Flow's platform now enables more than 35 major consumer businesses, including Woolworths, ARC, Dineplan, OneDayOnly, Zapper, Howler and Hirsch's, aiming to monetise their audiences and launch full-scale commerce-media offerings. The result: South African retailers and platforms are taking control of their own advertising ecosystems — and opening up an entirely new category of media investment for brands, says Flow.

The Next Big Shift: Commerce Media

If social media was the first revolution in digital marketing, commerce media is the next, projecting to become a US$1-trillion industry globally by 2030, with the South African opportunity alone estimating at R4-billion over the next five years. Commerce media refers to the fast-growing intersection of commerce and advertising, where retailers and online platforms use their own first-party shopper data to deliver more targeted, measurable ad campaigns for brands, says Flow.

This shift aims to mark a change in who holds the power in advertising. Instead of relying solely on big media owners, retailers and platforms now own the means of precision targeting — and Flow's technology aims to help them activate it, adds Flow.

"Every month, brands waste thousands on ads that reach the wrong people," says Faniel Levy, Co-CEO of Flow. "Meanwhile, the data to fix that is locked away in retailers and businesses across South Africa. Flow is the platform that's unlocking this data for both."

The Visionaries who saw it Coming

It's this shift that Flow's founders, Daniel Levy and Gil Sperling, say they saw coming years ago.

Before launching Flow, the pair co-founded Popimedia, the company that aimed to help South African brands master Facebook marketing long before social media became mainstream. Popimedia was later acquired by Publicis Groupe, says Flow.

After the exit, Levy and Sperling placed their next bet early — on what they believed would become the next major evolution in advertising. Years before "commerce media" became a global buzzword, they recognised that the future of media would lie in the marriage of commerce and advertising — and built the technology to make it possible, says Flow.

Now, that vision is paying off, adds Flow.

A Year of Rapid Growth and Industry Impact

In a year, Flow has grown from piloting commerce-media solutions with a handful of partners to powering a national network of retail and commerce brands, says Flow.

Through its Audience Marketplace, advertisers can now browse and book thousands of curated audience segments — from beauty and lifestyle shoppers to dining and entertainment audiences — all with a few clicks, adds Flow.

The proof points:

  • Prominent South African brands are now spending hundreds of thousands of rand each month across Flow's audience network.
  • Data partners are realising near-100% gross-profit potential from retail-media revenue streams — compared to traditional retail's typical 20-35% margins.
  • The model has created a new category of media investment for South African marketers.

"The technology to make commerce media work in South Africa simply didn't exist — until now," says Gil Sperling, Co-CEO of Flow. "Our proprietary platform packages first-party data into audiences advertisers can actually use across Meta, Google, and TikTok."

Proof in Performance

The results show how first-party data can transform campaign outcomes, says Flow.

Through Woolworths exclusive commerce media offering, Clarins targets their beauty buying audiences and reach 1.97-million Woolworths consumers on Meta, generating 11 000 clicks to product pages and a 152% increase in online sales, says Flow.

USN achieves a 3.6× increase in conversions, Diageo sees a 2.94× higher click-through rate and @home records a 3× uplift in conversions using Flow's Audience Marketplace, says Flow.

"Until now, getting audience data from other businesses has been nearly impossible," says Sperling. "It's expensive, technically challenging and requires major resources most brands don’t have. We're eliminating every one of those barriers, making premium audience access a simple e-commerce experience."

Redefining the Flow of Ad Spend

In a year, Flow aimed to help reshape where millions of rand in advertising budgets are going, says Flow.

Instead of only flowing to global tech giants, ad spend is now also moving into local ecosystems — into retailers, marketplaces and platforms that own direct customer relationships, adds Flow.

For advertisers, that means precision. For audience partners, it means new, high-margin revenue streams and for the local market, it represents the rise of a home-grown commerce-media marketplace built on South African innovation, says Flow.

"You're looking at the future of digital advertising," says Sperling. "We've proven what's possible in South Africa — and we're now expanding beyond our borders. Every campaign you run from now on can be powered by real shopper data — from the biggest retailers here at home and, soon, abroad."

Looking Ahead

As Flow closes out 2025, it's expanding its platform with new data partners and integrations across retail, entertainment and finance — aiming to build on the success of major partnerships with Woolworths, ARC, Dineplan and OneDayOnly. At the same time, Flow is bringing advertiser demand for first-party data audiences, with more brands and agencies activating campaigns through its growing Audience Marketplace each month, says Flow.

Its vision is to make first-party audience access as easy and accessible as buying ads on social media — while giving businesses a unique opportunity to turn their data into a sustainable revenue stream, adds Flow.

Flow believes it's a fitting story for Entrepreneur Month — one that proves South African founders aren't just following trends; they're helping to shape them.

From Facebook to Flow, Levy and Sperling's journey aims to show that the next big shift in advertising doesn't have to start in Silicon Valley — it can start right here, concludes Flow.

For more information, visit www.flowplatform.com. You can also follow Flow on Facebook, LinkedIn, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor