The Interactive Advertising Bureau South Africa has confirmed the full jury panel, Jury President and Jury Chairs for the 2026 Bookmark Awards — the people who will evaluate, debate and ultimately decide which campaigns, platforms and creative executions represent the best of South African digital marketing and publishing this year.

Elizabeth Mokwena returns as Jury President for the second consecutive year. As Executive Marketing Director at Unilever, Mokwena aims to bring both the commercial rigour and the creative conviction the role demands. She has spent over 14 years building billion-dollar brands across the continent and has never stopped asking the harder question: does this work actually matter?

"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 at scale. I am confident we will raise the bar for South Africa's digital work once again this year. Excellence is the standard."

A Jury Panel That Reflects the Industry's Breadth

According to IAB, joining Mokwena are nine Jury Chairs, each bringing deep expertise to their respective judging categories:

  • Marketers: Neo Mashigo, Chief Creative Officer, The Up & Up Group
  • Marketing Craft: Peter Little, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe Africa
  • Performance Marketing: Babalwa Nyembezi, Strategy Director, Dentsu Red Star.
  • Publishers: Danette Breitenbach, Managing Editor, Bizcommunity.
  • Social, Community and Influencer Marketing: Brent Lindeque, Editor in Chief, Good Things Guy.
  • Youth Action: Nomfundo Ndlangisa, Head of Marketing and Communications, Stellenbosch Business School.
  • Builders: Aluwani Raswiswi, Director of Technology, VML.
  • Innovative Engineers: Matt Thompson, Chief Creative Officer, MakeReign.
  • Special Honours: Neo Makhele, Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy.

The full judging panel of 88 experts drawn from across the country's marketing, creative, tech and publishing industries will join Mokwena and the jury chairs — making this the most experienced panel in the awards' history, says IAB.

See the full list of jury members here.

The panel aims to represent a broad spectrum of the digital landscape, from brand-side marketers and global platforms to agencies, publishers and academic institutions — all contributing distinct perspectives on what excellence looks like in practice.

This year's jury aims to bring together decision—makers from many South African brands. Some of them include AB InBev / SAB, Capitec, Discovery, MTN, Standard Bank, Unilever, Volkswagen Group South Africa and Nando's, alongside global platforms such as Google and Spotify. Their presence ensures that the work is interrogated not only for its creativity, but for its ability to drive real business impact at scale, says IAB.

They are joined by leading creative, media, and technology agencies — from Accenture Song, Ogilvy, Publicis Groupe Africa, VML, TBWA \ Hunt Lascaris and Dentsu Creative, to independent players such as Joe Public, Retroviral, The Odd Number and Clockwork — aimed at reflecting the full spectrum of thinking shaping the industry today. Publishers and media organisations including Media24, Primedia Broadcasting, IOL, EWN and Bizcommunity further anchor the jury in the realities of content, distribution and audience engagement.

Together, this cross-section jury aims to reinforce the Bookmark Awards' role as a true industry benchmark, where creativity, effectiveness, innovation and commercial impact are evaluated through multiple lenses, not in isolation, adds IAB.

Categories Built Around Business Ecosystems

The 2026 Bookmark Awards introduces a reimagined category, Architecture, clustered around real business ecosystems: Build, Communicate, Connect, Innovate, Measure, Publish and Special Honours. The updated structure aims to reflect the evolving role of digital in driving measurable commercial outcomes — not just creative recognition, adds IAB.

Round One of judging takes place in June. Finalists will be announced ahead of Round Two judging at the end of July.

The standard entry window is currently open and closes on Friday, 10 April, thereafter late fees apply with final entries closing on Tuesday, 28 April. The awards eligibility period covers work produced between Sunday, 1 March 2025 and Saturday, 28 February 2026.

For more information, visit www.thebookmarks.iabsa.net. You can also follow The Bookmarks on Facebook, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor