AMRA 2018
My Big Five: A Front-Row
Seat To AMRA 2018 Forum
On Research In Diverse
Africa
By Jonathan Karanja
I
n most countries, conference breaks
are an opportunity to grab a fresh
cup of coffee and use the bathroom.
In Africa, it’s an opportunity to break out
into dance, rehashing steps from various
dance moves across the continent. This
was the case at the recently concluded 2nd
AMRA Forum held in Nairobi Kenya.
The theme was Research in Diverse
Africa, and diversity was in no short
supply through the presentation of
content, personalities and program activity
during the 2 day forum. From Artificial
Intelligence from IBM and the use of
predictive modeling to help reduce bank
queues in Lagos Nigeria, to “Wakanda”
handshakes and selfie-snapping before
presenting rich data on Africa’s youth,
the 2nd AMRA forum had no shortage
of color, cultural nuance and camaraderie
among researchers and clients.
It’s almost impossible to put into words
what the atmosphere felt like each
day during the forum. The energy and
engagement levels were somewhat intense
at times, perhaps because of the novelty
of such a gathering of market research
professionals in Africa.
The take outs from the forum are much
easier to distill and detail in words. In
keeping with the publicized, legendary
Kenyan safari theme of THE BIG FIVE,
here are some BIG FIVE highlights
that were unique to the AMRA 2018
experience.
The African Insight
Renaissance is REAL
It’s not just that the AMRA Forum
timing seemed to coincide with global
The general consensus is that Africa can no
longer be viewed as one whole composite coun-
try. Boxing the entire population of the African
consumer into one size fits all generalizations is
a sure way to miss the many opportunities this
vast market holds. Brands must be prepared to
study the uniquely diverse local contexts and
adapt themselves to blend with the trend.
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hype around the release of Black Panther,
the movie which has done astoundingly
well in Box Office Sales. There is a
very palpable energy in Africa’s market
research and it tells of a coming of age.
The people, the practice and the purpose
of market research have found ownership
and resonance among practitioners and
users.
There were lunch time conversations on
expanding global spaces in forums such
as World Association for Public Opinion
Research (WAPOR) to include Africa’s
voice through the formation of an Africa
Chapter. Iconic African brands such as
Safaricom disputed global data norms
through analysis of their own data to
draw locally applicable conclusions. The
customary view on politics and brands
is that consumers are likely to buy or
boycott a brand based on political impact.
Safaricom has witnessed a new expression
of brand loyalty with the emergence of
brand advocates and brand defenders.
Initiatives from GFK Verein and BBC
Media Action have embraced an initiative
to train, skill and accredit African
qualitative experts to provide depth to the
mining of insights by African researchers.
Using 360 video recording, the initiative
is able to use footage of the good and bad
practices, to raise a new crop of trained
and tested moderators. AMRA interaction
will now see more qualitative researchers
volunteer for enhancement and growth of
qualitative research.