Africa Sabre Awards 2026 Celebrates Top Campaigns In Branding Reputation And Engagement

The 2026 Africa SABRE Awards took place on March 17 at The Venue Melrose Arch in South Africa (Image source: © Provoke Media Provoke Media)

The 2026 Africa Sabre Awards shortlist includes more than 120 campaigns, selected from over 500 entries in this year's competition, which recognises Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement.

The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of industry leaders.

Platinum Sabre Award for Best in Show

1. Winner: The Unburied Casket — Women For Change with Edelman Africa
2. Finalist: Behind The Label — Salvation Army with Clockwork
3. Finalist: From Promises To Proofs — The Presidency with Chain Reactions Africa
4. Finalist: Afrobeats: Culture in Motion — Spotify with Irvine Partners
5. Finlaist: AfroBEATanicals — Ab InBEV - Black Crown with Retroviral & Run Jump Fly

Diamond Sabre Awards

• Company of the Year: The Recipe for Hope, Growth and Respect: How KFC Africa Redefined Brand Purpose — KFC Africa
• CEO of the Year: Beyond the Headlines: How Vodacom’s CEO reframed risk into reputation — Shameel Joosub, Vodacom with We. Communications
• The Sabre Award for Superior Achievement in Brand-Building: Afrobeats: Culture in Motion — Spotify with Irvine Partners
• The Sabre Award for Superior Achievement in Reputation Management: Board and Presidential visit to BMW Plant Rosslyn — BMW Group South Africa with Clockwork
• The Sabre Award for Superior Achievement in Research and Planning: From Monitoring to Meaning- How Blast Media Intelligence transformed CEO Communications in Mauritius — Blast Burson
• The Sabre Award for Superior Achievement in Measurement and Evaluation: The Vibranium — T2 with Chain Reactions Africa

Geographic

• Eastern Africa: One Move Away Campaign — Safaricom Ethiopia with Spotlight Communications and Marketing
• Northern Africa:GITEX Africa Morocco 2025: A Media-Fuelled Journey for Tech Excellence — GITEX Africa with APO Group
• Southern Africa: Behind The Label — Salvation Army with Clockwork
• Western Africa: Bluemind Foundation Heal by Hair — Bluemind Foundation with African Media Agency (AMA)
• Regional Campaign: Changing Lives - One Credit Report at a Time — International Finance Corporation (IFC) with ByDesign Communications
• Global Campaign: AFAWA: Banking on Women — African Development Bank Group with Check-In Films

Practice areas

• Business-To-Business Marketing: Newsmakers — Circus!
• Cause-Related Marketing: Homes Need Pets — Byron Thomas Properties with Clockwork
• Corporate Image: Mastercard Reputation Management in SME Sector — Mastercard (Africa) with Weber Shandwick
• Corporate Social Responsibility: The Disney Dream Room — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Edelman Africa and Openfield Marketing
• Crisis/Issues Management: War Against Drug Abuse — National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA with Image Merchants Promotion
• Digital Campaign: Homes Need Pets — Byron Thomas Properties with Clockwork
• Employee Communications:Connecting the dots… to glu — glu with Tribeca Public Relations
• Financial Communications: Signals of Strength — Anglo American with Razor, a division of the Up&Up Group
• Integrated Marketing: ESPN On Disney+ — The Walt Disney Company Africa with ChilliEngine and Jenny Griesel Communications
• Marketing to Consumers (New Product): National Geographic David Blaine Do Not Attempt — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Jenny Griesel Communications and Beatrix Events
• Marketing to Consumers (Existing Product): Heritage of Craft — Ab InBEV - Castle Lager with Retroviral, Shaun James Film
• Media Relations: AfroBEATanicals — Ab InBev - Black Crown with Retroviral & Run Jump Fly
• Public Affairs/Government Relations: IEC Elections — IEC with Magna Carta
• Public Education: The Unburied Casket — Women For Change with Edelman Africa
• Social Media Campaign: Local Climate Action Voices — The National Treasury and Economic Planning, Govt of Kenya with Engage Communications
• Special Event/Sponsorship: Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King - Press Tour — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Openfield Marketing and Capacity Relations

Industry sectors

• Associations: When airbags threaten to kill those they were supposed to protect — SICR with Blast Burson
• Consumer Products/Services: Courts Mammouth: 40ans - Tuzur Avek Zot — Courts Mammouth with Zethical X Courts Mammouth Marketing Team
• Fashion & Beauty: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle — Naked Ape with BopheloCommunications
• Financial & Professional Services: Mastercard Reputation Management in SME Sector — Mastercard (Africa) with Weber Shandwick
• Food & Beverage: KFC The Biggest Hunger Hack, a blueprint for better — KFC South Africa
• Healthcare: finDR — Profmed with Faith & Fear, Retroviral
• Industrial/Manufacturing: Women on Wheels — Lafarge with Integrated Indigo
• Media, Arts & Entertainment: The Disney Dream Room — The Walt Disney Company Africa with Edelman Africa and Openfield Marketing
• Mining and Extractive Industries: Building Capacity Beyond the Mine — Anglo American with ByDesign Communications
• Not for Profit/Charities: Soothing The Nation — Tears Foundation with DarkMatter Creative Communications
• Public Sector/Government: From Promises To Proofs — The Presidency with Chain Reactions Africa
• Technology: How to build an AI economy in Africa — Microsoft with We. Communications
• Travel & Leisure: Lagos Shopping Festival — Lagos State with Chain Reactions Africa X Aramanda Exp