Africa’s 1.3 billion people

However, organizations interested in expansion may run into challenges when conducting market research in Africa. Research projects utilizing traditional methods, like face-to-face surveys, are expensive and logistically complicated to run in Africa. Because of these challenges, those embarking on research projects in Africa must follow a well outlined research process.

Since 2012, GeoPoll has remotely conducted research in markets throughout sub-Saharan Africa. GeoPoll uses a unique mobile phone-based methodology to remotely conduct survey research in Africa in near real time, which allows for more affordable survey research projects with diverse samples of respondents. In this post, we will share GeoPoll’s expert knowledge on the 9 essential steps for conducting survey research through the mobile phone in Africa.

1.    Desk Research

Every research study, regardless of the topic, should begin with desk research. It is important to understand exactly what other information is available about a particular topic before gathering your own. The information that is found during this stage will guide an efficient and high-quality research study.

2.    Decide upon research objectives

Next, research objectives need to be formulated with special consideration to the information gathered through background research. Generally speaking, it is best to have a few specific research objectives rather than many general ones. Refining research objectives to represent the most important takeaways you wish to receive from a study will aid in the development of a questionnaire that will produce the most effective data.

3.    Define the audience

Defining an audience is choosing parameters for what types of people the study will target. It is important to take time considering the findings from the background research and the information you wish to gather in a study while defining an audience because it will frame the context of the data collected.

4.    Determine sample requirements

Determining sample requirements is similar to defining an audience, except sample requirements provide more detail on a study’s audience. For example, if an audience was defined as whiskey drinkers between the ages of 18-22, the sample requirements could be along the lines of: 500 total respondents with an equal split by gender, age, and location. These pre-determined sample requirements then become quotas for the survey completes gathered to ensure that the sample is as diverse or homogenous as the study requires.

5.    Select survey mode

In order to select the proper survey mode, information on the target audience and sample requirements for the study from steps 3 and 4 will be crucial. The mode best fit for a project will be determined by the target audience’s location, socioeconomic status, technology access, literacy rate, and more.

Survey mode selection can be one of the most complex aspects of the mobile based research process. For this reason, GeoPoll research experts often provide guidance to clients that are not very familiar with mobile research methods for emerging markets. More information on GeoPoll’s mobile survey research modes and considerations for choosing the mode best fit can be found here.

6.    Ensure feasibility

After the aspects of the project mentioned above are determined, it is necessary to check if the project is feasible for the cost, mode, and audience specified. For extremely granular audiences, a feasibility test may determine that the cost to reach X number of respondents will be high due to a low incidence rate. In these cases, the sample requirements, mode, or budget may need to be reconsidered. This process is one that GeoPoll performs before moving forward with all research projects.

7.    Questionnaire development

Finally, it is time for questionnaire development. All of the information gathered from steps 1-5 will be especially useful in this step. Research objectives will guide what topics are included in the survey, sample requirements will determine screener questions used, and desk research will help guide how questions are worded and what questions are asked. The mode of research to be used will also significantly impact how the questionnaire is written because each research mode has different capabilities and limitations.

Questionnaire development can be a difficult task and due to the importance of the result, GeoPoll research experts often help clients with the process. Assistance is available at varying levels based on client needs. For example, GeoPoll may provide advice on question wording that may help avoid bias or may be a better fit for a

particular culture on one project. On another project, GeoPoll’s research experts may write the entire questionnaire for a client. In other cases, clients may request no changes or advice be given on the questionnaire. Whatever the project needs are, GeoPoll is happy to provide as much or as little assistance as you like.

8.    Running the survey and compiling results

GeoPoll handles this step with special consideration of all of the nuances of the project determined through step 1-7.

9.    Data analysis

This final step is just as important as every step before it. Data analysis is when survey responses come to life and become useable information. If the data collection process was conducted thoughtfully, the resulting data should clearly fulfill the research objectives, which would make data analysis an easy task. In complex studies, data analysis may require more expert input on what the takeaways from the study are. In such cases, GeoPoll’s research experts often assist clients with data analysis by providing detailed reports on the key insights that were seen in survey results.

