SABRE Awards Africa 2023 Winners

The 2023 Africa SABRE Awards, which recognizes Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation, and Engagement, will be announced at the Africa SABRE award ceremony on May 18th, as part of the 2023 African Public Relations Conference in Lusaka, Zambia. The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of industry leaders.

Event registration is HERE.
*All registered conference attendees get automatic entry to the SABRE Awards. Only non-conference attendees are required to pay an entry fee to attend the SABRE Awards event.

Platinum SABRE Award for Best in Show

Winner:
Be You Period — Lil-Lets with Retroviral

Finalists:
2. Vodacom Africa.Connected - Working together towards an inclusive, digital future — Vodacom with WE Communications
3. Keep Walking Africa Top 30 — Johnnie Walker and Trace with Celebrity Services Africa, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe
4. Mercy Ships Africa Celebrations — Mercy Ships with APO Group
5. Reimagining Mental Health — Investec Life with Razor PR / M&C Saatchi Group SA

Diamond SABRE Awards

CEO of the year
Winner:

The central role of Public Relations within the Lagos State Government — Lagos State Governor with Chain Reactions Africa

Certificate of Excellence:

CEO of the Year — MTN Nigeria

Company of the year
Winner:

Doing good is good for business — Shoprite

Certificates of Excellence:

Airtel Touching Lives — Airtel Nigeria with CMC Connect
Company of the Year — MTN Nigeria

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Brand-Building
Winner:

Be You Period — Lil-Lets with Retroviral

Certificates of Excellence:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Disney with SoMe Solutions
Purpose driven comms to establish leadership — BetKing Nigeria with LSF PR

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Reputation Management
Winner:

School Feeding Program — Lake Turkana Wind Power with Hill+Knowlton East Africa Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

500 Tonnes Light — Anglo American with Razor PR / M&C Saatchi Group SA
Ford Next-Gen Ranger pre-launch campaign — Ford South Africa with Meropa Communications
Honeywell Group — Honeywell Group Limited
Shikisha Form na Senator — Kenya Breweries with Inter Management Group (IMG) Kenya

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Research and Planning
Winner:

Sixty60 Swindler — Checkers Sixty60 with Retroviral

Certificates of Excellence:

Election Preparedness Campaign — Communication Authority of Kenya with Hill+Knowlton East Africa Limited
Nigeria Market Sentiment and Study Motivations Report — University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom with Vive Africa
RE Series — Nestle with Weber Shandwick Africa
The Dive In Festival for Diversity & Inclusion in Insurance — Aon with Gong Communications & Phyllion

The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Measurement and Evaluation
Winner:

Reinvigorating a corporate narrative to drive investor engagement — Octodec Investments Limited with Instinctif Partners Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Africa Banks on IBM — IBM with Weber Shandwick
Cheers to Our Next 100! — East African Breweries Limited (EABL) with Inter Management Group (IMG) Kenya

Geographic

Northern Africa
Winner:

Africa’s Business Heroes — Jack Ma Foundation with APO Group

Certificate of Excellence:

Canon R-Tour — Canon with APO Group

Western Africa
Winner:

Mercy Ships Africa Celebrations — Mercy Ships with APO Group

Certificates of Excellence:

H.Insured: All About Insurance. A down to earth thought leadership series by Hollard — Hollard Ghana with Hollard Ghana (Hollard Insurance & Hollard Life)
Heineken UCL Trophy Tour — Nigerian Breweries/Heineken
Maltina Teacher of the Year — Nigerian Breweries with Integrated Indigo Limited
Nigerian Ladies in PR — MacArthur Foundation, Kogi Government with Image Merchants Promotion Limited

Eastern Africa
Winner:

School Feeding Program — Lake Turkana Wind Power with Hill+Knowlton East Africa Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

KQ Sustainable Flight Challenge — Kenya Airways
RGB: Boutey - Retourne, Nou Repran Li — Phoenix Beverages Group with Zethical (Mauritius)

Central Africa
Winner:

#Savinglivesandlivelihoods — Mastercard Foundation with Engage BCW, Kenya

Certificate of Excellence:

Glide Webisodes Campaign: "Building Awareness to End Diseases of Poverty" — Glide with Gong Communications

Southern Africa
Winner:

Nando's Bright Sides — Nando's with Eclipse Communications

Certificates of Excellence:

