Joe Hamman, Founder and Director at Novus Group
The South African media landscape continues to evolve as businesses adapt and target growth opportunities in a modern, digitally driven environment. With 2025 around the corner, several trends are set to reshape media monitoring and further strengthen its role in driving decision-making.
AI predictions
It should hardly come as a surprise, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking a significant leap forward in media monitoring. In South Africa, the size of the AI market is projected to reach $900 million by the end of 2024.
In the coming months, AI will be used to assist companies with predictive analytics. By analysing historical data, sentiment, and audience engagement, AI enables organisations to anticipate media trends and public reactions before they happen. This proactive approach gives businesses a competitive edge by preparing them to respond effectively to emerging narratives and opportunities.
Customisation and targeted alerts
The demand for highly customised and near real-time alerts continues to grow. With the sheer volume of information generated daily, businesses need tools that allow them to filter relevant data quickly and efficiently. South Africa compares favourably to other countries on the continent when it comes to the availability of economic, financial, and socio-economic data sets.
Platforms like Novus Group’s tailored media monitoring services help businesses focus on what is important to them. For example, tracking specific keywords, monitoring competitors, or gaining insights into audience sentiment.
Turning data into insights
Of course, the abundance of data is one thing. Getting actionable insights from it to help drive decision-making is something else. In 2025, media monitoring will put increased emphasis on extracting meaningful insights that inform business strategies. Whether this happens through customised reports or detailed analytics, the ability to transform raw data into actionable intelligence will be crucial.
This is where Novus Group’s comprehensive reporting services ensure clients can learn from data trends, understand market dynamics, and make informed business decisions.
Expanding media monitoring to sponsorships
Media monitoring is also expanding its scope to include different tracking segments, for instance, sponsorship tracking. By analysing metrics such as brand exposure, audience engagement, and financial impact, companies can optimise their sponsorship strategies. This highlights how media monitoring is evolving beyond traditional coverage to support diverse business objectives.
Cross-platform analysis
The integration of text, video, audio, and image analysis across diverse platforms is becoming a standard expectation in media monitoring. As social media, podcasts, and livestreams grow in popularity, comprehensive cross-platform analysis will be essential for businesses to gain a holistic understanding of their media presence. This multi-format approach ensures no valuable insight is missed, regardless of where it originates.
Media monitoring in 2025 will become even more sophisticated, predictive, and integrated. Those South African organisations that embrace these advancements will be better positioned to navigate the complexities of the modern media landscape and engage with their audiences more effectively.