Takeaways

Conducting survey research through the mobile phone requires attention to detail in each of the nine steps of the process, which is why GeoPoll research experts are always available to provide assistance. Ensure your project runs smoothly, contact us today to learn more about how GeoPoll can help your team gather high quality data in near real time.

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Technology Access

Basic mobile phones have become increasingly accessible for all people throughout the world. Rates of mobile phone penetration vary by country, but many African countries have populations that depend on mobile phones as they move through society each day.

Advances in technology development world-wide have allowed many countries to skip over the phase of desktop computers and move straight to mobile. Basic mobile phones are an attractive option for many people in Africa because mobile phones provide basic needs at a fraction of the cost of more elaborate computing hardware. In addition, mobile connectivity has sprung up in places that do not have the infrastructure needed for landlines and broadband internet access.

Although many people in Africa have access to mobile phones, smartphone penetration rates are still gaining momentum. GSMA presented research that shows, as of 2018, only 39% of mobile connections in sub-Saharan Africa are smartphone connections. This is important to keep in mind when choosing the right mode of research for your project.

Language and Wording Considerations

Languages and dialects can vary widely, even within one country or region. Performing secondary research about the area of interest is crucial to understanding what languages and dialects should be used.

Literacy rates of the area should be taken into consideration as well. If literacy rates are low, spoken word surveys administered through may be the best research method.

It is also important to write a questionnaire with simple words and simple sentence structure. Clear, concise wording asks the survey respondent to do less guesswork and increases the accuracy of the resulting data.

Take note that language barriers may exist between writers and responders—even if their native languages are the same. What may make sense to an American writer may not make sense to an English-speaking African. For example, throughout the years GeoPoll has come to know that wording a question, “In what year were you born?”, provides more accurate age data than the phrase, “How old are you?”.

Cultural Context

One of the most important aspects to consider when planning survey research in Africa is the region’s cultural nuances. Generally speaking, the culture that a survey respondent lives in builds their world view.

A challenge that western market research teams face when targeting new markets is the stark differences in perception per location. Within one country there can be many different communities which each have their own definition of what is acceptable or normal, in addition to local phrases or references. When building a questionnaire or administering a survey, the researcher must be hyper aware of cultural differences or the data collected may be impacted. By utilizing a research provider experienced in the nuances of different markets, such as GeoPoll, you will be able to take advantage of the vast amount of knowledge that provider has on how local context can impact survey administration.

Privacy Concerns

Certain survey questions may intimidate respondents due to privacy concerns. For example, if there is intense political conflict in an area, respondents may not feel comfortable answering questions about politics, especially if the political conflict is related to violence. Survey participants may perceive the questionnaire as a trick dispatched by a violent political group and decide not to participate. Similar privacy concerns can vary based on the topic, so it is important to thoroughly research the social climate of an area before beginning survey research in the area.

Interview Length and Structure

Survey fatigue is a concern when developing survey questions. Keep the completion time of the survey as low as possible. GeoPoll recommends that from start to finish, the questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. A survey longer than 20 questions will likely have a lower completion rate.

Mobile Data and Airtime Usage

It is important to consider the expense of airtime credit and data plans for survey respondents when conducting mobile-based survey research in Africa, as this can impact who opts-in to your survey. Platforms such as GeoPoll, which have direct connectivity to mobile network operators and utilize shortcodes to administer surveys, allow respondents to take surveys at no cost, but respondents may incur costs when answering questions from other SMS survey companies. This is especially important in areas where airtime credit is expensive, as using credit to respond to survey messages is often undesirable.

Mobile-web or mobile application surveys can also cost the respondent valuable mobile data as they require Internet usage. This can be mitigated by utilizing a system such as GeoPoll which provides compensation for survey completion, as described below.

Whether a person owns a feature phone or a smartphone, they can receive SMS messages and respond to the survey. In other methods of mobile surveying the same may not be true. More complex methods of survey technology, like mobile-web and application-based surveying, may limit the response potential because individuals with basic feature phones would not be able to participate in the survey.