#YesWeKann — Terra and Alteo with Blast BCW
Doing good is good for business — Shoprite with KAMuses
Repurpose The Surplus — Food Forward South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa
The More Than Water Campaign — Coca-Cola Bottling South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa

Practice areas

Business-To-Business Marketing
Winner:

Launch of Profitroom into South Africa — Profitroom with Tribeca Public Relations

Certificates of Excellence:

B2B campaign to empowers distibutors — Flour Millls Nigeria
Kerry Taste Manufacturing Facility Launch in Hammarsdale — Kerry with FleishmanHillard

Cause-Related Marketing
Winner:

RGB: Boutey - Retourne, Nou Repran Li — Phoenix Beverages Group with Zethical (Mauritius)

Certificates of Excellence:

Grand-Pa Spaza Academy — GrandPa with MSL
Innovating a way out the climate crisis — Microsoft Middle East & Africa with WE Communications South Africa

Corporate Image
Winner:

500 Tonnes Light — Anglo American with Razor PR / M&C Saatchi Group SA

Certificates of Excellence:

Momentum — Cellulant with Chain Reactions Africa
More than Golf — Absa Bank Kenya with Apex Porter Novelli
MTN 5G — MTN Nigeria
Tasting Notes: A Story of Sound and Wine — Nedbank with Levergy

Corporate Social Responsibility
Winner:

Africa’s Business Heroes — Jack Ma Foundation with APO Group

Certificates of Excellence:

9mobile Health Talk Series — 9mobile with Chenist Communications
MTN Y’ellopreneur - Empowering Female Entrepreneurs — MTN Nigeria

Crisis/Issues Management
Winner:

#YesWeKann — Terra and Alteo with Blast BCW

Certificates of Excellence:

KQ Industrial Action — Kenya Airways with Edelman Africa - Kenya
Mumias Sugar Company Revival — Mumias Sugar Company Limted with P&L Consulting Limited

Digital Campaign
Winner:

Sixty60 Swindler — Checkers Sixty60 with Retroviral

Certificates of Excellence:

#Jambojetrewards — Jambojet with Engage BCW Kenya
Women ruling tech: Showcasing the leading role of female innovators — atingi with Instinctif Partners Africa

Employee Communications
Winner:

Nigerian Ladies in PR — MacArthur Foundation, Kogi Government with Image Merchants Promotion Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

Connecting Education Leaders Across Africa in the Metaverse – a new benchmark for employee engagement to instigate change and innovation. — Honoris United Universities
Organization Culture Transformation — Flour Mills of Nigeria with BHM

Financial Communications
Winner:

Mumias Sugar Company Revival — Mumias Sugar Company Limted with P&L Consulting Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

Believe Different | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open 2022 — AfrAsia Bank with Contentify and Pixel Render
The headline that became a campaign — Shoprite

Integrated Marketing
Winner:

Be You Period — Lil-Lets with Retroviral

Certificates of Excellence:

Big Brother Naija Season 7 — Multichoice Nigeria
Coca Cola No Sugar Launch — Coca Cola Indian Ocean Islands with Zethical (Mauritius) with Coca Cola Indian Ocean Islands Marketing Team
Putting Mezuzah Security Services on the map — Mezuzah Security Services with Instinctif Partners Africa
Rick & Morty #WORMAGEDDON — Warner Bros. Discovery with BCW Africa

Marketing to Consumers (New Product)
Winner:

Qashqai Launch for Nissan — Nissan with Edelman Africa - South Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Curl expression by LPP — L'oreal Professionel Paris with LSF PR
Mac X Tiwa Campaign in Kenya — Mac Cosmetics with African Elite Group

Marketing to Consumers (Existing Product)
Winner:

The power of a storyline to highlight existing products — Shoprite with KAMuses

Certificates of Excellence:

Star Radler Relaunch — Nigerian Breweries
The NaijaHighlandah Challenge #TNH — William Lawson’s with Chain Reactions Africa

Media Relations
Winner:

Anything For The Taste — KFC with Ogilvy South Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Adams & Adams Media Relations - Making it real — Adams & Adams with WE Communications
Airtel Africa’s The Voice Launch — Airtel Africa with Hudson Sandler
HMD Global Differentiated Media Relations — HMD Global, home of Nokia phones with FleishmanHillard
The US Africa Leaders Summit - A New Narrative On Investing In Africa — Prosper Africa with Edelman Africa - South Africa

Public Affairs/Government Relations
Winner:

