Kagiso Media Radio’s Melissa Mc Nally Named Global Research Leader at the 2025 Insight250 Awards

Melissa Mc Nally, Research Manager at Kagiso Media Radio, has been recognised among the world’s top insight leaders as a recipient of the prestigious Insight250 Global Innovator & Leadership Award.

Kagiso Media Radio, home to leading brands including Jacaranda FM, East Coast Radio, Time Out South Africa, and Vouch, is one of South Africa’s most influential media groups, known for its commitment to innovation across broadcast, digital, and research sectors.

Now in its fifth year, the Insight250 Awards celebrate the world’s most influential pioneers, visionaries and change-makers shaping the future of market research, data analytics, and evidence-based marketing. Winners are drawn from over 60 nations and more than 200 organisations across academia, enterprise, agencies, technology, media and associations.

Melissa joins this exclusive list of global thought leaders for her role in driving innovation in South Africa’s media and audio research landscape. At Kagiso Media Radio, she has been instrumental in introducing next-generation neuro-research solutions, enabling clients and advertisers to test sonic identities and creative assets to better measure emotional engagement and attention, leading to better key campaign metrics and significantly improved return on investment.

“Being recognised by the Insight250 is an incredible honour,” says Melissa Mc Nally. “This award reflects not just my journey, but the entire team’s commitment at Kagiso Media Radio to push research boundaries, empower clients through data-driven insights, and reimagine what’s possible in audio research. It’s deeply rewarding to see our efforts contribute to the evolution of insight-led storytelling in South Africa.”

The Insight250 is widely regarded as the worldwide ‘who’s who’ of leaders and pioneers across market research, data-driven marketing, consumer insight, and data intelligence. The Insight250 selection process is overseen by an independent panel of global insight, marketing, and research experts, who evaluate nominees on criteria such as professional experience, academic achievement, innovation, thought leadership, and industry involvement.

Nick Grubb, Chief Executive of Kagiso Media Radio, congratulates Melissa on this achievement. “This is a phenomenal achievement for Melissa and is well-deserved recognition for her relentless focus on pioneering, client and listener-centric research. Our SoundInsights brand is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the audio space,” he says. “Melissa’s Insight250 win validates her innovative spirit, and the critical role our insights play in understanding our audiences and communities, and helping our clients succeed.”

SoundInsights, with Melissa at the helm, is part of Kagiso Media Radio’s commitment to pioneering evidence-based innovation via placing the listener or consumer at the heart of everything the business strives to do. Melissa’s work in advancing the group’s neuro-based research solutions has placed Kagiso Media Radio at the forefront of media research, and unearths the human truths that help our brands add more value to their lives, and  our partners to make informed, measurable decisions that connect meaningfully with audiences.