Compensation

Compensating respondents for the time it takes them to complete a given survey will demonstrate to the respondent that the company values their time and it may improve the study’s response rates. Mobile airtime credit and mobile money, which are popular throughout Africa with various platforms being used in each country, are two easy and effective ways to incentivize survey completion.

You should also consider the optimal incentive amount, which may vary depending on the country and the type of respondent you are seeking to recruit. GeoPoll has performed research around ideal incentive amounts for different markets and has found that increasing the incentive past a certain amount doesn’t necessarily lead to a higher response rate.

Building Trust

Ensuring that potential respondents view the company conducting the survey as reputable and trustworthy will improve response rates and data quality. Using the name of the platform conducting surveys is a good way to build trust if it is an established survey provider with a reputation for providing good user experience and paying out the promised incentives.

GeoPoll is an expert in survey-based market research in African countries. We are committed to providing clients with guidance throughout the research process to ensure they get the most out of the research they conduct through GeoPoll. If you are looking at options for conducting research in Africa, especially rural or remote regions of Africa, contact GeoPoll to learn more about how we can help, today.

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Data on World Cup Interest in Africa

GeoPoll has closely followed the World Cup and other major sporting events through GeoPoll Audience Measurement data since 2014, when we launched our media product prior to the World Cup in Brazil. This year, we were pleased to release two full reports on World Cup interest in Africa and activities surrounding the World Cup such as betting, as well as regular blog posts on individual game and round viewership. Get the reports here:

• 2018 World Cup Insights: Viewership Trends and Predictions Across Africa
• 2018 World Cup Insights: Device Usage, Viewing Habits, and Sports Betting
• World Cup viewership blog posts

Report: Household Fuel Consumption in Africa

GeoPoll conducted a study on household fuel consumption in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, which shed light onto the type of fuel used in each country, how much most households are spending on fuel, which countries and areas have seen an uptake in usage of more modern fuels such as LPG, and how urban and rural households differ in their fuel usage. Download the full report on household fuel consumption here. 

Food Security Data Collected through Mobile Phones

GeoPoll works regularly in the food security and agriculture sector, and in 2018 we conducted surveys in two areas which have been plagued with violence and food insecurity: South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province. GeoPoll’s SMS survey in Ituri province found that 60% of residents are displaced, and 64% reported not having enough food to feed their family in the next week. GeoPoll also deployed Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) surveys in South Sudan, which found that almost half of respondents thought 80% or more of their community was struggling with food insecurity, with high prices contributing to the lack of food availability.

Guide: How to Conduct Research in Emerging Markets

GeoPoll has been conducting research in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia since 2012, and this year we put together a guide which includes many of our lessons learned. Identifying and recruiting a representative sample, conducting background research, and writing and administering surveys in emerging markets can be a challenge due to low rates of internet and landline penetration, cultural context and language differences, and more. In this guide GeoPoll walks through the considerations researchers need to make when embarking on a research project in an emerging market. Download the in-depth guide on how to conduct research in emerging markets here.

Data on Farmers in Kenya

In the second half of 2018, GeoPoll recruited a panel of farmers throughout Kenya who are available to take our mobile-based surveys. We also conducted a detailed study on the habits of this segment of the Kenyan farming population, and released data on land size and ownership, type of crops and livestock farmed, and usage of mobile phones and apps such as mobile money, chat groups, and other mFarming apps. This report also examines the challenges faced by farmers in Kenya, including changing climate and inconsistent prices, and looks ahead to the latest trends in agriculture, as predicted by farmers themselves. Download the report on farming in Kenya here.

GeoPoll looks forward to sharing more data insights, best practices, and guides with you in 2019. To conduct your own research using GeoPoll’s panel of respondents and multi-modal survey platform, contact us here.

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Customer satisfaction research metrics

To begin, we will touch on how customer satisfaction is measured quantitatively through surveys. There are three common metrics that are used by companies to measure the level of customer satisfaction: Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).

