Intuitively Innovative
Mediology is South Africa’s largest independent integrated media and digital marketing agency.
Founded in a media-agency-sea-of-sameness, Mediology distinguished itself by harnessing the science of media planning, fusing it with insights and wrapping it around the big ideas that differentiate brands. Thereby enhancing brand stories and narratives by placing brand messages in environments that leverage connectivity with potential target audiences.
Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Ana Carrapichano, Mediology has been instrumental in redefining how media agencies operate. Since its inception in 2006, the agency has constantly evolved and adapted to address the ever-changing needs of its clients. With years of experience in advertising and media on successful global brands like British Airways, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, and Unilever, Ana realised the need to step away from the dominance of global agency ownership to deliver true solutions to her clients without the influence of corporate accountants and global mandates. This sharp focus on contributing positively to their client’s business has earned Mediology the distinctive recognition of being one of the top media agencies delivering real quantifiable growth to their client’s business.
Mediology was identified as a “hot shop” by AdReview very soon after commencing business and have since maintained their consistent award-winning status. The most recent accolades are the Financial Mail Media Agency of the Year 2021 and the Most Admired Media Agency of the Year 2021 by MarkLives.com awards. Born from a spirit of entrepreneurship, fresh thinking and creativity has always been at the forefront of Mediology, evident in their colourful, bright, and inspiring office space which was modelled on Google, Skype, and Apple workplaces. “From the moment our clients walk into our reception area, it is immediately evident that creativity is the thread that runs through everything we do,” adds Carrapichano.
Leadership Driven
Mediology believes people are their strongest asset, with a senior leadership team recognised both locally and globally as pivotal players in the advertising and media industry.
The appointment of Boniswa Pezisa as Executive Director has further strengthened the management team and creative positioning of Mediology. Boniswa brings with her an enviable career, including holding positions as the group CEO for Net#work BBDO, chairperson for both the Loeries and Association for Communication & Advertising and being inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame in 2020.
Human at the core
Mediology is a media agency that thrives in knowing people, understanding them, their habits, their behaviours, their worries, and their passion points. They recognise the investment people make in brands and look at things from two perspectives: the ROE – return on engagement and the ROI – return on investment.
Mediology’s foundation is based on three core pillars – transformation, humanity, and sustainability. “Everything we do, we do it to advance humanity and to positively impact people’s lives. Propelling brand stories and narratives to build better emotional connections between brands and their target audiences is the primary agency objective,” says Pezisa.
Positively Curious
Mediology is grounded in curiosity that fuses intuition with reason – logic and magic – in pursuit of brands and people mastery.
Mediology developed an approach called “Where Logic Meets Magic” at its inception. This approach combines harnessing the science of media planning that relies heavily on data analysis; the logic, then adding the creative media genius; the magic.
The agency translates these insights into channel-agnostic campaignable ideas that inspire and mobilise humanity. They build sustainable and mutually beneficial connections between brands and their audience, thereby increasing the economic value of brands and the development of people.
Finding purpose
The media industry has always had a shortage of talent with the same people being recycled through various agencies. The Mediology Academy is being developed to reverse this course by providing a platform for learning from experts with years of experience. The curriculum will be relevant for today and one that can be applied easily, attracting talent from all walks of life.
The agency’s commitment to education is evident with its involvement in UCT’s 2021 opensource textbook – Marketing to South African Consumers. The book has already had 45 000 downloads within its first year of publication. This along with Ana’s continued focus on Social Behavioural Change Communication speaks to the team’s passion for positive change and transformation.
Emerging Tech
Mediology believes their ongoing pursuit is to be ahead of the everchanging world of media. They encourage their teams to immerse themselves in researching new ideas, every single day. “There is no shortage of innovative thinking in our industry. Global and local industries are creating extraordinary and creatively abundant campaigns. The explosion of the digital revolution is vast and allows for exploration and imagination. The future of the metaverse of limitless tech reality is impressive. It’s a very exciting time to be in media,” says Carrapichano.
Future Forward
The future looks bright for Mediology. The agency is expanding its footprint in Africa and has been exploring global opportunities. They subscribe to thenetworkone, a network of independent agencies across the globe with over 2,000 members, giving Mediology a global connection while maintaining its independence. “Our focus on growth and innovation is unstoppable, we are ready and exhilarated about our future,” says Carrapichano.
