Visit The Modern Marketing Expo For The Latest Trends In Advertising, Media, Promotional Products And More

September 2, 2026

Experience the latest trends in advertising, media, promotional products, branded apparel, AI design and content technologies, marketing technology, at the Modern Marketing Expo 2026, where brands build momentum. The event is taking place 8-10 September at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg.

This is Africa’s focused marketing expo for marketing professionals, who can also see the latest developments and innovations in: signage, displays, visual communication, print and production technologies, digital experience and engagement, as well as retail and shopper marketing

Supercharge Your Marketing At The Modern Marketing Power Hour

Industry leaders will share their expertise and insights in the ever-evolving field of marketing at the free-to-attend Modern Marketing Power Hour, taking place in Hall 3 at Gallagher Convention Centre.

Please register online for free attendance to the Modern Marketing Expo, taking place 8-10 September, 9am-5pm at Gallagher Convention Centre. The event is co-located with: Sign Africa, FESPA Africa, Africa Print and Graphics, Print and Sign expos.

MODERN MARKETING EXPO
+27 11 568 1894
https://modernmarketingexpo.co.za

Patience And Persistence Are Key To Success

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Patience And Persistence Are Key To Success — Barry Venter, Nashua

Barry Venter, CEO of Nashua discusses how to keep a legacy brand relevant in a fast-changing market. As technology, customer behaviour and market conditions change, businesses need to keep up. In some cases, that might mean making wide and deep changes to the business model to ensure that the company remains relevant. The challenge for a well-established business lies in innovating and evolving, while retaining its brand equity and customer relationships.

At Nashua, we have gone through a significant business transformation over the past decade, from office automation specialist to a major player in the ICT industry. Before that, we evolved from a specialist in the sale and service of liquid toner copiers into an office automation leader.

Here are some of the lessons that our over 50-years history offers for other businesses that are reinventing their legacy brands for the digital age:

Innovate Within Your Offering

Evolution starts with rethinking what you already provide and looking at how you can leverage existing infrastructure and customer relationships to grow. You don’t need to build something completely new or abandon existing businesses to remain relevant. Our approach was to expand into areas that were adjacent to our existing business to meet new customer requirements.

Invest In The Skills Your Industry Needs

Investing in new skills is expensive and it takes time, but it is essential. Building the right team is as important as building the right product. There is a balancing act between ensuring the continuity of the core business, while investing in the revenue streams of the future.

With our move beyond print into ICT, we had to invest in new skills, including presales, implementation, and after-sales specialists, to support our expanded solutions.

Bring Existing Partners With You On The Journey

As a business changes and evolves, the support of its existing business partners is as important as building new vendor relationships. Customers are more likely to trust you with new solutions if you build on established relationships. A strong partner ecosystem also helps smaller companies to compete more effectively by pooling knowledge, resources, and reach.

Respect Heritage Clients, But Focus On New Ones

A successful reinvention is one where you don’t leave your existing customers behind. We still support many customers that depend on legacy print solutions and who are not yet ready to invest in digital solutions. We continue to serve this market, while prioritising the next generation of SMEs with needs in connectivity, cybersecurity, and green energy. Balancing the old and the new helps maintain credibility with long-time clients, while showing newer ones that you are forward-looking and relevant to their needs.

A Solutions Mindset Pays Off

Business reinventions pay off when they are oriented towards solving your customers’ problems. Over the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve moved away from the ‘box drop”’mentality of selling equipment, towards providing turnkey solutions that help customers achieve their goals and future-proof their operations. One element of this is building industry-specific solutions for each sector, from agriculture to education and beyond.

It’s A Journey, Not A Flick Of A Switch

Perhaps the biggest lesson is that reinvention takes time. Our evolution spanned decades, not months. Patience and persistence are the key to success, especially when bringing new offerings to market. Reinvention is not about one big launch, but about steady, deliberate steps to change the business. Each improvement lays the groundwork for the next. Over time, these incremental changes build trust and position your brand as a long-term partner to its customers.

