WARC has released the Global Ad Spend Outlook 2025 / 26 — Quarter 1 Update. The study has found that global advertising spend is now on course to grow 6.7% this year to USD$1.15-trillion, a downgrade of almost one percentage point (pp) from WARC's November forecast due to growing market volatility. A further cut of 0.7pp has been applied to 2026, downrating growth to 6.3%.

Salesforce has released its latest Connected Shoppers Report. According to the report, Gen Z is fueling a social shopping explosion, with 39% now having purchased and 76% having discovered products on social media platforms.

Ster-Kinekor, as the official representative to Cannes Lions, has announced Heineken as the official sponsor of the Cannes Young Lions Competition for South Africa. For the first time, two briefs will be shared across two categories: Film and the new category, Digital.

First National Bank, a partner of SA Rugby and the Springboks since 2017, has announced the deepening of its relationship by becoming the principal partner of the Springbok teams, with the FNB logo taking front and centre of the teams' jerseys.

Angus Hamilton-Morris, Client Services Director at DarkMatter, provides a behind-the-scenes look at what 100 workshops with CEOs, CMOs and Brand Managers have taught him and why this might just change the way individuals play the 'advertising board game'.

Backslash, TBWA's global cultural intelligence unit, has released its 2025 Edges report, presenting cultural shifts poised to reshape the global landscape. Edges is a deep dive into the cultural forces shaping our world, uncovering meaningful shifts that go beyond fleeting fads motivated by virality to define the future of society, business and human behaviour.

Primedia Instore, a division of Primedia, has announced it is joining Shop! SA as a Founding Member. This collaboration signifies Primedia Instore's commitment to elevating the South African shopper marketing industry and fostering a collaborative environment for brands and retailers alike.

Google has announced the launch of the YouTube Works Awards. These awards celebrate the most impactful and innovative advertising campaigns across 15+ markets, and for the first time, it is being brought to South Africa.

On a scale from creepy to cool, personalisation — and its newer offspring, hyper-personalisation — might just be heading in the right direction. Compared with five years ago, it's now more accepted and perhaps also more expected, as more of us experience it and understand how we can benefit from it, says Andrew Solomon, Client Strategy Director at Achievement Awards Group.

The rise of brands like Old School, which provide alternative sports team apparel, is bringing about a shift in marketing, specifically ambush marketing in sports. media update's Joreke Kleynhans heard from Mscsports's Carrie Delaney about the current trends and what the future may hold.