SPONSORED - In today’s digital-first African market, customer experience (CX) has become a strategic imperative. For brands aiming to win hearts and drive growth, the goal is simple: create a frictionless experience from consideration to conversion. At AdHive Group, this starts with data and is accelerated by marketing technology (MarTech).
I define customer experience as a frictionless journey that supports the customer throughout their purchase decision-making process. And to make that possible, consumer data is key. It enables us to understand our customers’ demographics, psychographics, and consumption behaviours — so we can surgically identify the right CX tactics.
Turning raw data into business value
We work with a combination of behavioural, demographic, psychographic, and transactional data. But data alone is not enough. Through our dedicated TechHive division — which we call our "intelligence unit" — we bring together MarTech tools and human capability to transform data into actionable insights.
TechHive houses our data, sentiment, and MarTech capabilities. It enables us to segment audiences, analyse sentiment, and conduct social listening. This allows us to create unique customer personas and build personalised journeys around them.
These insights are essential to how we operate across our other business units, IdeaHive (brand communications) and AmplifyHive (experiential marketing). TechHive powers both strategy and execution by serving as our analytics and search hub. It provides the quantitative and qualitative inputs that inform every stage of the creative and communication process. That is how we deliver precision marketing.
Creative meets technology
We have also embraced AI and machine learning to automate the routine aspects of creative execution. This gives our team more time to focus on conceptualisation — the real foundation of brand-building. It is how we ensure the ideas behind the campaigns remain sharp, thoughtful, and resonant.
Of course, working with data and MarTech in Africa comes with its own set of challenges. Among the biggest are monetising data as a business asset, structuring big data into digestible, actionable formats, building integrated, fit-for-purpose technology architectures, and closing the talent gap in data science and analytics.
At AdHive Group, we also take compliance seriously and operate fully within existing data privacy legislation to protect customers and brands alike.
Measuring what matters
For every campaign, we work closely with our clients to define KPIs aligned with business goals. We track what matters — awareness, sentiment, revenue, and market share — and ensure that customer experience is connected to real outcomes. It is not just about impressions or engagement. Rather, it is about making an impact.
AI and automation will continue to drive efficiency and growth in the advertising world. However, I believe human competence remains the ultimate differentiator. Technology can process and deliver, but it is people who extract meaning. It’s people who answer the "so what?"
Looking ahead, we are focused on building a robust MarTech stack that creates tangible value for our clients. We will also continue to partner with global MarTech providers to stay ahead of the curve.
My advice to businesses looking to leverage data and MarTech more effectively? Invest in both tech and people. Start by clearly defining your business needs. Then build the architecture, create ways of working, set KPIs, acquire the right tools — and monitor everything.
Collecting data is easy. Using it meaningfully and responsibly is where the difference lies.