NASHUA
https://www.nashua.co.za

Rethinking Retail Spaces And Retail Marketing

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Rethinking Retail Spaces And Retail Marketing — Camagu Sam, Mall Ads.

As foot traffic patterns shift and e-commerce continues to place pressure on physical retail, malls are having to reinvent their value proposition.

In this practical session, which will be held during the free-to-attend Modern Marketing Power Hour, Camagu Sam, Senior Sales Manager, Mall Ads will explore how treating physical retail space as a structured media network, rather than simply a leasing asset, is reshaping the economics of shopping centres, with implications for retail marketing, and shopper engagement.

Topic: Rethinking Retail Spaces and Retail Marketing
Wednesday 9 September 12:30-13:30

Book your free slot here.

The event is taking place at the Modern Marketing Expo. The sessions will be held on the Balcony in Hall 3 at Gallagher Convention Centre.

MODERN MARKETING EXPO
+27 11 568 1894
https://modernmarketingexpo.co.za

The Copyright Lessons Behind A Recent Celebrity Dispute

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

The Copyright Lessons Behind A Recent Celebrity Dispute — Amani Patel, Spoor & Fisher.

Amani Patel, with oversight by Marco van der Merwe (Partner) at Spoor & Fisher, writes that a recent copyright dispute involving media personality Ntando Rambani (née Duma) and photographic agency Pixel Kollective has highlighted a common misconception about photographs and copyright.

The dispute arose after a photograph, in respect of which Pixel Kollective owned the copyright, was allegedly used in a commercial advertising campaign without Pixel’s permission. Although Pixel was credited when the image was originally shared on social media, the subsequent commercial use of the photograph ultimately resulted in a damages award for copyright infringement.

The case raises an important question: who owns the rights to a photograph – the person depicted in it, the photographer who captured it, the person who employs the photographer or the person who commissioned the taking of the photograph? The answer is not always straightforward.

With social media making photographs instantly accessible and easy to share, it is common for individuals and businesses to assume that a photograph may be freely reused provided the photographer is acknowledged. However, while attribution may be courteous and, in some circumstances, contractually required, it does not authorise the reproduction or commercial use of a copyrighted work.

In South Africa, copyright in original photographs is governed by the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. A photograph is an artistic work for purposes of this Act, and the ‘author’ of a photograph is the person responsible for its composition. Importantly, authorship and ownership are not necessarily the same. While copyright generally vests in the author, until it is assigned, the Copyright Act provides circumstances in which ownership may initially vest in another person.

In the context of photography, the person who takes the photograph will generally be the person responsible for its composition and, therefore, its author. However, this is a question of fact. The person appearing in the photograph is not its author simply because they contributed to the scene. In the Ntando Rambani matter, the Court considered whether Rambani’s attire, appearance, make-up, hair, pose and input regarding the location made her responsible for the composition of the photograph. It concluded that these contributions did not make her the author of the photograph.

Ownership of copyright in a photograph may nevertheless vest in someone other than the author. Where the photograph is authored in the course of a contract of employment, service or apprenticeship with a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical (i.e. a media business), and is made for this purpose then the media business is the owner of the copyright in the photograph in so far as it relates to publication of the photograph in the newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, but in all other respects the author is the owner of the copyright.

Where a person commissions the taking of a photograph, pays or agrees to pay for it, and the photograph is made pursuant to that commission, the commissioning party is the owner of the copyright. Importantly, however, this statutory ownership rule applies subject to any agreement excluding its operation. The parties can therefore agree to exclude the default ownership rule.

This distinction was particularly relevant in the Rambani dispute. Pixel Kollective had been commissioned by Homecoming Events to photograph the event and was paid for its services. This arrangement would have vested ownership of the copyright in Homecoming Events. However, in this case, the evidence showed that Pixel’s standard terms provided that copyright remained with Pixel unless otherwise agreed. In other words, the parties agreed to exclude the statutory ownership rule. The Court accordingly found that Pixel had retained ownership of the copyright despite having been commissioned by Homecoming Events to take the photographs.

