Authentic transformation in advertising

Following the 30% stake acquired by Lwazi Media Ventures – a black female-owned and managed firm - in 2019, Ebony+Ivory Integrated Advertising Agency, an independent advertising, design and media agency with more than 53-year track record, is proud to announce that Thembi Sizani, their financial director, has acquired a 21% stake in the agency, increasing their black female ownership to 51%. The remaining share is retained by a family trust.

Thembi has been employed by Ebony+Ivory since June 2018 and is an integral part of the management team and now part of the ownership structure. She began her career 20 years ago at Johnnic Communications (now Arena Holdings), and holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree, with a major in Financial Accounting. Thembi notes that “Ebony+Ivory has been a Level 1 B-BBEE Contributor since 2018, so this deal is a true show of our commitment to transformation and not a requirement to achieve an improved status.”

Nombini Mehlomakulu, director and owner of Lwazi Media Ventures, and managing director of Ebony+Ivory says: “We have continued to grow from strength to strength even in these turbulent times, and this advancement is simply an exclamation point in our transformation chapter.”

Ebony+Ivory is the oldest independent, specialist services agency in South Africa, with a track record that spans more than half a century. It is an agency that has transformed and diversified in every sphere across technology,services and people to become a true icon in the advertising and marketing arena.

Paul Middleton, the chairman of Ebony+Ivory says: “This is the culmination of a journey that began 43 years ago when I took the reins of the agency my father had started and changed its name to Ebony+Ivory. It has been my north star to authentically change the strategic direction of the agency and the marketing and communications sector at large by serving, and representing, the society we live in.”