SABRE Awards Africa 2025 reveals top contenders with over 120 campaign nominations

The 2025 Africa SABRE Awards shortlist includes more than 120 campaigns, selected from over 500 entries in this year’s competition, which recognizes Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement. The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of industry leaders.

The 2025 Africa SABRE Awards will take place on June 12 in Mombasa, Kenya at the PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa Mombasa.

As part of the annual APRA conference, anyone who registers for the APRA 2025 conference automatically gains access to the SABRE Awards ceremony.

However, for those who wish to attend only the SABRE Awards and not the full conference, we’ll have a special registration desk at the venue of the SABRE Awards Africa. The entry fee for the SABRE-only attendance is $150.

Register for APRA 2025 here

Diamond Sabre Awards

Company of the year

Winner: #Indomie HeroesAward — Indomie Noodles with Chain Reactions Africa

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Brand-Building

Dove 20 years of Real Beauty — Unilever (Dove) with Edelman Africa
Get Ready With Music — Spotify with Irvine Partners
GITEX Africa 2024 — Dubai World Trade Centre with APO Group
National Geographic – Endurance — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Jenny Griesel Communications, and ChilliEngine Experiential Events
Nelson Mandela Foundation Round the Clock 2024 — Nelson Mandela Foundation

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Reputation Management

Communicating with confidence in a future we need — Sanlam Investments Communications and Public Relations team with Accenture Song – PR
Epson Champions Education — Epson South Africa with Tribeca Public Relations
Life Healthcare Always-On Campaign — Life Healthcare with Ogilvy South Africa
Now More People Can Premium — Nedbank with Levergy
SANBI: Biodiversity champion for the people — South African National Biodiversity Institute with Flow Communications

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Research and Planning

#Odourpandemic — Nivea with Chain Reactions Africa
A Christmas #LikeNoOther — SPAR with Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants
‘What’s your Legacy’ — Sanlam Legacy with Accenture Song

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Measurement and Evaluation

Winner: All Hair and All You (Tresemme) — Unilever (Tresemme) with Edelman Africa

Geographic

Northern Africa

Winner: World Unseen – Experience at GITEX Africa — Canon Central and North Africa with APO Group

Western Africa

Basketball Africa League Sahara Conference, Playoffs & Final has context menu — Basketball Africa League with APO Group
#Indomie HeroesAward — Indomie Noodles with Chain Reactions Africa
Iwaju — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Bobby Taylor, Openfield Marketing, and with FilmOne
Striking Gold — with Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy (FMACCE) with Chain Reactions Africa
Viva Clean Hearts, Clean Clothes — Viva Detergent with Blanche Aigle Communications

Eastern Africa

MKWC@20 – Saving The Mountain Bongo — Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy
Sambaza Furaha — Safaricom with Oxygene Marketing Communications
Shika Showmax — MultiChoice Kenya
Tujiamini Campaign — SportPesa with Winne Gor Communications Africa
Winds of Change – LTWP 2023 Sustainability Report Launch — Lake Turkana Wind Power with Hill & Knowlton/Burson East Africa

Southern Africa

Bullet Proof Park — Gun Free South Africa with Razor with M&C Saatchi Abel (members of the Up & Up Group)
Get Ready With Music — Spotify with Irvine Partners
Lite Side of the Court — Castle Lite with Retroviral, Capacity Relations, Ogilvy, Dentsu, draftline
Microsoft Africa AI Journalist Academy — Microsoft Africa with FleishmanHillard SA
The #ForeverWena Campaign — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with Ogilvy South Africa

Practice areas

Business-To-Business Marketing

From Green to Blue — NTT Data with Razor (a member of The Up & Up Group)
WE are Malan Scholes Attorneys — Malan Scholes Attorneys with Tribeca Public Relations
YES Top 35 Under 35 — Youth Employment Service (YES) with ByDesign Communications

Cause-Related Marketing

Buy Me and BIC Will Donate A Pen — BIC East Africa with African Elite Group
Change Starts with One – BIC x Mpumelelo — BIC with Retroviral, Shaun James Film, and Integer
Winds of Change – LTWP 2023 Sustainability Report Launch — Lake Turkana Wind Power with Hill & Knowlton/Burson East Africa

Corporate Image

From the inside out: building inclusive communities and lasting impact — KFC South Africa
Impactful PR in Customs Management — Nigeria Customs Service/NIPR with Image Merchants Promotion
inner Drive Movie Documentary — inDrive with Integrated Indigo

Corporate Social Responsibility

A Moment To Forget — Adasa with Clockwork
A Sandal More For A Better Tomorrow — Access Bank Ghana with Touchpoint Magna Carta
Climate Champions — Warner Bros. Discovery with Burson Africa
Indomie Show Some Love — Dufil Prima Foods with Chain Reactions Africa
MTN Made4U — MTN South Africa with Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants

Crisis/Issues Management

Emergency Response to Education Crisis in Kano — Kano State Government with Image Merchants Promotion
Navigating Turbulence: FlySafair’s Proactive Approach to Crisis Management — FlySafair with WE Communications
Turning Tides from Crisis to Credibility: Managing an oil spill response — Marine Biotechnology Products with Blast PR & Events (Blast Burson)

Digital Campaign

#CarrefourBlackNovember — Carrefour Kenya with Engage Communications
Eric Cantona Stunt — Showmax with T+W, Retroviral, and Grid
Talk To Me Direct — Luminate with Winne Gor Communications Africa

Employee Communications

Employee Communications Campaign — Telkom with Ogilvy South Africa
Pernod Ricard: 1000 Ways to Stay Safe — Pernod Ricard South Africa with Tribeca Public Relations
The Playground — Nedbank with Artifact

Financial Communications

Dialing into the future: steering the IPO listing of Emtel — Emtel with Blast PR & Events (Blast Burson)
Join The Upside — Redefine Properties with Clockwork
NB Rights Issue Campaign — Nigerian Breweries with Integrated Indigo

Integrated Marketing

Croctober 2024 — Crocs with Clockwork
Disney+ The Bear Joburg Experience — Disney+ with Clockwork
Nelson Mandela Foundation Round the Clock 2024 — Nelson Mandela Foundation
Turning 107 into impact: How Eskort transformed a milestone into a multi-pronged PR campaign — Eskort
Welcome Home! — Anambra State Government, Nigeria with TPT International

Marketing to Consumers (New Product)

#MyMechanicMyHero — Hyde Energy with SKOT Communications
Coca-Cola Creations Wozzaah — The Coca-Cola Company with Tribeca PR
Now More People Can Premium — Nedbank with Levergy

Marketing to Consumers (Existing Product)

#WinWinSummer — MTN South Africa with Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants
All Hair and All You (Tresemme) — Unilever (Tresemme) with Edelman Africa
Back to Black — Audi South Africa with Razor (a part of The Up & Up Group)
Beatbox Baristas — Wimpy with Retroviral, Shaun James Film and Actorvate
Seara – Kwi. Partaze. Aprecie! — BrandActiv with Blast Burson

Media Relations

BMW Art Car Retrospective — BMW Group South Africa with Clockwork
Change Starts with One – BIC x Mpumelelo — BIC with Retroviral, Shaun James Film, and Integer
National Geographic – Trafficked: Underworld with Mariana Van Zeller — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Jenny Griesel Communications, and ChilliEngine Experiential Events
Renovation of National Theatre — Sanef Creatives with Integrated Indigo
The Rite Nigerianess — Rite Foods with TPT International

Public Education

Africa’s Business Heroes 2023 — Africa’s Business Heroes Prize Competition – Jack Ma Foundation with APO Group
All Hands on Deck — Unilever (LifeBouy) with Edelman Africa
Satisfying the taste, spotlighting science: the Marion Island expedition — KFC South Africa