Importantly, the position is unaffected simply by who appears in the image. The subject of a photograph may have separate rights relating to privacy, personality or contractual arrangements, but those rights are distinct from copyright ownership. Being depicted in a photograph does not, by itself, give a person ownership of the copyright in the photograph.

This distinction has become increasingly relevant as brands, influencers and content creators regularly reuse photographs across social media platforms and marketing campaigns. A photograph may have been posted publicly, shared by the individual featured, or credited to the photographer, but none of these factors necessarily entitles a third party to reproduce or use it for commercial purposes without the copyright owner’s permission.

Before using a photograph in advertising, promotional material or sponsored content, businesses should therefore ensure that they have obtained the necessary permission from the copyright owner. Equally, influencers and public figures should be aware that their ability to use images of themselves may be subject to consent from the copyright owner, particularly where the images are used for commercial purposes rather than merely shared as part of ordinary personal social media activity.

The recent dispute serves as a timely reminder that copyright protects the original expression embodied in a photograph, including the skill, judgment and creative input involved in its composition. It also demonstrates why it is important to distinguish between the person depicted in the photo, the author of a photograph and the person who owns the copyright in it.

The lesson is a simple one: crediting the photographer may acknowledge their work, but it is not a substitute for obtaining permission to use it.

SPOOR & FISHER
www.spoor.com

Legacy Brands Have To Do The Work Of Justifying What They Continue To Charge

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Legacy Brands Have To Do The Work Of Justifying What They Continue To Charge — Jenni Pennacchini, Managing Partner, KLA

Jenni Pennacchini, Managing Partner, KLA, outlines why legacy loyalty in the motoring sector is softening and value is the new deciding factor. Historically, the badge has settled the argument in the South African car market. Heritage, engineering reputation, and the implied promise of long-term reliability did the heavy lifting, and buyers accepted that a premium meant pedigree, and pedigree justified price.

In a study we recently undertook at KLA into the changes occurring with the challenger brands in the motoring sector, the results tell me that this deal is unwinding.

The headline number is well known by now. NAAMSA data referenced in the study shows challenger brand share of new vehicle sales has roughly tripled in four years, from around 3% in 2020 to 11% in 2024, in unit terms, from just over 10,000 vehicles a year to more than 52,000. What is more telling is where that share has come from. It has not come from the elite end of the market, and it has not come from buyers who were never going to buy a legacy brand in the first place. It has come from the middle, and it has come from buyers who used to be legacy customers.

The study identified four buyer mindsets shaping car choice today: Aspirational Upgraders make up 36% of the market, Cautious Considerers 27%, Smart Value Maximisers 20% and Established Loyalists 17%. The composition of these groups is where the story lives. Among current challenger brand owners, Smart Value Maximisers make up 34% of the base, against just 21% of legacy brand owners. Established Loyalists, the consumers who reduce uncertainty by sticking with what they know, represent 19% of legacy owners but only 6% of new-entrant owners.

In other words, the switch is concentrated exactly where legacy brands cannot afford to lose ground. Aspirational Upgraders, who want a premium feel at a real-world price, sit at 35% of legacy owners and 49% of new-entrant owners. The buyers most open to paying for the upgrade are the ones who have already decided the upgrade does not need to wear a German badge.

Loyalty has not disappeared, but it has softened. And the study showed me how rational that softening actually is. One respondent put it plainly, ‘Driving a BMW X3 for the look, whereas now, will rather spend money on my house.’ Another respondent, in our highest vehicle-value focus-group cohort, said, ‘It is no longer about a definition of value for money, it is now the re-definition of value for money, which is connected to me losing my ego and being sensible.’

This is not about consumers reluctantly trading down. It is consumers consciously trading sideways, or in many cases, trading up on tech, space and warranty while paying less.