Bridging the digital chasm in Africa — Vodacom with WE Communications South Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Connecting the unconnected — ITU with LSF PR
On Social Media Code of Practice — NITDA with Image Merchants Promotion Limited

Public Education
Winner:

Repurpose The Surplus — Food Forward South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

2022 World Public Relations Day — BHM
HP Education — HP with Edelman Africa - South Africa

Social Media Campaign
Winner:

#FerToBooster — Business Mauritius with Blast BCW

Certificates of Excellence:

#Fairmontmoments — Fairmont The Norfolk with Engage BCW, Kenya
Desperados collectives — Nigerian Breweries

Special Event/Sponsorship
Winner:

Creators Day — Meta with Clockwork

Certificates of Excellence:

Cheers to the Next 100! — East African Breweries Limited (EABL) with Inter Management Group (IMG) Kenya
MTN Football — MTN Nigeria

Industry sectors

Associations
Winner:

Basketball Africa League Season 2 — Basketball Africa League with APO Group

Consumer Products/Services
Winner:

Keep Walking Africa Top 30 — Johnnie Walker and Trace with Celebrity Services Africa, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe

Certificates of Excellence:

Coca Cola Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour — Coca Cola with Ogilvy Africa
Love What You Do — Sweet-Orr & Lybro (Pty) Ltd with Eclipse Communications

Fashion & Beauty
Winner:

Pantene Superfoods — P&G with MSL

Certificate of Excellence:

Dove Care Conversations — Dome Men Care with Edelman Africa - South Africa
Lancôme SSA Influencer Content Creation Trip — Lancome with Redrick Public Relations Limited

Financial & Professional Services
Winner:

Reimagining Mental Health — Investec Life with Razor PR / M&C Saatchi Group SA

Certificates of Excellence:

A better way to understand travel risk — Bryte Insurance with Instinctif Partners Africa
Bringing Colour to Children’s Hearts. Hollard Ghana’s Story of Community Impact — Hollard Ghana with Hollard Ghana (Hollard Insurance & Hollard Life)
Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon — Standard Chartered with Hill+Knowlton East Africa Limited
UNBXD — Standard Bank with Clockwork

Food & Beverage
Winner:

The More Than Water Campaign — Coca-Cola Bottling South Africa with Ogilvy South Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Anything For The Taste — KFC with Ogilvy South Africa
The Next Highlander (Nigeria) — Bacardi William Lawson with Edelman Africa - South Africa

Healthcare
Winner:

Everyone is Welcome — KENA Health with Razor PR / M&C Saatchi Group SA

Certificate of Excellence:

Giving Nursing a Credible Voice — Life Healthcare Group with Ogilvy South Africa

Industrial/Manufacturing
Winner:

Maltina Teacher of the Year — Nigerian Breweries with Integrated Indigo Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

Common External Tariff on Clinker — Bamburi Cement PLC with P&L Consulting Limited
Showcasing a successful investment on the national stage — Metair Investments Limited with Instinctif Partners Africa

Media, Arts & Entertainment
Winner:

Rick & Morty #WORMAGEDDON — Warner Bros. Discovery with BCW Africa

Certificates of Excellence:

Rolling out the virtual red carpet — NFVF – SAFTAS 16th Annual South African Film and Television Awards with Instinctif Partners Africa
Trop NG Watch Party — Prime Video with Redrick Public Relations Limited

Mining and Extractive Industries
Winner:

Common External Tariff on Clinker — Bamburi Cement with P&L Consulting Limited

Certificates of Excellence:

#DontDropTheBall — Total Energies with Edelman Africa - South Africa
Demanding Africa’s Right to Energy Sovereignty — Africa Oil Week with Ogilvy South Africa

Not for Profit/Charities
Winner:

Mercy Ships Africa Celebrations — Mercy Ships with APO Group

Certificates of Excellence:

#Savinglivesandlivelihoods — Mastercard Foundation with Engage BCW, Kenya
Speak Up Campaign — TEARS Foundation with FleishmanHillard

Public Sector/Government
Winner:

KQ Industrial Action — Kenya Airways with Edelman Africa - Kenya

Certificates of Excellence:

Election Preparedness Campaign — Communication Authority of Kenya with Hill+Knowlton East Africa Limited
Tackling Fuel Scarcity in Ember Months — Department of State Services DSS with Image Merchants Promotion Limited

Technology
Winner: