The Up&Up Group (affiliated to the global M&C Saatchi Group)

What The Up&Up Group (affiliated to the global M&C Saatchi Group) does

The Up&Up Group is a privately held creative solutions holding company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a second office in Cape Town. Founded in 2010 as M+C Saatchi Abel within the global M&C Saatchi network, the business was restructured in 2024 into a fully independent Group of seven specialist agencies: M+C Saatchi Abel (integrated creative advertising), Connect (media strategy and attention-led planning), Razor (public relations), Levergy (passion-point marketing), Black & White (relationship design), Dalmatian (digital advertising), and 2Stories (content marketing, acquired as a strategic stake). The Group also partners with Eighty20 for data-driven consumer analytics and operates an independently owned Africa Affiliate Network spanning 20 countries. Across the Group of companies it coordinates more than 500 team members serving enterprise clients such as MTN, Standard Bank, Heineken Beverages, PepsiCo, Woolworths, Astron Energy and the FAO.

The Group's underlying technology and methodology center on its Intelligent Practice framework, which integrates human creative talent, third-party consumer data (GWI, YouGov, Brandwatch, Eighty20), AI, and automation. A key differentiator is Connect's exclusive African license for Amplified's AttentionAI — a predictive attention-measurement product trained on more than 50 billion real human attention data points from Professor Karen Nelson-Field's academic research — which is used to pre-test creative assets across platforms, formats and demographics. The Group's flagship strategic tool is the Clarity Model, which interrogates market positioning, brand fame, and media performance at the moments that matter.

The Up&Up Group generates revenue through professional services fees from integrated advertising, PR, media strategy, content marketing, consulting, passion marketing and relationship design engagements with large enterprise clients. Pricing is quote-based and project-specific with no public price list. Go-to-market is senior-led, direct enterprise field sales, supported by thought leadership, industry awards (International Content Marketing Awards, AdFocus, Cannes Lions 2026 speakers), LinkedIn presence, and a content/podcast distribution engine. The Group remains the Africa affiliate for the global M&C Saatchi Independent network, lending international brand association without diluting its independent ownership structure.

Name

The Up&Up Group (affiliated to the global M&C Saatchi Group)

Legal name

The Up&Up Group

Website

https://theupandupgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Up&Up Group is a Johannesburg-based independent creative solutions holding company integrating seven specialist agencies (advertising, media, PR, passion marketing, relationship design, digital, content marketing) with a 20-country Africa Affiliate Network, serving enterprise clients across the continent with AI-augmented, data-driven brand building.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising and Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Public Relations Agencies (541820), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer Journey Orchestration & Campaign Management (BPAFAFAF), Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

Keywords

• Integrated advertising services
• Creative solutions group
• Media strategy planning
• Public relations communications
• Content marketing agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Integrated Creative Services: The group generates revenue through integrated creative services including advertising, public relations, media strategy and planning, content marketing, consulting, passion marketing, and relationship design across their seven subsidiary companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Up&Up Group is a creative solutions group of seven specialist agencies (M+C Saatchi Abel for advertising, Connect for media, Razor for PR, Levergy for passion marketing, Black & White for relationship design, Dalmatian for digital advertising, and 2Stories for content marketing) plus a data analytics partnership with Eighty20 and an Africa Affiliate Network spanning 20 countries. It delivers integrated advertising, media strategy and planning, public relations, content marketing, passion marketing, relationship design, and consulting services to enterprise brands across Africa. The group leverages its Intelligent Practice framework and exclusive African rights to AttentionAI to build distinctive, valuable brands for clients such as MTN, Standard Bank, Heineken, PepsiCo, and Woolworths.

Product overview

The Up&Up Group is a creative solutions group comprising 7 specialist agencies plus strategic partnerships. It operates as a platform-plus-partners model where the parent group provides overarching consulting services while subsidiary agencies (M+C Saatchi Abel for advertising, Connect for media, Razor for PR, Levergy for passion marketing, Black & White for relationship design, Dalmatian for digital advertising, 2Stories for content marketing) operate independently or integrate seamlessly under a unified approach. Additional capabilities are provided through Eighty20 (data analytics partnership) and the Africa Affiliate Network (20-country affiliate network). The group also operates its own Intelligent Practice framework that integrates human intelligence, data, AI, and automation across all companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• M+C Saatchi Abel One of the largest and top-ranked creative advertising agencies in South Africa, partnering with clients to build valuable, iconic and loved brands across the African continent. Serves as the African affiliate of the global M+C Saatchi network.
• Connect An independent media strategy and planning agency with a unique attention-planning framework that ensures messages are not just served but seen. Specializes in attention-led planning and AI-supported decision-making with exclusive African rights to AttentionAI.
• Razor A strategic public relations company focused on driving impact and influence through powerful conversations and reputation-changing narratives for enterprise brands.
• Levergy A specialist passion-point marketing company that builds lasting connections between brands and consumers through their love of sport, entertainment, and culture.
• Black & White A specialist relationship marketing agency that elevates one-to-one channels to unlock Customer Lifetime Value across both B2B and B2C audiences.
• Dalmatian A specialist digital and design-led advertising agency seamlessly blending strategy, creativity, and technology to build stand-out brands.
• 2Stories A specialist content marketing agency that finds, creates, and tells stories people want, focused on soft-sell storytelling for enterprise clients.
• Eighty20 | Partnership South Africa's leading data-driven consumer analytics and research consultancy helping brands execute customer-centric strategies that are loved by customers and profitable for business.
• Africa Affiliate Network An independently owned affiliate agency network spanning 20 African countries that enables the group to build brands fit for Africa through locally embedded creative partnerships.

Quantifiable outcome

• Standard Bank Undercover Ad campaign delivered over 40 million views, up to 40% view-through on videos over 90 seconds, R0.02 cost per view, 3.9% lift in positive sentiment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• AmplifiedcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Connect, part of The Up&Up Group, secured the exclusive African rights to AttentionAI, Amplified's new predictive attention product. The partnership gives African brands and agencies access to AI-powered attention data that can predict how audiences are likely to engage with creative before campaigns go live. AttentionAI draws on more than a decade of academic research from Professor Karen Nelson-Field and over 50 billion real human attention data points.
• Karen Nelson-FieldcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Professor Karen Nelson-Field, founder of Amplified and academic credited with turning attention measurement into a recognized industry discipline globally. Her research and endorsement validates Connect's attention-led planning approach.
• Africa Affiliate NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Independently owned affiliate agency network across 20 countries in Africa, enabling the Group to build brands fit for Africa.
• Eighty20coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth Africa's leading data-driven consumer analytics and research consultancy helping brands execute customer-centric strategies. Part of the Group's data ecosystem alongside GWI, YouGov and Brandwatch.
• GWI (Global Web Index)supportingTechnology or IntegrationConsumer data provider integrated into the Group's data ecosystem for consumer insights.
• YouGovsupportingTechnology or IntegrationConsumer data provider integrated into the Group's data ecosystem for consumer insights.
• BrandwatchsupportingTechnology or IntegrationConsumer data and social listening provider integrated into the Group's data ecosystem.
• BaphumeleleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable organization; employees can volunteer during company time for various initiatives.
• Bethany HouseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable organization; employees can volunteer during company time for various initiatives.
• Street StoreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHomeless shelter initiative; The Up&Up Group has clothed over 1 million homeless through this initiative.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• M&C Saatchi (Global Network):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theupandupgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries9 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 The Up&Up Group (affiliated to the global M&C Saatchi Group)