The category has shifted from asking ‘can I trust this brand?’ to a much more demanding question, ‘what is this brand doing for me, right now, that justifies its cost?’ Heritage answers the first question, it does not answer the second.

For the motoring sector, the implication is uncomfortable but workable. Elite legacy brands remain the gold standard that new entrants are still emulating, they are not the casualties here. The casualty is the mid-tier. Too expensive to compete on value, and no longer prestigious enough to compete on aspiration, mid-tier legacy brands are squeezed by both ends of the market simultaneously. The cars themselves are not the problem. The value story around them is.

The brands that respond to this will not be the ones that cut prices. They will be the ones that bundle features into simpler, more inclusive packages, extend warranties to match buyer expectations, and explain, in language consumers actually use, why their cost is worth it today, in this economy, for this driver. The challenger brands have done the work of reframing what consumers think they are entitled to expect. Legacy brands have to do the work of justifying what they continue to charge.

The share is not coming back on its own. The buyers who switched did so consciously, and the buyers who are watching them switch are taking notes. The window to respond is open.

Project Crossroads is a proactive study by KLA, conducted in 2026. The research combined a quantitative panel survey of 1,082 South Africans through KLA’s YourView Consumer Panel, four focus groups in Gauteng with recent new-entrant vehicle buyers, and ethnographic interviews with five higher-LSM households in Gauteng and the Western Cape, layered over desk research and NAAMSA industry data.

KLA
https://kla.co.za/

Why Data Is As Important As Measurement When It Comes To AI

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Why Data Is As Important As Measurement When It Comes To AI

In many organisations, especially in sectors like financial services and retail, AI has moved to a board-level mandate, and chief marketing officers (CMOs) are being asked to do more with their AI tools while still hitting short-term performance targets.

According to recent McKinsey insight, while 90 percent of CMOs are currently experimenting with AI use cases, less than 10 percent have either scaled it or captured value across marketing workflows. Digital marketing specialist, Incubeta, however, says CMOs are facing growing pressure to scale AI initiatives, often without the necessary strategic, data, or measurement foundations in place.

The gap between that pressure and the organisation’s readiness often shows up as operational paralysis. Leaders worry about disrupting what already works, introducing new risks and being unable to clearly prove the impact of AI-driven change.

That anxiety is amplified by how AI is often sold, with too many conversations treating it as a magical elixir.

‘The first and biggest misconception is that AI is just one thing, like it’s a single lever that you pull,’ said Courtney van Zyl, Client Solutions Partner, at Incubeta. ‘In reality, it cuts across creative generation, media bidding, forecasting, audience modelling and more, each with different risks, data requirements and pay‑offs. When brands adopt it as a category rather than asking which specific problem it’s solving for them, disappointment is almost guaranteed.’

According to Calvin van Rensburg, Client Solutions Partner at Incubeta, the correct approach is to start with the problems, not the platforms, ‘On the media side, that looks like tools that ingest performance data and use machine learning to decide when to intervene with bid or budget changes. On the creative side, it means using AI to generate and iterate assets at a speed that finally matches digital media’s always‑on cadence,’ he said.

Van Zyl says the performance gains of this approach don’t live in a single channel or a single tool, ‘The most consistent gains we’re seeing aren’t concentrated in one single channel or function. They’re showing up wherever we replace the guesswork with the better signal. That might mean smarter bidding, more context‑relevant creative, or sharper audience definitions. It’s clear that AI works best where it upgrades the signals feeding decisions and where teams have the discipline to test whether that upgrade is real,’ she explained.

That discipline is becoming more important as attribution gets messier. Privacy regulation, walled gardens and AI‑driven optimisation inside platforms have made customer journeys harder to observe end‑to‑end. Van Zyl argues that attribution is shifting from something that could be measured with some certainty, to something that now has to be modelled with confidence.