Social Media Campaign

#CarrefourBlackNovember — Carrefour Kenya with Engage Communications
Eric Cantona Stunt — Showmax with T+W, Retroviral, and Grid
GABI — Global Africa Business Intiative with APO Group

Special Event/Sponsorship

Event Of the Year – Champagne Day 2024 — Moet and Chandon with African Elite Group
PRNigeria Fellowship: Empowering Next-Gen Communicators — Wole Soyinka Centre/NADIR with Image Merchants Promotion
Safaricom Chapa Dimba — Safaricom with Oxygene Marketing Communications
Soaring together: FlySafair’s commitment to South African sports — FlySafair with WE Communications
Ya Rona House — Nedbank with Levergy

Industry sectors

Associations

Winner: Marine Protected Areas Day 2024 — MPA Alliance with Flow Communications

Consumer Products/Services

A Christmas #LikeNoOther — SPAR with Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants
Amapiano Tour: A decade of Amapiano — Spotify with Irvine Partners
Give Gogo Mzansi — Uber with Irvine Partners

Fashion & Beauty

Express yourself in 100 colours — Unilever (Dove) with Edelman Africa
Maybelline New York x Femme Fest 2024 — Maybelline New York with Redrick PR, Vie By Neni
Re.Bag.Re.Use — Re.Bag.Re.Use

Financial & Professional Services

#UpYourFinancialGame — Experian with Burson Africa
Stewards of your fortune, legacy and freedom — Stewards Investment Capital with Contentify
Tax Education — Xero with FleishmanHillard SA

Food & Beverage

#TheLunchBarMan — Mondelēz South Africa with Accenture Song South Africa
Coca-Cola Food Fest Moris — Coca-Cola Indian Ocean Islands (CCIOI) with Zethical with CCIOI Marketing Team
Lite Side of the Court — Castle Lite with Retroviral, Capacity Relations, Ogilvy, Dentsu, draftline

Healthcare

#Odourpandemic — Nivea with Chain Reactions Africa
Life Healthcare Always-On Campaign — Life Healthcare with Ogilvy South Africa
NHI Thought Leadership Campaign — Momentum Health with FleishmanHillard SA

Industrial/Manufacturing

Beyond Boundaries Initiative — DP World with Edelman Africa
Mission Nine-Zero — Nigerian Breweries with Integrated Indigo
Unilever Nigeria Centenary Campaign — Unilever Nigeria with Integrated Indigo

Media, Arts & Entertainment

Discovery Shark Week — Warner Bros. Discovery with Burson Africa
Disney Quiz Night — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Capacity Relations, and ChilliEngine Experiential Events
Iwaju — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Bobby Taylor, Openfield Marketing, and with FilmOne

Mining and Extractive Industries

Understanding the Pulse of Mining Communities in an Industry Under Pressure — Anglo American with ByDesign Communications

Not for Profit/Charities

30 Years of Democracy Through Young Eyes — Of Soul and Joy with Razor (a member of the Up & Up Group)
African Youth Survey 2024 — Ichikowitz Family Foundation with Burson Africa
The #ForeverWena Campaign — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with Ogilvy South Africa

Public Sector/Government

Striking Gold — with Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy (FMACCE) with Chain Reactions Africa
Update Token Meter Yako — Kenya Power with Inter Management Group (IMG) Kenya
Windfall Tax — Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) with Chain Reactions Africa

Technology

10 Years of Miraisha: A Decade of Empowerment — Canon Central and North Africa with APO Group
Axis Intersec Dubai 2024 — Axis Communications with Clockwork
Microsoft Africa AI Journalist Academy — Microsoft Africa with FleishmanHillard SA
MTN Pulse – Youth Hustle Hub — MTN South Africa with Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants
Xero State of Small Business Report — Xero with FleishmanHillard SA