South African agencies have spoken, and have declared who is the best marketer to work with in both creative and media.
Pep is one of the best marketers to work for according to Scopen. Source: Pep.
Preferences
This is according to Scopen, which conducted fieldwork in 2025 where 231 professionals (155 from creative agencies and 76 from media agencies) were interviewed about their preferences.
When asked about the characteristics that define an ‘ideal’ client, those interviewed primarily highlight the ability to build long-term relationships and partnerships, as well as clarity in briefings and objectives. These are followed by clients who offer fair remuneration, clients prepared to invest in marketing, the clients who share information / give feedback, clients committed to creativity, knowledge of its own business, and clients who respect timing.
Among the brands best rated across these attributes, PEP appears most frequently.
Professionals are asked about the brands with which they would most like to work with (more aspirational, due to the visibility and impact of their communication). In this ranking, the Top 10 positions are as follows:
Nedbank remains
Based on the comparison between the two editions conducted so far, a significant shift can be observed in the brands perceived as most attractive by agencies, although some key advertisers show continuity. In 2025, the ranking is led by Pep, Nedbank and Sanlam, while in 2023 it was topped by Nedbank, Nando’s and Absa.
Nedbank is the only brand that remains in very high positions in both editions (from 1st to 2nd place), suggesting consistency in its relationship with agencies and in its marketing activity. At the same time, the 2025 list introduces new leading players from the retail and financial services sectors (PEP, Sanlam, Momentum, Shoprite, Suzuki and PepsiCo).
César Vacchiano, President of Scopen International, comments: “Overall, the results point to a partial renewal of the group of most attractive advertisers, with a stronger presence of local retail and financial companies, although some global or high-spending marketers (KFC, Heineken, PepsiCo) continue to maintain their attractiveness for agencies”.
