Media Intelligence Agency Expands into West Africa

South African-based media information and brand intelligence agency Ornico has entered the Nigerian market through a partnership with Lagos-based investment group AData.

Established in 1984 by Oresti and Spero Patricios, Ornico has offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The firm conducts analysis into competitors' ad campaigns and PR activity within the press, as well as offering MediaTrac, a competitor media tracking tool, and SpotCheque, a media monitoring service.

The firm's founders say the expansion to Nigeria has been driven by customer demand, prompted by the difficulty brands have in acquiring uniform advertising and reputation intelligence on the continent.

Initially, the focus will be on seconding South African staff to Nigeria in order to train and hire local team members, while the long term goal is to establish an office that is run and managed by Nigerians.

'Africa presents a huge opportunity for South African brands, and there has been significant demand from our clients growing across the continent for data,' stated CEO Oresti Patricios. 'Nigeria is a huge market that is aggressively competitive and enjoys the participation of international and own brands - which makes it good sense for us to open up an office there.'

Web site: www.ornico.co.za .