The answer is triangulation: Media mix modelling (MMM) for long‑term, cross‑channel impact; day‑to‑day analytics for operational optimisation; and structured experiments in areas like creative and predictive audiences. Van Zyl says the goal now is measurement you can trust directionally, act on, and stand behind, confidence you can defend, not certainty you can’t.

For CMOs in privacy‑heavy sectors, like financial services, data is as important as measurement when it comes to using AI. Van Rensburg explains that clients only ever share information that has been properly consented, and that his team is clear upfront about the specific data they need and whether the client has permission to provide it. These signals are securely hashed or encrypted to platform standards and anonymised beyond typical cookie levels.

However, both are clear that the bigger constraint inside large brands is rarely data volume. Financial institutions in particular often hold a lot of data that isn’t necessarily aggregated or put together in a manner that speaks between the operational silos. ‘Governance and hygiene, including connecting, cleaning and mapping datasets to defined use cases, is the real foundation,’ Van Zyl cautions.

While many teams still treat AI as a magic replacement for human work, it functions far better as an add‑on than a substitute. It still needs human judgement to shape and refine the output, and there are hard cost limits on how much can realistically be automated.

Both specialists agree that the real advantage lies in how well organisations structure their data, processes, and decision‑making around AI, and in using it selectively where it genuinely adds value rather than deploying it everywhere for the sake of appearances.

And the benefits of the correct approach could seriously move the needle for many organisations. As McKinsey points out, ‘Get it right, and our experience with multiple companies indicates that 4 to 7 percent revenue growth, two- to threefold improvements in productivity, and 60 to 70 percent savings in execution-related tasks are possible with AI.’

INCUBETA
www.incubeta.com

Toyota Campaign Celebrates South Africa And Its People

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Toyota Campaign Celebrates South Africa And Its People

The Toyota Hilux has become ingrained in communities’ everyday lives and is a testament to the toughness, reliability, strength, and grit that see South Africans rise above their challenges. Inspired by everyday South Africans, Publicis Groupe Africa’s Studio One team, wanted to showcase the heart and soul of the lived experience in South Africa.

To do this, three film pieces were conceptualised to intentionally portray different cultures and experiences, while also echoing the common experiences, and toughness and grit that South Africans show every day.

Award-winning film director Amr Singh, who is known for his striking visuals and impactful storytelling, directed the three Hilux pieces produced in Afrikaans, English and isiZulu. A full cast, stirring words, and Amr’s vision perfectly encapsulates the grit and resilience that South Africans pride themselves on. From early mornings to long hours at work. From touching family moments, to helping others in need. In every instance, the New-Generation Hilux is there.

Peet Engelbrecht, Executive Creative Director at Studio One, said, ‘We wanted to create an ad that celebrates our country and people. The New-Generation Hilux campaign is first and foremost a celebration of South Africans’ toughness, before it shows the Hilux’s role in helping them when there’s tough to be done.’

The much-anticipated New-Generation Hilux, with its completely refreshed exterior and interior, is now available from Toyota dealerships nationwide. And, like the Hilux generations before, the New-Generation Hilux will also be built right here on South African soil, at Toyota South Africa Motors’ Prospecton Plant in Durban.

New-Generation Hilux drivers can enjoy a redesigned cabin, while improved ergonomics, enhanced suspension tuning and electric power steering ensure comfort, stability and control on any terrain. The seamless connectivity and Toyota Remote features available through the MyToyota App also create a premium and intuitive driving experience.

Rethabile Bopape, Advertising Senior Manager at Toyota South Africa Motors said, ‘The New-Generation Hilux remains rooted in its legacy as a workhorse that is tough enough to tackle anything South Africans can throw at it. Through this campaign, we wanted to celebrate the different ways in which South Africans from all walks of life use the Hilux, while also positioning it as an intuitive and lifestyle-oriented drive.’

You can watch the all the ads here: English, Afrikaans and IsiZulu.

