Dentsu Creative South Africa has appointed Lebogang Moerane as Head of Social & Influence, effective June 2025. Moerane will co-lead Dentsu Influence alongside Vicki Steenkamp.

“Dentsu Influence is already an incredible force in the industry. What I hope to bring is a sharp focus on building desire through social—creating native, culturally fluent work that earns attention and drives results,” Moerane said in a company blog post.

South Africa leads globally in screen time, with residents spending 56.80% of waking hours on screens and 22.26% specifically on social media platforms, according to Electronics Hub research.

Natalie Wilson, Managing Director at Dentsu Creative South Africa, described Moerane’s appointment as “more than a leadership update, it’s a statement of intent. We’re elevating Dentsu Influence into a premium, culturally attuned force within our digital ecosystem.”

The expanded leadership comes amid estimates that South Africa’s influencer advertising spending will exceed $30 million this year, despite challenges such as limited monetization opportunities on TikTok for African creators compared to their global counterparts.

Education Initiatives and Ethical Framework

Dentsu has been making moves in the regional influencer marketing scene through its School of Influence program. The six-month initiative provides 1,000 learning hours across seven modules covering content creation, platform mastery, and ethics.

“We fully support an ethical, transparent, inclusive, and professional industry for creators and brands,” Emma Odendaal, Head of Influence for Dentsu EMEA, said in a statement.

According to the company, the 2024 class of the program achieved follower growth of up to 11.5% and an engagement rate of 10.4%, surpassing industry benchmarks. Dentsu recently expanded the program to Kenya, where 60 nano-influencers have completed a tailored version of the curriculum.

Dentsu was among the first agencies to adopt the South African Content Creator Charter, launched by the Interactive Advertising Bureau South Africa in October 2024. The charter established guidelines for ethical partnerships between marketers and content creators.