Louise Marsland is an independent editor, journalist, B2B media specialist and influential blogger and columnist in the media, marketing and advertising industry in South Africa.

She was, until recently, the editor-in-chief and brand strategist of AdVantage magazine, South Africa's leading monthly media, marketing, and advertising magazine.

She currently also edits the weekly Media & Marketing page at The New Age newspaper.

A journalist and editor with 25 years' experience, Marsland started in daily newspapers in South Africa in the 1980s and has specialised in media strategy and Business-to-business and online media in the last 18 years, editing and launching publications in the main in the marketing and FMCG retail market, both in print and online.

She was most recently, editor-in-chief of AdVantage magazine (Jan 2009 - March 2012) and also the editor and editorial director of Bizcommunity.com for five years, from 2004 - 2008.

She won a slew of awards for AdVantage during her tenure as editor, including: at the MPASA Pica Awards 2011, AdVantage won Best B2B Annual/Supplement; as well as Best B2B Magazine at the 2011 Media24 Excellence Awards. In 2010 at the MPASA Pica Awards, Marsland won Best Trade & Industry Writer and AdVantage won Best Overall B2B Magazine Design.

She was a Board Member of the Magazine Publishers' Association of South Africa (MPASA) for 2009/2010 and of the Advertising Benevolent Fund (ABF) in 2010 & 2011. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Online Publishers' Association (OPA) 'Greatest Individual Contribution to Digital' Award; and has been featured in the Top Women in Business and Government annual (2005). She has judged the MPASA Pica Awards for magazine excellence several years in a row; and chaired the International Jury for the DMMA (formerly OPA) Bookmark Awards for Online Publishing, in 2010.

She is writing a book about the B2B media industry based on research into the South African B2B media sector for her Masters in Commerce degree: Strategy and Organisational Dynamics, through the Leadership Centre of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2008).

She is also a sought-after speaker in media and communications and an influential columnist and blogger.

Email her on , read her www.bizcommunity.com/Blog/LouiseMarsland/ blog on Bizcommunity and follow her on Twitter at @Louise_Marsland.