The advertising campaign for the New-Generation Hilux extends across TV, Cinema, out-of-home, print, radio, and digital channels.

PUBLICIS GROUPE AFRICA
https://publicisgroupeafrica.com/

Is Local Content Likely To Remain Central To South African Audiences?

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Is Local Content Likely To Remain Central To South African Audiences? — Elouise Kelly, Viu South Africa.

Elouise Kelly, Country Manager at Viu South Africa, outlines why great storytelling matters more than from where a series comes. For a long time, the entertainment industry believed viewers were most interested in stories either from their own backyard or from Hollywood superstars. Anything with subtitles was seen as niche, ‘arthouse’ fare.

But today, there are growing signs that audiences are becoming increasingly open to discovering compelling stories from beyond their own borders. While local content continues to form the foundation of viewing on Viu, we have seen rising engagement with international genres, particularly Turkish dramas and dubbed content (in Afrikaans and English), suggesting a growing receptiveness among audiences to exploring compelling stories from different parts of the world.

Viewers are searching for the stories that share what makes us all human, the heart-fluttering thrill of romance, the tragedy of love lost, the pulse-quickening excitement of a race against time. One of the clearest lessons we have learned is that viewers rarely choose a show simply because of where it comes from. They choose it because the story resonates. Romance, family conflict, revenge, humour and suspense translate remarkably well across cultures, especially when supported by quality localisation.

While audiences have long enjoyed stories from beyond their own borders, streaming has made discovering international content easier than ever before. Social media, online communities, travel content and food culture have also exposed viewers to different countries and cultures in ways that would have been difficult to imagine 20 years ago.

Today, people can explore a new cuisine, follow creators from another continent or immerse themselves in a different culture without ever leaving home. They can scroll through assorted languages and ways of life on their phones and by the time they switch to their streaming app to watch a show or a movie, the world feels far less distant than it once did.

Local viewers have become remarkably good at looking beyond language and geography to focus on what really matters: the story itself. This rising interest may not come as a surprise. South Africans have long embraced the kind of rich, character-driven, long-form storytelling that defined beloved soap operas such as Isidingo, Generations and other television favourites. Turkish series tap into many of those same strengths: family dynamics, romance, intrigue and emotional storytelling that keeps audiences coming back episode after episode. Korean dramas (K-dramas) offer another example of this.

However, this does not mean local relevance has become less important. Audiences still gravitate towards stories that reflect their own cultures, experiences and realities. The challenge for streaming platforms is balancing that desire for local connection with a growing appetite for international storytelling.

This appetite does not simply emerge on its own; it is cultivated through thoughtful curation, localisation, dubbing and marketing. By helping viewers discover stories from different cultures, platforms are steadily expanding what feels familiar and relatable.

The future is unlikely to be a choice between local and international content. Local content is likely to remain central to South African audiences, but there is growing evidence that viewers are also willing to embrace high-quality stories from elsewhere when they are presented in ways that feel accessible and culturally relevant. Success will come from understanding how audiences move comfortably between both.

With streaming platforms reaching global audiences, modern productions are being deliberately developed to span multiple markets, while remaining rooted in their own settings and cultures.

VIU

https://www.viu.com/ott/za

Tractor Outdoor Announces Transparency And Compliance Initiative

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Tractor Outdoor is reinforcing its commitment to transparency and responsible media ownership through an independently audited portfolio and the country’s first integrated legal compliance planning functionality.

Tractor Outdoor has appointed Outdoor Auditors to independently verify the permit status of every site in its national portfolio, with those findings integrated directly into the Outdoor Auditors planning platform. The result is a new level of transparency, enabling advertisers, agencies and clients to independently verify the legal status of Tractor Outdoor inventory as part of the planning process.

Over the past several months, Tractor Outdoor has worked alongside Outdoor Auditors, South Africa’s leading independent OOH auditing specialist, to help shape the development of a legal compliance solution that provides advertisers and agencies with greater visibility into the legal status of outdoor advertising inventory.

