The awards took place on Wednesday, 23 September, at the NH Sandton in Johannesburg, aimed at bringing together some of the country's agencies, brands and marketing professionals to celebrate innovation and excellence in digital marketing and communications.

For Penquin, the Agency of the Year win follows its 2025 recognition in the same category, marking the second year in a row that the agency has taken the title.

The agency also won the following five awards for its work with Suzuki Auto South Africa, developed in partnership with Spitfire Inbound:

  • Gold: Best Marketing Automation Campaign — Always-On Intelligence: Automating Suzuki Auto South Africa's Customer Journey from Interest to Action.
  • Silver: Best CRM Strategy Campaign by an Agency — Driving Customer Intelligence: Suzuki's AI-Ready CRM Transformation.
  • Bronze: Blogging Excellence By A Corporate — Beyond the Blog: From Search to Suzuki.
  • Bronze: Best CRM Strategy By A Corporate — Driving Customer Intelligence: Suzuki's Al-Ready CRM, Transformation.
  • Bronze: Blogging Excellence By An Agency — Beyond the Blog: From Search to Suzuki.

The winning work aims to demonstrate Penquin's approach to combining creativity, strategy, technology and data to solve real business challenges. Across the campaigns, the agency and Spitfire Inbound worked with Suzuki to rethink how customers are identified, engaged and moved through the journey from initial interest to action, says Penquin.

For Penquin CEO, Veronica Moleele, being named Medium Agency of the Year for a second consecutive year is particularly meaningful because it reflects both the consistency of the agency's work and the strength of its people.

"Winning Medium Agency of the Year for a second year is an incredible achievement for Penquin and a moment we are incredibly proud of," says Moleele. "It is easy to celebrate the trophies, but what matters most to us is the thinking, creativity and hard work that sits behind them. These awards are a reflection of a team that continues to push itself, challenge the brief and find smarter ways to solve problems for our clients."

"The five Suzuki awards are also a great example of what can happen when strong partnerships come together. Working alongside Spitfire Inbound, we were able to bring together strategy, CRM, automation, content and technology to create work that is not just innovative, but useful and commercially relevant. We are incredibly proud of everyone who played a part," adds Moleele.

The WesBank New Generation Awards aim to recognise excellence and innovation in the South African marketing and communications industry, celebrating agencies and campaigns that push boundaries and deliver measurable impact.

Penquin concludes that it will continue its aim of growing its capabilities across brand, communication, digital, social, data and technology. For the agency, the latest recognition comes at an important time as brands increasingly look for partners that can connect creative thinking with measurable business outcomes, without losing the human insight at the heart of effective communication.

For more information, visit www.penquin.co.za. You can also follow Penquin on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor