About Us

Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF) was formed in 1997.
It's mission is to engage in Zimbabwean media research, and provide companies with data that is comparable to the rest of Africa.

You can now easily stay ahead of trends and refine your company growth strategy, using our timely insights.

ZAMPS is funded by a 1.5% levy on all advertising placed in Zimbabwe.

This was agreed 15 years ago by all stakeholders and it is an AdMA requirement that this levy is incorporated in all advertising rates relating to all media in this country.

The levy is paid monthly in arrears to ZARF.

Through their constituent bodies, advertisers; marketers and the media, brief ZARF on what information they need and our technical committee crafts a questionnaire that is administered face to face with households selected on a Kish grid.

Normally each interview with the head of the household lasts two and a half hours and the information is now captured electronically, to speed up the process and eliminate mistakes.

The marketing and media industries in Zimbabwe established ZARF in 1997 after 12 years of debate and discussion.

To ensure that the data is comparable with that of other African media research, we used the South African Advertising Research Foundation’s questionnaire as a blueprint.

It has been adjusted, altered and added to over the years to make it more relevant to the Zimbabwean market, without losing its ability to be compared with similar media research from countries like Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Objectives of ZARF

The Foundation’s principal objectives, as recorded in its Constitution, are:

To promote, sponsor, arrange, authorise, commission, manage, control or cause to be arranged, organised, conducted, authorised or commissioned, the obtaining of all kinds of advertising research, media audience research, surveys, investigations and reports.
Likewise to do all things and carry on any activities related or associated with the above areas, with power to act through its duly authorised agents, employees and contractors and other interested parties and to employ companies, firms and persons for such purposes and generally do all things necessary and incidental in order to give effect to any of the objectives of the Foundation.

Why Media & Product Research?

The Foundation was established with a focus towards Media and Product research in order to realise the following benefits:

Maximise effective and accountable use of advertising that represents value for money, through informed planning and buying.
Provide key data on audience behaviour, essential for the development and evaluation of the creative process of developing marketing programmes.
Provide detailed viewing and listening behaviour patterns to inform scheduling and broader communications’ patterns.
As the basis for negotiating sponsorship and programme “rights” based on actual audience and profile delivery.
A uniform tool to judge the effectiveness of media campaigns.
Provide an industry wide, single trading currency for advertisers, advertising agencies and media owners for the buying and selling of media space.
As the basis for setting rate cards objectively and transparently and evaluating campaign performance by media within and across markets.
As the tool for profiling target markets through detailed data on readership, listnening and viewing by media and by time of day.

Structure of ZARF

ZARF’s board of directors represents its members—the Advertising and Media Association (AdMA), the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) and the Zimbabwe Advertising Agency Practitioners Association (ZAAPA).

Major media houses—Alpha Media Holdings, Associated Newspapers Zimbabwe, ZiFMStereo, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Zimbabwe Newspapers—have individual seats on the board.

ZARF’s executive consists of three consultants, an executive chairman, an administrator and a public relations practitioner. Together with the research house, currently Topline Research Solutions, they attend all committee meetings but do not vote.

ZARF Chief & Executive Officer

Mrs. Pamela Gwanzura

Pamela Gwanzura is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF).

She is an accomplished business woman, marketer and communications specialist who has scaled the heights of success in Zimbabwe and the region.

With over 25 years experience, complemented by her unique blend of business savvy, passion and charisma, Pamela has always excelled in a diverse range of settings varying from managing high flying international advertising agencies to high profile radio stations and NGOs.

Over the years, Pamela Gwanzura has held positions that include Managing Director of Twine and Allied (Botswana); Commercial Director of Gabz FM (Botswana); Group Marketing Manager of Baker Tilly International; Sales and Marketing Manager for ZIFM Stereo; Head of Client Services of Optimum McCann Erickson (Botswana) and Head of Brand Management for DDB Hash Three (Zimbabwe).

She was also chairperson of the Media Directors Forum from 2002 to 2003.

Also of note is Pamela Gwanzura’s experience as the managing consultant of Tangible Communications, through which she worked with international brands such as Microsoft in the formulation and implementation of media strategies for specific campaigns, as well as Samsung (Botswana) in coordinating and managing a government sponsorship initiative.

he also worked with Kenya Airways and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Botswana, handling an array of activities such as event planning and management, publicity and stakeholder engagement.