How do you measure the strength of a public relations consultancy beyond the success of a single campaign? The inaugural Africa Consultancy Performance Index, developed by Earned First, set out to answer exactly that question by benchmarking PR firms across the continent against the broader indicators of a healthy, high-performing and future-ready consultancy.
Dialogue achieved an overall score of 80% to be named Small Consultancy Champion in the first edition of the Index. The result also placed the agency second overall among participating consultancies across Africa, just two percentage points behind Retroviral, which took the top position with a score of 82%.
What is the Africa Consultancy Performance Index?
Unlike traditional awards that recognise a specific campaign, creative execution or client brief, the Africa Consultancy Performance Index evaluates the performance of the consultancy itself. Participating firms were assessed across five dimensions: business performance; creative impact and client outcomes; innovation and thought leadership; talent and culture; and industry leadership.
The weighted methodology allocated 25% each to business performance and creative impact and client outcomes, 20% each to innovation and thought leadership and talent and culture, and 10% to industry leadership. The champion consultancies were announced at PRAXIS Africa in Nairobi.
Arun Sudhaman, founder of Earned First, said the Index was created to establish a meaningful benchmark for consultancy performance across the African continent.
“What we are aiming to do with this exercise is benchmark and recognise PR consultancy performance across key metrics, particularly business momentum, creative impact and client outcomes, innovation and thought leadership, talent and culture, and industry leadership,” said Sudhaman. “Dialogue emerged as the champion in the small consultancy category while also placing second across the continent overall. It performed especially well in terms of business performance, creative impact, and innovation and thought leadership. We believe exercises like these help to make the industry stronger.”
How Dialogue performed
For Dialogue, the significance of the recognition lies in the breadth of the assessment and the opportunity to measure its performance against respected peers operating in diverse and rapidly evolving African markets.
“This recognition is powerful because it does not celebrate one campaign or one client,” said Tracy Jones, Founder and Managing Director of Dialogue. “It considers whether we are building a strong consultancy in the fullest sense: commercially sustainable, creatively effective, innovative in our thinking, committed to our people and capable of contributing meaningfully to the industry around us.”
Dialogue works with leading local and global organisations across financial services, sport, consumer, hospitality, technology and social impact. Whether shaping corporate narratives, building executive profiles, launching brands or leading national campaigns, its work is grounded in insight, collaboration and measurable outcomes.
Staying small by design
Jones said Dialogue’s size is a deliberate part of its operating model and an important contributor to the agency’s ability to deliver senior expertise, personal service and agile thinking.
“We have remained small intentionally. Dialogue is built around a focused team of senior consultants who stay close to our clients, understand their businesses and remain directly involved in both the strategic thinking and the execution,” she said.
“Keeping our team focused allows us to be nimble, highly responsive and deeply invested in every client relationship. Achieving a score of 80% and finishing just two percentage points behind the overall continental leader proves that a consultancy does not need to be large to compete at the highest level. We may be small by design, but this recognition confirms that we punch well above our weight.”
Jones added that the result belongs to the team and the clients who have entrusted Dialogue with their brands and reputations.
What the result means for the industry
The launch of the Africa Consultancy Performance Index comes as the communications industry is being reshaped by changing client expectations, new technology, artificial intelligence and growing demand for demonstrable business impact. Agencies are expected not only to deliver strong creative work, but also to provide strategic counsel, attract and develop talent, innovate responsibly and build resilient businesses.
According to Jones, this makes credible industry benchmarking increasingly valuable.
“A benchmark should tell you more than who performed well. It should raise expectations across the profession,” she said. “The Index gives African consultancies an opportunity to understand where they are leading, where they can improve and how the industry can continue strengthening its contribution to clients, economies and society.”
As one of the inaugural champions, Dialogue is now part of the first performance benchmark of its kind for PR consultancies across Africa.
“The real value of this achievement is not simply knowing where we stand today,” Jones concluded. “It gives us a standard to keep exceeding. We are immensely proud of what our team has built, but we also see this as a challenge to become even better for our clients, our people and the industry.”
Watch: Arun Sudhaman on Dialogue’s result
Arun Sudhaman, founder of Earned First, shares his reflections on what the Africa Consultancy Performance Index result means for Dialogue and for the wider African PR industry.
About Dialogue Communications
Dialogue is an award-winning, proudly independent South African strategic communications agency that creates better dialogue between brands and the people who matter to them. As a full-service communications partner, it combines strategic thinking, creative storytelling and hands-on execution across public relations, corporate communication, reputation management, content, digital and social media, influencer relations and events.
Dialogue works with leading local and global organisations across financial services, sport, consumer, hospitality, technology and social impact. Its work has been recognised by the PRISM Awards, Loeries, New Generation Awards, PRCA Africa, Sports Industry Awards and MarkLives Agency Leaders poll. In 2026, Dialogue was named Small Consultancy Champion in the inaugural Africa Consultancy Performance Index. As a PROI Worldwide partner, it connects clients to trusted expertise across Africa and international markets.
To engage in dialogue, please contact Tracy Jones at tracy@dialogue.co.za or 084 441 441 4.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Africa Consultancy Performance Index?
The Africa Consultancy Performance Index is an inaugural benchmark developed by Earned First that measures the overall performance of PR consultancies across Africa, rather than the success of a single campaign. It assesses business performance, creative impact and client outcomes, innovation and thought leadership, talent and culture, and industry leadership.
How did Dialogue perform in the Index?
Dialogue scored 80% overall, making it the Small Consultancy Champion in the Index’s first edition and placing it second overall among all participating consultancies across Africa, two percentage points behind overall winner Retroviral.
What five dimensions does the Index measure?
The Index weights business performance at 25%, creative impact and client outcomes at 25%, innovation and thought leadership at 20%, talent and culture at 20%, and industry leadership at 10%.
Who topped the overall Africa Consultancy Performance Index in 2026?
Retroviral was named the overall Africa Index Champion with a score of 82%, two percentage points ahead of Dialogue.
Is this Dialogue’s first industry recognition?
No. Dialogue’s work has previously been recognised by the PRISM Awards, Loeries, New Generation Awards, PRCA Africa, the Sports Industry Awards and the MarkLives Agency Leaders poll. The Africa Consultancy Performance Index is its first recognition for overall consultancy performance, rather than for an individual campaign.