Net Promoter Score is the most popular measure of affinity to a brand, however NPS surveys do not provide much additional detail on consumer perception of your specific brand. A NPS survey will simply break up a group of past customers into three categories—promoters, passives, and detractors—and then calculate a score that indicates overall attitude surrounding the brand. Although the data collected from Net Promoter Score calculation can be wildly useful, supplemental consumer research can provide additional constructive insight for a brand.

Customer Effort Score is a metric that measures and quantifies how difficult it was for a customer to complete a task. Using CES to measure consumer attitude can shed light on the ease of interaction with anything surrounding your brand. One good example for where Customer Effort Score could be useful is surveying a customer immediately following an interaction with a representative in the customer service department. CES calculation will quantify user experience in a constructive manner.

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) is a metric used to measure how happy a customer is with what they purchased or the services they received. In order to avoid bias that may skew resulting data, a survey that is conducted to research customer satisfaction should be performed anonymously, most often through pen-and-paper or digital avenues such as online or mobile-based surveys.

Customer satisfaction survey design best practices

Likert scale

Many customer satisfaction surveys prompt participants to answer questions on a Likert scale, which provides anywhere between five and nine answer options on a rating scale, with the middle point being a neutral response. This response type is commonly used in surveys, regardless of the topic, to quantify attitudes on a subject. In the case of customer satisfaction surveys, a Likert scale question may look like the following,

“Please respond to the following statement: The product I purchased today functions as I anticipated.

1- Strongly disagree 2- Disagree 3- Neutral  4- Agree  5-  Strongly Disagree”

The varying scale on which participants respond allows for researchers to categorize the degree in which someone feels positively or negatively about a topic. Likert scale questions also always provide a neutral answer choice as to not polarize the attitudes that are gathered through the research process.

Multiple choice questions

Many survey questions can be successfully designed as Likert scale questions but, unlike with Net Promoter Score questions, there is flexibility in questionnaire design for general customer satisfaction research. Standard multiple choice questions are another useful tool when developing a research survey. Demographic information such as age, gender, race, education level, and location is often collected via multiple choice questions, and additional custom questions can also be formatted as a multiple-choice or select-all-that-apply question.

Open-ended questions

Depending on the survey mode, open-ended questions are a way to break away from gathering strictly quantitative research. Providing space for free-form feedback will allow for more detailed, and potentially constructive, responses.

Keep your goals in mind when designing questions

Write the customer satisfaction survey strategically. If the goal of the survey is to determine customer satisfaction with in-store retail experience, ask specific and probing questions about store layout, fitting rooms, atmosphere, and service. If the goal of the survey is to determine why purchases through the web are much lower than in-store, ask questions about awareness of the online store and the website user experience.

Only questions that will directly quantify customer perception on topics that the company would like to know more about should be included in the customer satisfaction survey.

Customer satisfaction surveys in emerging markets

GeoPoll is an expert in gathering survey data in emerging markets. When conducting customer satisfaction research in African countries and other regions which often speak multiple languages and dialects, survey designers must pay special attention to language, literacy rate, and cultural context. Background research should be conducted before survey design to ensure questions are clear for their intended audience, and any translations should be thoroughly vetted for clarity. In addition, researchers should consider the mode they will conduct the survey through (online, SMS, phone calls, etc) in relation to the audience they are looking to reach.

GeoPoll regularly works with leading brands to provide them with fast, high quality customer satisfaction survey data in niche markets around the world. Using our unique mobile survey methodology, GeoPoll can reach extremely targeted audiences and survey them weekly, monthly, or quarterly to demonstrate the health of your brand over time. Contact GeoPoll to set up a custom survey today.

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Since GeoPoll’s launch, we have grown to now facilitate research in over 60 countries, including 25 countries in Africa alone. During this time, GeoPoll’s team has amassed a trove of knowledge on best practices when carrying out international marketing research. We have also encountered some challenges, and with them, invaluable learnings regarding international research.
Based on these learnings, we have put together a how-to guide on the marketing research process , including tips on regional nuances to look out for as well as the dos and don’ts when engaging a research agency, and how to understand basic research terms and get the most value out of the data you are gathering. We hope you find this useful as you start your own marketing research process. If you have specific questions about embarking on a new project feel free to contact us.

