What Five Star Media does

Five Star Media is a Johannesburg-headquartered, full-service media production company founded in 2013 by Alan Roberts (Founder/Executive Producer, 30+ years in corporate communications and commercials) and Kirsty Galliard (Founder/Executive Producer, marketing and TV production). The firm operates with 14 employees from a single office in Dunkeld West and is privately held with no disclosed external investment. Its core service lines are commercials production, branded content, corporate content, animation, and stills photography, supplemented by add-on services including campaign strategy, project management, creative design, radio production, print design, webinars and virtual events, and outdoor media design.

The company serves enterprise brands and government entities across QSR (McDonald's, Burger King), retail (PEP, Edgars, Jet, Dis-Chem), financial services (Standard Bank, FNB), automotive (Toyota, Hyundai, HINO), beverage (Amstel, Skyy Vodka, Peak Coffee), technology (Mecer, Altron, BCX, Syspro), entertainment (Disney), beauty (L'Oreal), sports apparel (Under Armour), pharmaceuticals (Janssen), mining (Anglo Gold Ashanti), energy (BP), manufacturing (Macsteel), and tourism (SA Tourism). Work is delivered on a project-based professional services model with bespoke quotes per scope; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The technology footprint is a traditional creative production stack (video, animation, stills) with no disclosed proprietary IP, AI tooling, or platform/SaaS component.

Five Star Media has extended beyond commercials into feature film (the 2017 production of '10 Days In Sun City' for Nigerian actor AY Makun) and wildlife documentary (the 2024 8-part series 'Wild Zambezi' co-produced with Greater Good Productions). Marketing is conducted through a portfolio website and organic social (Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, LinkedIn), with client acquisition driven primarily by direct relationships and brand-safe portfolio credibility rather than paid distribution. Geographic reach is concentrated in South Africa; no offices or distribution channels outside the country are disclosed despite a global-brand client roster.

Name

Five Star Media

Legal name

Five Star Media

Website

https://fivestarmedia.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Five Star Media is a Johannesburg-based, full-service media production company founded in 2013 that produces commercials, branded content, corporate videos, animation, and stills photography for enterprise brands and government clients across South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) (MPADAEAL)

Keywords

• Video production services
• Commercial production
• Branded content creation
• Animation production
• Corporate photography

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Media Production Services: Full-service media production company offering commercials, branded content, corporate content, animation, and stills photography. Revenue generated through project-based production contracts with corporate clients and brands.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Five Star Media is a full-service media production and content creation company that produces commercials, branded content, corporate content, animation, and stills photography for enterprise clients and brands. Services are delivered on a project-by-project basis covering campaign strategy, creative design, production, and distribution across TV, digital, and social platforms. The company also produces feature films and wildlife documentary series through partnerships.

Product overview

Five Star Media is a full-service South African media production and content creation company founded in 2013 by Alan Roberts and Kirsty Galliard. The company operates as a single unified offering with multiple service lines rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core products include Commercials Production, Branded Content, Corporate Content, Animation, and Stills Photography, which work together to deliver comprehensive creative campaigns for clients. These are supplemented by add-on services including Campaign Strategy, Project Management, Creative Design, Radio Production, Print Design, Webinars/Virtual Events, and Outdoor Media Design. The company also extends into feature film and wildlife documentary production through partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercials Production Television commercial production services for major brands, covering concept, shoot, and post-production. Delivered for clients including McDonald's ('Little Moments', 'Favourites'), PEP ('Back to School'), Dis-Chem, Telkom Business ('Directors Cut'), and Salticrax.
• Branded Content Branded content creation for clients producing longer-form marketing storytelling. Delivered for Amstel (Karaoke), Skyy Vodka (Youth Plug, Manifesto), Under Armour, Syspro (Brand film), SA Tourism (Reimagine Republic), Disney, Tetrapak, and Crosse & Blackwell (Mother's Day).
• Corporate Content Corporate video content production including case studies, brand films, and internal communications for companies such as FNB (FirstJob 3-minute corporate cut), Merchant Capital (Fix Auto case study), Anglo Gold Ashanti ('A Container of Memory'), Imperial Logistics, Altron (One-Strategy brand video), BCX (Help Desk video), and BP (Transformation content).
• Animation Animated content creation including corporate animations, educational series, and brand animations for clients such as Standard Bank (uCount Rewards), CDH (Lead animation series), Imperial Logistics (CSI-CI episodes 1-4), Janssen (Symposium series), SANBS, and Well by Merchant Capital.
• Stills Photography Professional photography services including product shoots, fashion photography, lifestyle imagery, and commercial stills for brands such as Disney (Lion King fashion shoot for Edgars and Jet), L'Oreal (Elvive), Under Armour (Tatjana Schoenmaker, Ntando campaigns), Burger King (Outlets), Dis-Chem, and Mecer (People).
• Feature Film Production Feature film production services, evidenced by the production of '10 Days In Sun City' (2017) for Nigerian actor/comedian AY Makun.
• Wildlife Documentary Series Production Wildlife documentary series production, including 'Wild Zambezi' (8-part series) produced in 2024 in partnership with Greater Good Productions, showcasing Zambezi wildlife conservation content.

Named customers39 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Greater Good ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Greater Good Productions to produce the 8-part wildlife series 'Wild Zambezi' in 2024. Five Star Media produced the documentary series showcasing Zambezi wildlife conservation content.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Velocity Films: Johannesburg-based commercials production company with a similar boutique structure and brand-led portfolio. Velocity Films competes directly with Five Star Media for commercials, branded content, and director talent in the South African market.
• Spier Films: South African commercials and branded content production house. Similar boutique model producing work for major brands, serving as a directly comparable competitor in the local market.
• Quizzical Pictures: Cape Town-based production company producing commercials, feature films, and television content. Quizzical's combination of commercials service work and longer-form film projects closely mirrors Five Star's branded content plus feature film/wildlife documentary model.
• Egg Films: South African commercials and branded content production house headquartered in Cape Town. Egg Films is a directly comparable boutique production company serving major South African and international brands with commercials and branded content, competing head-to-head with Five Star Media in the same geography and service categories.
• Darling Films: South African film and commercials production house with strong director roster, producing content for global brands. Operates as a direct peer with similar commercials, branded content, and corporate production capabilities.
• Platypus Pictures: Johannesburg-based production company producing commercials, branded content, and corporate video. A comparable boutique competitor serving South African and pan-African brand briefs in the same service categories as Five Star Media.
• Filmhaus: Johannesburg-based production company producing commercials and branded video content for South African brands. Comparable boutique peer competing in the same director-led commercials production market.
• Romance Films: South African commercials production company with Cape Town and Johannesburg presence. Romance produces commercials, branded content, and music videos, directly comparable in service mix and client category to Five Star Media.

Broad incumbents

• Hogarth Worldwide: Global production network providing advertising content production, adaptation, and delivery services for major brands. Hogarth is a broader incumbent competing for the same multinational client production budgets that Five Star services, but at much larger scale and global reach.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Independent global creative agency producing large-scale branded content and campaigns for clients including many that Five Star also serves (e.g., McDonald's, Standard Bank-adjacent). As a broader incumbent, it competes for the same enterprise client budgets through an integrated creative-and-production model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user49623918
• Facebookfacebook.com/fivestarmediasa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/five-star-media
• Instagraminstagram.com/fivestarmediaza

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Five Star Media