Dashboard launches Pinpoint for innovative market research in Africa

Market research and strategy company Dashboard has partnered with advertising and media expert Dave Kelly in an effort to launch Pinpoint. Using available technology, Pinpoint is designed to be a current as well as accurate media consumption and audience tracking tool for the African continent.

Pinpoint analyses African media content consumption to understand and use the market’s advantages. Its market ranges from TV and radio consumers to social media and internet usage.

The company has been developed to support more efficient and successful media buying on the continent. By exploring psychographic and attitudinal consumer mindsets, Pinpoint is able to gather and filter data based on product or service preferences.

For example, initial research from a study done in Ghana reveals that nearly 35% of the urban population in that country is accessing the internet on their mobile phones. At the same it also emphasises that 59% of the population does not access the internet at all. Traffic is much higher in certain cities and Facebook, followed by WhatsApp, is the most popular site.

Data such as this is collected and updated using mobile and GPS technology. Pinpoint notes that data is available within two weeks, making media or brand decision-making more relevant. Technology allows the company to gather data more efficiently and accurately.

Kelly notes that “typically much media data is only available months after the research, making it more of a rear view mirror than a current dashboard. Media planners need timely, accurate, rich data to make truly useful decisions.”

Searll also emphasizes this point in saying that “technology has allowed us to overcome the traditional barriers to collecting this type data. We have a lot of experience in research methodology and we understand of the depth of insight needed to design the right media placement strategy.”

Dashboard, presented as an interactive web interface, then collects and reports this data allowing users to personalize their view of information.

Using the web and mobile technologies to both collect dynamic data and improve accessibility, Pinpoint plans on expanding to Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola and Uganda.