Getting Started With Your Marketing Research Process

a. Conduct Preliminary Research

Carry out some preliminary research by going online and searching for existing survey reports on your topic of interest. There might not be much especially if you are looking for very specific information, but you might find something close either for a different country or a report that gives you some ideas on how to go about your primary research.

While gathering international research data has been difficult in the past, in the last 10 years, information about Africa and other regions is more available online. Governments, the private sector, and international development organisations throughout the world are continuously churning out research data. One example of this can be seen on GeoPoll’s very own blog, which contains troves of research reports on various topics on commercial and international development research. This secondary data can be used to help structure your research brief.

b. Develop a Research Brief

To get the most out of your marketing research project, put together a brief with the objectives of your data collection. What exactly do you want to understand better? Be as specific as possible, for example: “What percentage of adult working females aged between 25 and above living in urban areas use my product brand?”

Which aspects of the 4 Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) do you want to best understand? The more detail you can provide the better. This helps later when designing the project.
A brief document should contain the following information: Company background, the business objectives, the research objectives, your target market, your competition, the geographical focus and your research project budget.

c. Identify the Right Marketing Research Agency

Research agencies come in all shapes and sizes. It often helps to understand an agency’s main data collection method which, more often than not, tells you what their strengths are. What you will note is that many of the international marketing research agencies have wide-ranging capabilities in data collection and use multiple data collection modes. However, often the cost for these agencies is higher than for agencies that only specialize in one data collection method. For you as the consumer, the scope of your project will determine which agency you will work with.

When talking to various research agencies, counter check their website and social media pages to look for any published reports online, which will give you an idea of the quality of their research and topic areas they focus in. Another crucial due diligence aspect of deciding on what agency to work with is their capabilities and country coverage – too many companies claim to be in markets that they are not in, and they end up sub-contracting. This practice means you are further removed from the data collection process and can also result in a higher cost.

You can verify the company’s coverage by requesting for a copy of their panel book; this is a comprehensive document that gives you details of the agency’s research panel and includes their geographical coverage as well as the demographic details of the panel. Also request copies of case studies, either of projects on the same topic or in the same geographical location, to further assess their past experience in the area you are interested in.

Last but not least, confirm that the agency is a member of either local, regional or international research accreditation bodies based on the geographical scope of your project. These associations have strict policies around marketing research ethics and how data is collected from respondents. GeoPoll is a proud corporate member of ESOMAR,  PAMRO, and MSRA.

d. Determine Your Data Collection Mode

Once you have listed your objectives, deciding on which of the following research methodologies to utilize becomes easier. Deciding on which type of research to run also helps further narrow down the agency best suited based on their capabilities. The data collection mode you use will impact both the type of data you collect and how it is collected.

Data is generally grouped into two categories, qualitative and quantitative. Simply put, qualitative data is unstructured and is often exploratory by nature. When analyzed, responses may be grouped into similar categories but they cannot be ranked in the same way quantitative data can.

Quantitative research is the mathematical approach to collecting data, which can more clearly be measured and structured. Quantitative data includes survey data where respondents have a clear choice of answers, and quantitative questions often appear with radio buttons, check boxes and Likert scales which are easy to measure and compare. The two data collection methods are often referred to as simply quant and qual. It is important to note that qualitative research tends to be more expensive than quantitative research, as it requires more manual data analysis.

Different research modes will often lend themselves more easily to quantitative or qualitative data collection. Focus groups, unstructured interviews, and open-ended questions are typically collecting qualitative data, while surveys with answer choices collect quantitative data. Understanding the different modes and what type of data they can collect is important: Text message surveys can collect some qualitative data, but perform better with quantitative questions that are easily answered from a list of choices.

You also need to consider how robust and agile the different modes of data collection are. Can your selected mode work across multiple countries and languages? How much data are you looking to collect and in what time-frame? The level of scalability of the mode is important, especially if your project will entail a multi-country survey. In addition, some modes will collect data more slowly than others.

