studio is in Salt River, Cape Town, and it says it works with brands across South Africa. Confirm the scope and team availability for your project, then request a quote.

5. Second Rodeo

Best for: Businesses seeking strategy, campaigns, content and community engagement across brand-building and performance marketing. Second Rodeo describes its strategy as insight-led and lists campaigns, content, community engagement and performance marketing among its work. These services may suit a brief that combines longer-term brand activity with performance-focused marketing. The agency lists offices in Woodstock, Cape Town, and Illovo, Johannesburg. Ask how its capabilities apply to your aims, confirm who would be available, and request a quote for the agreed scope.

6. Convey Advertising

Best for: Businesses seeking brand strategy and creative campaign components such as copywriting, film, animation or design. Convey Advertising lists these services and describes work that includes corporate and safety campaigns. Its mix may suit a project that needs strategic thinking alongside creative production. Convey lists its head office in Umhlanga Ridge, Durban. Ask which services are relevant to your brief and how they could be brought together. Confirm availability and request a quote for the proposed work.

7. Matrix Advertising & Communications

Best for: Businesses with a communications brief that spans advertising and related work such as design, public relations, events or copywriting. Matrix Advertising & Communications describes itself as a through-the-line agency, with above-the-line and below-the-line advertising among its services. It lists a Cape Town office and says it assists clients around the country. This range may suit businesses seeking several types of communications support through one agency. Clarify which services your project needs, how the work would be scoped, and who is available. Request a quote.

8. Alphabet Soup

Best for: Businesses focused on media strategy across television, radio, outdoor, print or sponsorship. Alphabet Soup is a specialist media agency that lists strategy across these channels. Its stated focus is media, which may suit businesses planning where advertising should appear rather than seeking a broad package of creative services. The agency lists its location as Parkhurst, Randburg. Ask which channels could fit your brief and what its proposed media work would cover. Confirm availability and request a quote.

9. 99c

Best for: Businesses seeking an advertising agency with offices in Cape Town and Sandton, Johannesburg, and prepared to confirm service fit directly. 99c identifies advertising as its offering, but its available service details do not specify its capabilities. Ask about relevant experience and the services available for your brief before deciding whether to shortlist it. Its contact page lists offices in both cities. Confirm the team’s availability and how it would approach your project, then request a quote for a clearly defined scope.

10. Positives Agency

Best for: Businesses planning experiential marketing, brand activations or shopper marketing, with content and digital or social integration. Positives Agency describes itself as a creative advertising agency specialising in these services. This combination may suit campaigns built around live brand experiences or shopper activity that also need content and digital support. Positives says it is based in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Ask how its capabilities could support your campaign, confirm which team members are available, and request a quote based on the activities and deliverables you need.

How to choose an advertising agency

• Match services to your brief. Decide whether you need campaign development, brand design, media strategy, production, events or a combination. Check whether the agency’s stated capabilities cover the work.
• Check location and service area. Consider whether a nearby office matters. If an agency says it serves clients around the country, ask how it would work with your team.
• Confirm scope and availability. Ask which services and people would be involved, what deliverables are included, and whether the team is available for your timing.
• Compare quotes on the same basis. Share a consistent brief with each agency, then compare proposed scope, deliverables and assumptions. Request a quote where pricing is not public.

FAQs

How should I shortlist advertising agencies in South Africa?

Start with your campaign needs, then compare each agency’s documented services and location. Contact likely options to check their current scope, team availability and fit for your brief.

Should I choose an agency near my business?

A nearby office can be useful if local contact matters to the work. Ask agencies about their service arrangements, especially if they say they work with clients across the country.

How can I compare agency costs?

Request a quote from each agency using the same brief. Compare the proposed scope, deliverables and assumptions, as well as the total cost.