The awards, which take place tomorrow, 21 May in London, recognise superior achievement in branding, reputation and engagement. A jury of industry leaders evaluated the campaigns.

Finalists

South African and African finalists include:

Diamond Sabre Awards

• Company of the Year: The Recipe for Hope, Growth and Respect: How KFC Africa Redefined Brand Purpose — KFC Africa
• Brand-Building: Redefining BIC in Nigeria — BIC with LSF PR
• Research and Planning: Signals of strength — Anglo American with Razor PR
• Geographic: Africa:
  – Beyond the Expo: Positioning GITEX Africa Morocco as the EMEA Tech Bridge — Dubai World Trade Centre – Gitex Africa Morocco with APO Group
  – CeraVe Nigeria: From Under-Represented to Category Leader — CeraVe (L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty) with Redrick Public Relations
  – Gino World Jollof Festival with Hilda Baci by Blanche Aigle Communications — GINO – GB Foods with Blanche Aigle Communications
  – Homes Need Pets — Byron Thomas Properties with Clockwork
  – The Heritage of Craft — Ab InBev – Castle Lager with Retroviral, Shaun James Film
• Multi-Country Programme: Advancing the case for an international anti-corruption court — Good Governance Africa

Practice areas

• Marketing Communications: Consumer Marketing (New Product): Vaseline Cera Glow – #GlazedandGlowing — Unilever with Ogilvy South Africa
• Corporate Reputation:Capital Markets Communications: Signals of strength — Anglo American with Razor PR
• Engaging Society: Community Relations:
  – Beyond Turbines: Powering Communities & Building Trust — Lake Turkana Wind Power with Burson East Africa
  – The Pura Roadblock — Pura Soda with Clockwork
• Engaging Society: Sustainability Campaign: KFC:The Biggest Hunger Hack, a blueprint for better — KFC AfricaAdvocacy
• Media Relations: Corporate Media Relations: How to build an AI economy in Africa — Microsoft with We. Communications
• Digital and Social Media: Digital Campaign:
  – AfroBEATanicals — Ab InBev – Black Crown with Retroviral, Run Jump Fly
  – Are You In? Motorola’s return to the South African Market — Motorola with We. Communications & Tandem Create
  – KFC Sauce Code – Live in the Code, Win in the Game — KFC South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa
• Digital and Social Media: Influencer Marketing: Coca-Cola Nigeria – Redefining Cultural Currency — Coca-Cola Nigeria with Redrick PR
• Experiential: Sponsorship: Lifting Leaders: How Open Chair and KFC Africa took mentorship to new heights — KFC Africa
• Specialist Audience: Marketing to Youth: Black Cat Nton Nton — Tiger Brands with Ogilvy South Africa

Industry sectors

• Consumer Goods: Automotive: #ForeverGolf — Volkswagen South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa
• Audi Tik Tok Test Drive — Audi South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa
• Consumer Goods: Fashion & Beauty:
  – #VaselineVerified — Unilever with Ogilvy South Africa
  – Croctober 2025 — Crocs with Clockwork
• Consumer Services: Financial Services: Sanlam Investments – Property Impact Fund Campaign — Sanlam Investments with Accenture Song

Technology

• Technology: Afrobeats: Culture in Motion — Spotify with Irvine Partners
• Give Gogo Mzansi — Uber South Africa with Irvine Partners
• Telecommunications: Turning a Currency Challenge Into Clarity — Vodacom with We. Communications

Healthcare

• Healthcare Providers: finDR (pronounced finder) — Profmed with Faith & Fear, and Retroviral
• Not-For-Profit Organisations: Africa Food Systems Forum 2025 — AGRA with Woodrow

See all the finalists here.