Some examples of different modes of data collection include:
• Face-to-face
• Text message (SMS) survey
• Online survey
• Mobile web survey
• Mobile application survey or passive data collection
• CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews)
• CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview)
• Focus groups

Marketing research agencies can often give you guidance on what modes would be best for your project, and you should also consider if the agency has experience in that type of data collection. Another question to consider is how relevant each methodology is to your needs – if you are looking for a lot of exploratory data, a focus group may be your best bet, but if you want to reach a wide group of respondents in emerging areas, text message surveys would be a better mode.

e. Conduct Data Analysis

The most important aspect of market research is being able to analyze the data once it has been collected. A thorough analysis should guide you on how to act on the insights you have gathered. It is therefore crucial that the research agency, through their insights report, address the questions you had set out at the start of your survey. For example: What is my product’s current position in the market, who are my actual customers, and which aspects of my 4 Ps do I need to work on? Analysis capabilities of the agency and the tools being used by the analysts and if they meet your needs

f. Complete A Post Project Review

Having a session with the research team after completion of your project to share feedback and discuss the project execution is sometimes overlooked. Such an undertaking involves various departments but is important to understand why a project did or did not go as smoothly as planned. A post-project review session helps in both parties knowing what areas worked and which ones the agency or the client will need to improve for their next project.

In summary

Conducting international marketing research is often a large undertaking and there are various details you need to consider before embarking on your project. Language, infrastructure, internet penetration, and the type of data you are looking to collect all have an impact on your project and how easily data will be collected from your target population. To be successful, you must engage the right company: One that has a wide range of experience in the area you are researching can utilize multiple modes with ease and can give you advice on questionnaire design, regional nuances, and more.

GeoPoll has a team of experts in collecting data around the globe, and specifically in emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We are always happy to advise you on your data collection needs: To ask a question or contact us about an upcoming project, please get in touch with us 

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Client X had identified a target market for Y, their leading FMCG brand, and had developed a 30 second TV commercial to support Y’s sales in Nigeria. Agency Z media planners had drawn up a campaign of 147 spots over 4 months for the commercial. GeoPoll were invited to demonstrate how this plan could be improved upon with our Media Planning Suite. 

The Agency Z media plan was designed with the help of traditional diary data, extensive experience and good instincts. Below shows their media plan, which included 64 ad spots for a total of 364.2 Gross Ratings Points (GRPs)*. The total cost of this campaign was approximately $105,150.

GeoPoll’s media plan relied on detailed, continuous, 30-minute audience data integrated into our audience targeting and planning platform. GeoPoll’s media plan utilized fewer (62) spots, more effectively targeted, to gain a larger number of GRPs: 511.7, at a lower cost of approximately $102,290. 

GeoPoll Audience Measurement data added (accounting for additional GRP’s and lower costs) NGN 6.4 million ($32,500) to the value of this campaign, a 31% improvement in ROI.

With no detailed, recent data to draw from, media planners are forced to focus mainly on prime time viewing slots. They know that there are opportunities elsewhere, but without data they can’t take the risk. But prime time costs money, and you reach lots of people you don’t need to.

GeoPoll’s Media Planning Suite uses real time, 30-minute audience data to identify the most efficient spots for a campaign’s target (often outside prime time), and predicts the GRP’s for each spot. Fewer spots, more efficiently selected, improves ROI for the client and reduces clutter for the audience.

To use GeoPoll’s Media Measurement Service to see real-time TV ratings and increase your ROI on media plans in Africa, contact us below.

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*Gross Ratings Points measure the total of all Ratings throughout an advertising campaign. Rating is the proportion watching a station out of the total sample at that time, multiplied by 100. If 50 people out of 500 surveyed watched Station X, the rating for Station X would be (50/500)*100) = 10.

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GeoPoll has an exciting year planned in 2015, and we can’t wait to share some of our new projects with you. For now, catch up on some of our favorite studies of 2014, and read about all of GeoPoll’s mobile surveys on our blog.