The result is an industry-first integration that places independently verified legal compliance information directly within the Outdoor Auditors planning platform, making Tractor Outdoor the first media owner in South Africa to offer this capability. During the initial rollout, Tractor Outdoor will be the only media owner to offer this functionality before it is made available more broadly across the industry.

The initiative comes at a time when the outdoor advertising industry is experiencing increased scrutiny around legal compliance, highlighting the growing importance of transparency, governance and brand safety in media planning.

Rather than reacting to industry developments, Tractor Outdoor has proactively worked with Outdoor Auditors to independently review and verify the legal status of its portfolio, recognising that advertiser confidence is built on more than audience delivery alone.

‘This wasn’t something we started because of recent events,’ said Michael Brits, Head of Development at Tractor Outdoor.

‘Managing permits, renewals and council approvals has always been part of how we manage our portfolio. Working with Outdoor Auditors allowed us to take that discipline one step further by independently verifying every site and making that information visible to our clients. The audit was commissioned by Tractor Outdoor at its own cost and conducted entirely at arm’s length. No site was excluded. The results are what they are. This is the first time a South African OOH operator has submitted its full permit portfolio to independent third-party verification and published the outcome at site level. That’s a significant step forward for transparency in our industry.’

Outdoor Auditors says the collaboration demonstrates how independent verification can improve confidence across the industry.

‘Transparency only works if the evaluation is completely independent,’ said Erik Warburg, Director of Outdoor Auditors. ‘Our new legality layer on our planning tool applies a strict four-category methodology, requiring verifiable council numbers, approval dates and sworn affidavits before any site receives approved status. Tractor is the first major media owner to submit their full billboard inventory to our independent verification process. It sets a much-needed benchmark for brand safety and data integrity in OOH.’

For advertisers and agencies, the new capability introduces another important layer of information when evaluating outdoor media opportunities, alongside audience insights, location, campaign objectives and campaign performance.

‘Today’s advertisers expect more than great locations and strong audiences,’ said Steve Duck, Chief Revenue Officer at Tractor Outdoor. ‘They expect accountability, transparency and confidence. By making independently verified legal compliance part of the planning journey, we’re helping clients make more informed decisions while reinforcing our commitment to responsible media ownership and continual innovation.’

While Tractor Outdoor will enjoy an initial first-to-market period before the functionality becomes available across the wider market, the company believes the long-term value lies in encouraging greater transparency across the OOH industry.

‘This shouldn’t be a differentiator forever,’ said Duck. ‘It should become the standard. Advertisers deserve independent proof, not just assurances. Greater transparency benefits everyone, advertisers, agencies, municipalities and responsible media owners alike. If we can help move the industry towards greater transparency, that’s good for our clients and ultimately good for the credibility of outdoor advertising.’

The legal compliance functionality represents another step in Tractor Outdoor’s ongoing commitment to innovation, accountability and responsible media ownership. As advertisers continue to demand greater transparency from their media partners, Tractor Outdoor believes independently verified legal compliance will become an increasingly important consideration alongside audience, location and campaign effectiveness when planning out-of-home campaigns.

TRACTOR OUTDOOR
www.tractoroutdoor.com

Proving Digital Provenance: Looking Beyond The Challenge Of Misinformation

Modern Marketing

September 2, 2026

Proving Digital Provenance: Looking Beyond The Challenge Of Misinformation

According to Thelma Ngoma-Mavhunga, senior communications specialist at Flow Communications, the next battleground for business is not AI, it is proving what is real. For years, organisations have invested heavily in protecting themselves against cyberattacks and online misinformation. They are now confronting a different challenge. The question is no longer simply whether false information will circulate, but whether audiences can distinguish authentic corporate communications from increasingly sophisticated fabrications.

A chief executive appears to endorse an investment platform. A central bank governor seems to announce market-sensitive information. A finance director invites investors to join a WhatsApp group promising exceptional returns. The video is convincing, the voice sounds authentic and the branding appears legitimate. None of it happened.

