The Up&Up Group’s attention agency Connect came out tops at the Mark Awards 2026, scooping three major accolades, including the sought-after Gold award for Medium Agency of the Year.
Marvin Kgasoane, chief client officer and managing partner | Annie Waters, operations partner | Scott Reinders, chief operating officer
The Mark Awards honour the agencies, brands and leaders delivering South Africa’s most effective marketing, recognising excellence across seven specialist pillars that reflect the full spectrum of modern marketing.
Connect is the media, data and connections agency within The Up&Up Group that works across major South African and pan-African clients with a focus on attention-led planning, AI-supported decision-making, and integrated brand and performance media.
CEO and founder Martin MacGregor says: “I am proud of our entire agency team. These awards are a validation of our unrelenting focus on attention. At Connect, we believe that capturing the valuable attention of customers is the most critical driver of growth. This kind of industry recognition of our work and our approach is a testament to our ability to deliver measurable impact for our clients, among which are some of the continent's biggest brands. It inspires us to continue creating great work that really moves the dial.”
Connect also took home Gold in the category AI and Machine Learning and Best of Show, for their smart use of artificial intelligence in their luxury Lexus GX premium SUV launch campaign.
The stand-out use of cutting-edge technology, used to tell the story of the new, ruggedly beautiful Lexus GX, led to the campaign being recognised as one of the single most outstanding pieces of work at the entire awards event.
The announcements were made on Saturday, 12 September at an awards ceremony which took place at the spectacular La Roche Estate in Franschhoek, where Connect shared the spotlight with some of the biggest names in the industry. Other big winners at the Mark Awards this year are Machine for Best of Show: Design for Spotify; Alkemi Collective for Strategy: The Melrose Gallery; Retroviral x Faith & Fear for Impact & Purpose: Profmed.
Launched in 2025, the Mark Awards is a premier industry awards show that celebrates innovation, excellence and the audacity of marketing and advertising professionals to push boundaries across the 4Ps.
