Research that goes below the surface.

Ice Lab is an independent, full-service qualitative and consumer insights agency. From Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg, we design and run research across the continent, with video as our primary medium.

Focus groups, in-depth interviews, CAPI, CATI and CAWI

WHAT YOU SEEWHAT WE FIND
500+studies delivered, 2016–2021
50+people on the team
30+ yrsof cumulative brand experience
14countries in our featured case studies

What we do

Five areas of work, each built on the same idea: talk to real people where they live, shop and spend time, then turn what they say into decisions.

All services

Market awareness

Know the market before you move.

Usage & attitude, scoping, segmentation, insight research, desk research

Client capital

Measure how customers feel about you.

Customer satisfaction, brand preference, engagement, recommendation

Portfolio

Shape and test what you plan to launch.

Ideation, concept creation, concept screening, potential testing, range optimisation

Brand

Understand where your brand stands.

Brand background, brand platform, image & positioning, brand architecture

Communication

Check that your message lands.

Social media research, pre-testing, post-testing & tracking, site optimisation, publication

Ice Lab researcher filming a vox pop interview at an outdoor venue Group discussion with young adults in a park Ice Lab data collection agents in branded vests

Video first

With video as our ethnographic medium, we bring the consumer into the boardroom: their homes, their shops, their own words. It sparks debate inside client teams and gets people thinking creatively about what to do next.

How our work splits

Qualitative 25%
Quantitative 75%

Quantitative, by method

CAPI 50%
CATI 20%
CAWI 30%

Selected work

All case studies
South Africa

Smirnoff Ice Double Black with Guarana

Method
CAPI
Sample
750
Fieldwork
17 days

Mapped who drinks the brand, how and where. The findings became the basis of the Explore the Night campaign and platform.

Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique

PPC Cement: brand preference and loyalty

Method
CATI
Sample
1,500
Fieldwork
20 days

Found two kinds of buyer: loyalists who stay for strength, durability and availability whatever the price, and price-led buyers steered by clients, sales teams and bosses.

Niger and Senegal

Diaper usage in rural communities

Method
CAPI
Sample
3,600
Fieldwork
21–25 days

Showed that cost was keeping usage low, and recommended the client introduce smaller, more affordable pack sizes.

Brands we’ve worked with

  • Coca-Cola
  • Unilever
  • Nestlé
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Mondelēz International
  • Kraft
  • Bacardi
  • Nivea
  • British American Tobacco
  • Old Mutual
  • Brandhouse
  • Hero
  • Canon
  • IDC
  • Tecno Mobile
  • World Health Organization
  • Zenith Bank
  • Spectranet
  • Game
  • Your brand next?

Have a question your data can’t answer?

Tell us what you need to know. We’ll design the study, run the fieldwork and bring back findings you can act on.