South African businesses are already dealing with the consequences. The South African Reserve Bank has warned the public about AI-generated videos that falsely portray Governor Lesetja Kganyago involved in televised confrontations with media personalities, and fake content promoting fraudulent investment schemes.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has repeatedly warned that fraudsters are increasingly using deepfake videos and the identities of well-known public figures, including Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, President Cyril Ramaphosa and businessman Patrice Motsepe, to lend credibility to fraudulent investment schemes.

These incidents reflect a broader pattern. Earlier this year, Hong Kong police disclosed that a multinational company had lost about R404 million (around US$25 million) after employees were deceived by AI-generated video and audio impersonating senior executives during a video conference.

The World Economic Forum has identified misinformation and disinformation enabled by artificial intelligence as one of the most significant short-term global risks because of its capacity to undermine confidence in institutions, markets and democratic processes.

The Challenge Extends Beyond Misinformation

Businesses have always had to respond to false claims and online rumours. What has changed is the ease with which convincing digital content can now be produced.

Images, voice recordings, videos and documents that once required specialist skills and significant resources can now be generated within minutes, using widely available tools. The technical barrier to creating credible deception has fallen sharply. That has important implications for reputation management.

A fabricated earnings announcement can influence markets before an organisation has time to respond. A manipulated executive statement can spread across multiple platforms before journalists or investors establish that it is false. By the time a correction is issued, the original content may already have reached millions of people.

For decades, organisations have approached trust largely as a communications challenge. Editorial standards, governance processes and rapid crisis response remain essential, but they address only part of the problem. Businesses must now consider how they will demonstrate that legitimate content originated from them and has not been altered.

The concept of digital provenance offers one possible answer. In the art market, provenance refers to the documented history of an object. Before purchasing a valuable painting, collectors want evidence of its origin, ownership and restoration history because that record establishes authenticity. The same principle is increasingly being applied to digital content.

Rather than relying solely on software that detects manipulated media after publication, digital provenance allows creators to attach verifiable information to content when it is produced. The objective is not to guarantee that every image or video is truthful, but to provide a transparent record showing where it originated, what tools were used to create it and whether it has subsequently been edited.

The best-known initiative in this field is the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), an open technical standard supported by technology companies, publishers and camera manufacturers. Through systems such as Content Credentials, creators can attach cryptographically signed metadata to digital files, recording information including when the content was created, which device or software produced it, and whether generative AI was part of the production process.

Support for the standard is expanding. Adobe has integrated Content Credentials across its creative applications. Microsoft and Google have joined industry efforts to strengthen provenance standards, while OpenAI has introduced Content Credentials for images generated through ChatGPT. Camera manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Leica and Sony are also developing hardware capable of recording authenticity information at the point an image is captured.

The technology is not a complete solution, because metadata can be removed under certain circumstances and provenance information is valuable only if software platforms preserve it. The organisations behind these standards acknowledge that provenance must operate alongside watermarking, detection technologies, platform governance and stronger public understanding of synthetic media.

An Operational Issue

Even with the limitations in mind, the discussion about trust is changing. Organisations have traditionally concentrated on ensuring that what they publish is accurate. Increasingly, they will also need systems that allow others to verify that the content genuinely originated from them.

Authenticity is becoming an operational issue, rather than simply a communications concern, says Flow Communications chief technology officer Richard Frank.

‘We’re reaching a point where proving the origin of content is becoming part of maintaining trust. Clients still want people to share their content, but they also want audiences to recognise that it is authentic.’

Convincing fabrication is becoming commonplace on the internet. This means, in future, credibility will depend less on how persuasive content appears than on whether organisations can demonstrate where it came from and how it was created.

For businesses, the next competitive advantage may not lie in producing more content, but in producing content that can be verified as authentic.

FLOW COMMUNICATIONS
www.flowsa.com

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