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n a world experiencing unprecedented change, it was inevitable that this would reverberate across things closer to home. Thus, the MOST Awards Survey took a break in 2020 while we all tried to get to grips with the turmoil around us. While it seems that we are not yet in the clear with the pandemic, it has been fantastic to be able to run the survey again in 2021, keeping our much-loved and unique MOST Awards brand alive. Without the wonderful support of our media industry, this would not have been possible. Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, one thing is certain as far as our industry goes: change is constant and dynamic. This year was no exception, with some significant industry developments requiring amendments to the MOST Awards methodology. Specifically, the Newspapers and Magazines categories were combined into a single Print category, while Television and Cinema similarly were merged into an Audiovisual category. In addition, some new innovations and categories were introduced this year, keeping the MOST Awards fresh and current. Just short of 500 people employed in the buying and selling of media advertising space in South Africa participated in the MOST Awards Survey this year. 12 i T H E M E D I A
FGI Research Africa’s BRAD AIGNER analyses the 2021 MOST Awards results, delivering the trends and insights that come with having conducted research over a period of 11 years.
themediaonline.co.za
Given the challenges faced by all, this was a fantastic response rate – in fact one of the best ever since the inception of the awards in 2009. As usual, the profile of respondents was skewed to more experienced media practitioners (61% > 10 years in media), but it was pleasing to see the significant increase of respondents with fewer than five years of media experience in this year’s sample. While there is still a long way to go with transformation, it was encouraging to see the high calibre of young people who have joined our industry in recent years. This was noticeably evident from the candidates nominated for the special Rising Star awards for media owners and media agencies. In total, 87 companies involved in the planning and buying of media advertising space and 66 companies involved in the selling thereof participated in the survey. No media company has ever been precluded from participating in the MOST Awards survey. It is this inclusivity that has always been so important in delivering samples that are fairly and reliably representative of the media buying and selling universe. This year was no exception. The final hurdle that needed to be cleared was the audit of the MOST Awards survey methodology and final rankings by accounting firm BDO, which gave it the thumbs up. Phew!
