GeoPoll, a Denver-based firm, uses cellphones to conduct market research and public opinion polls with people in developing nations and remote parts of the world. The company runs surveys on topics such as whether Afghan villagers are optimistic about the economy and whether urban Tunisians prefer Pepsi or Coke.
GeoPoll is tackling the problem that citizens of developing countries are often beyond the reach of traditional market research. Very few people in such places have landlines; online surveys often don’t reach them either, because home Internet connections are uncommon. A case in point: When the World Bank wanted to understand whether people in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo were receiving food supplies three years ago, interviewers armed with pen and paper had to trek across rivers and mountains to record villagers’ thoughts.