GeoPoll’s Top Five Projects of 2014

1. The US-Africa Leaders Summit: In August, President Obama welcomed leaders from throughout Africa to Washington, DC to partake in a historic summit, where African leaders discussed trade, energy, and security with both public and private US organizations. GeoPoll conducted two surveys around the Summit: the first was a project with the One Campaign, who sought the views of the African people as their leaders spoke with President Obama. We surveyed a total of 4,500 Africans from 9 nations, asking about their top concerns, and views on the US and other strategic partners. We also conducted a survey in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal, asking 2,000 respondents from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana about their views on the US’ trade policy in Africa, President Obama’s Power Africa program, and the effectiveness of the African Union. See the findings here.
2. World Cup Viewership in Africa: The World Cup was broadcast worldwide just after GeoPoll launched our Media Measurement Service, allowing us to release viewership numbers from several African countries for the very first time. . Among other statistics, we looked at the viewership of the opening game, and found that the Nigeria vs. Iran game drew in 17.5 million Nigerian TV viewers. GeoPoll also conducted a survey with The Guardian around the World Cup, asking Africans about their football viewing habits, who they were rooting for, and who they thought would ultimately win. See the results.
3. Insights on Ebola: The outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has dominated the news in the second half of 2014, with aid organizations, governments, and private companies rushing to help stop the spread of the disease and mitigate Ebola’s long-term effects. With the World Food Programme, GeoPoll has been conducting ongoing mobile surveys on food security in Ebola-affected regions in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. GeoPoll’s data is helping the WFP determine the food security situation in these regions so they can more effectively distribute food aid in the area. You can see all of WFP’s reports on Ebola’s impact on food security here.GeoPoll also conducted a two-question survey in Sierra Leone and Liberia asking respondents about their perceptions of the international community’s response to the crisis, and what help is needed most in their community. We found healthcare facilities were needed most, and those in Sierra Leone and Liberia were in general satisfied with the international response to Ebola.
4. Mobile Money Use: Mobile money is increasingly popular in Africa, with many nations embracing the system of sending payments through mobile phones. GeoPoll conducted mobile surveys in Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria on the awareness and use of mobile money services, finding that most respondents were familiar with mobile money, and Uganda had the largest percentage of mobile money users. Read more here.
5. Access to loans in Nigeria: GeoPoll worked with USAID’s Development Credit Authority, which helps those in emerging markets get access to loans. We conducted mobile survey with 750 respondents who work in agriculture in Nigeria, examining the perceived barriers to getting loans and the amount of money loan-seekers are looking to borrow. We found that many respondents cited collateral requirements as a barrier to getting loans, even though they are often looking for small amounts of money. See the full study and infographic here.

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Advertisers are quickly turning to Africa to promote their brands, and Africa’s total share of ad spend is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. But very little is known about these markets: in the past, market research firms have not focused on emerging nations, which means that many companies and large brands are targeting audiences they know very little about. Information on preferred brands, buying habits, and target demographics has been largely based on guesswork, as until now there has been no reliable way to reach consumers.

The mobile phone is changing all of that, and at GeoPoll we have been running surveys to determine the most popular brands of soft drinks, water, coffee, and more.  As shown below, we asked about purchasing habits in Kenya for several drink categories, first asking users if they had bought a type of drink the day before, and then asking what brand they bought. 

 The results give us a real-time look into the popularity of brands across Kenya: perhaps unsurprisingly Fanta, Coca-Cola, and Sprite are the most popular soft drinks, and there is a noticeable gap between those three and other brands, including Pepsi. Over 15% of respondents, and on many days over 20%, reported buying Fanta, Coca-Cola, or Sprite the day before, but less than 5% reported buying Pepsi the past day.  

Dasani has a clear lead on the bottled water market in Kenya, and even when less consumers reported purchasing Dasani water the previous day, it is still ahead of all other brands. Coffee is another product where a clear market leader emerges, in this case Nescafe.  Ketepa tea, which is a local Kenyan tea brand, is the most popular tea drink.

These datasets demonstrate the power of the mobile phone in delivering reliable data on shopping habits, and other GeoPoll survey methodologies can also track brand perception over time.  This enables brands to effectively target audiences before they run ad campaigns, determine how many people have seen past advertisements, and track what type of consumer is actually buying their product, which will help them break into these increasingly important markets. 

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