- The 2025 Bookmark Awards season will kick off in late January, with the awards ceremony expected to be held in August
- The 17th annual Bookmark Awards will be helmed by seasoned brand builder Elizabeth Mokwena as Jury President
- Works produced between 1 March 2024 and 28 February 2025 will be eligible for entry
(Cape Town, 6 December 2024): The IAB South Africa is pleased to announce Elizabeth Mokwena as the new Jury President for the 2025 Bookmark Awards, the premier digital media and marketing awards in South Africa.
Mokwena is a seasoned pan-African brand builder with more than 14 years of experience in the FMCG industry and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role. As the Home Care Executive Marketing Director for Unilever Africa, she is responsible for expanding the footprint of the portfolio across the region. She describes her work as “giving global brands an African passport, whilst giving African brands global exposure” and has a passion for nurturing the next generation of African brand builders.
🎉 We’re thrilled to welcome these industry leaders to the IAB SA 2025 Bookmarks Committee.
— IAB South Africa (@iab_sa) December 6, 2024
💡 Stay tuned for updates on the #Bookmarks2025 journey!#BMA25#BenchmarkingExcellence#DigitalExcellence pic.twitter.com/sfOMLzPJvZ
“I believe in the power of creativity to change the world,” says Mokwena. “Digital innovation compounds the possibilities of doing this faster, more cost-effectively and with scale. I think 2025 is a redemptive year for our industry and I am honoured to assist the IAB South Africa and the Bookmarks in identifying and celebrating digital work that has had a measurable impact.
“I am confident we will raise the bar for South Africa’s digital work this year. Excellence is the standard.”
Mokwena takes the helm from Khensani Nobanda, Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank. IAB South Africa extends its gratitude to Nobanda for her exceptional leadership as the Jury President of the Bookmark Awards from 2022 through 2024. Her dedication and insights have been instrumental in shaping the awards programme in a post-pandemic landscape.
The Bookmark Awards is overseen by the IAB South Africa Agency Council, which welcomes the following new members to its Bookmarks Committee for 2025: News24 Publisher Jerusha Raath, RAPT Creative Agency Integrated Creative Director Tanya de Jongh, IAB Executive Director Chris Borain and Mindshare South Africa Managing Director Adrian Naidoo. The new members join longtime Committee members Robyn Campbell, Managing Director at Publicis Machine, and Pippa Misplon, Managing Director at Retroviral. “The Bookmark Awards have always been a benchmark for digital excellence and the committee plans to introduce new initiatives to elevate the impact of the Awards in 2025, ensuring they remain a driving force for progress and a true reflection of the dynamic digital media and marketing landscape in South Africa,” says Pippa Misplon.
“We are thrilled to have Elizabeth Mokwena join us as Jury President next year. Her impressive background in leading global brands and her deep understanding of the pan-African market will be invaluable as we celebrate the best in digital excellence. We are confident that under her leadership, the 2025 Bookmark Awards will reach new heights, showcasing the incredible talent and innovation within our industry.”
IAB SA BOOKMARK AWARDS 2025 KEY DATES
Now in its 17th year, the IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards remains committed to its objectives of recognising and celebrating the best work and talent in the digital media and marketing industry, showcasing innovation, creativity and effectiveness. The 2025 Bookmark Awards season will kick off with Jury Nominations in late January, with entries expected to open in mid-February. The Awards Ceremony is set to be held in mid-August.
Eligibility for entry into the IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards 2025 is for works produced between 1 March 2024 and 28 February 2025.
For more information about the IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards, visit thebookmarks.co.za.
About IAB South Africa
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) South Africa, formerly known as the DMMA, is an independent, voluntary, non-profit association focused on growing and sustaining a vibrant and profitable digital industry within South Africa. The IAB South Africa empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. It comprises 150 leading media companies, brands and technology firms working in digital marketing and media. The non-profit, non-government trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising while also educating brands, agencies, publishers and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing.
The IAB Global Network brings together 45 national IABs and three regional IABs to share challenges, develop global solutions and advance the digital advertising industry worldwide. IABs are located in North America, South America, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe. Each association is independently owned and operated, functioning under bylaws consonant with local market needs. To subscribe to IAB South Africa newsletter events, click here or visit iabsa.net.