Online reputation agency and strategic monitoring in Africa
Cabinet 86 is an online reputation and strategic monitoring agency based in Paris and in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. We measure what is said about an organisation, an executive or a project, online, in the press and now in AI answers, and we turn it into decisions. We work for companies, institutions and public figures in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Guinea and Morocco, from Abidjan to Dakar, Conakry, Casablanca and Rabat, as well as in Madagascar and the rest of Africa. We also follow what is said about them in France and in the diaspora. Our method combines open source intelligence (OSINT), monitoring tools and a human reading of the ground.
Why monitoring is the starting point of any reputation strategy
A reputation crisis rarely starts with a front-page story. It starts with a comment, a discussion thread, an online article picked up by an influential account, a Google results page that tips over. Between the first signal and the moment it becomes a problem, days or sometimes weeks go by. That is the window in which monitoring is useful.
It is also useful outside a crisis: knowing who talks about you, who quotes you and how your competitors occupy the ground lets you base an influence strategy on facts.
What is an online reputation audit?
An online reputation audit is a complete snapshot of what someone finds when they search for your name or your organisation’s name. It covers search engines (results, images, suggestions, panels), social networks, online press, forums and review sites, Wikipedia, and now the answers of generative AI: what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude or Gemini say about you, and which sources they rely on.
The audit measures three things: volume (how much content, on which channels), tone (positive, neutral, negative, and why) and visibility (what is actually seen, and by whom). It identifies risky content, blind spots (no presence where your audiences are searching) and possible corrections.
The deliverable is a report of around thirty pages with a map of sources, a page-by-page analysis of search results, a record of AI engine answers and a prioritised recommendation. Allow two to three weeks for an organisation, ten days for an executive. For an executive, the audit often leads on to work on executive reputation.
Our online reputation and monitoring services
Seven formats, from one-off diagnosis to a permanent set-up, in France and in Africa.
Online reputation audit
A complete review of an organisation, a brand or an executive, with a prioritised recommendation. The starting point for most of our engagements.
Continuous monitoring
Daily monitoring of mentions in the press, on social networks, in search engines and in specialist sources, with a daily or weekly summary depending on exposure.
Executive or public figure monitoring
Name-based monitoring of an executive, a public official or a public figure: mentions, impersonation, hostile content, changes in their image in search results and AI answers.
Alerts and crisis tracking
A reinforced set-up during a sensitive period: real-time alerts, situation updates several times a day, tracking of spread and amplifiers, measurement of the effect of the responses given. See our crisis communication services.
Ecosystem study and mapping
Identification of the players who shape a conversation: media, influencers, organisations, communities, opponents. Mapping of relationships and audiences, to know whom to convince and whom to watch.
Competitive analysis
Comparison of your presence and image with those of your competitors: share of voice, topics, channels, spokespeople.
Studies and reviews
One-off analyses (launch, appointment, acquisition, controversy) and periodic reviews for executive committees.
Our method: OSINT, tools and human analysis
We collect widely, with monitoring tools and open source intelligence techniques that go beyond keywords: reverse search, tracking of accounts and domains, archives, metadata, community mapping on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok.
Then we read. A spike in mentions tells you nothing until you know who is producing it, for which audience and with what intention. Every signal is assessed by a consultant who knows the sector and the country. Our deliverables set out possible decisions. When we detect a coordinated campaign, we switch to our protocol for countering information manipulation.
This monitoring feeds directly into our executive reputation assignments and our communication and influence strategies between Africa and France.
- 01CollectMonitoring and OSINT: accounts, domains, archives, metadata, communities on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok.
- 02ReadWho is producing the signal, for which audience, with what intention.
- 03AssessEvery signal is reviewed by a consultant who knows the sector and the country.
- 04DecideOptions and a recommendation.
Online reputation in Africa: what changes on the ground
Monitoring in Africa cannot be done from Paris with the same tools as in France. The conversations that matter often take place on Facebook and WhatsApp rather than on X; the online press is plentiful, fast-moving and unevenly independent; diaspora communities carry weight in national debates; languages and codes vary from one country to another.
Our Abidjan office and our daily work in these ecosystems allow us to tell genuine outrage from an orchestrated campaign and a reference outlet from an opportunistic site, and to know whom to speak to when a response is needed.
The sources that shape online reputation are not the same either. In Abidjan, Dakar, Conakry, Casablanca or Rabat, the first page of results for a name often mixes online news sites, Facebook pages, YouTube or TikTok videos and international press articles. The same article can be picked up within hours by dozens of sites, with no link to the original. A serious online reputation audit therefore traces each piece of content back to its source, and measures its real audience as well as its Google ranking.
An online reputation agency on the ground in Abidjan
Our office in Cocody Angré, Abidjan, gives us a daily reading of the Ivorian and West African media space: newspapers, influential pages, opinion leaders, the pace of controversies. From our offices in Paris and Abidjan, we also work in Dakar, Conakry, Casablanca and Rabat, where we have already carried out assignments, and we follow the French and international media covering Africa as well as diaspora accounts. This is useful for clients who are exposed both on the continent and in Paris, Brussels or Montreal.
Countries and cities covered
Our priority markets are Côte d’Ivoire and Abidjan, Senegal and Dakar, Guinea and Conakry, Morocco, Casablanca and Rabat: we have already carried out assignments there, as in Madagascar. In each of these countries we also follow other cities, national media and the diaspora. Our area of work also covers Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Benin, Togo, Congo-Brazzaville and Tunisia, in French and in English.
When online reputation becomes a crisis
When a weak signal turns into a story, monitoring alone is no longer enough. Our crisis tracking set-up is operational within 24 hours, and our crisis communication team for Africa then takes over: threat assessment, the decision whether to respond, messages, press relations and tracking of amplifiers.
Deliverables and timing
Online reputation audit: a 25 to 35-page report, map of sources and prioritised recommendation. One-off. Ten days for an executive, three weeks for an organisation.
Continuous monitoring: daily or weekly summary and a shared dashboard. Set up in one week.
Executive monitoring: a weekly name-based note and real-time alerts on hostile content or impersonation. Set up in one week.
Crisis tracking: situation updates several times a day, tracking of amplifiers and spread. Operational within 24 hours.
Ecosystem study: map of players and audiences, player profiles and recommendation. Three to four weeks, updated every six months.
Competitive analysis: benchmark of share of voice, topics and channels. Two weeks, one-off or quarterly.
Examples of assignments
Major mining programme in West Africa. Daily monitoring of national and international press and social networks around a flagship project, with a summary note every morning for the communication department: weak signals, amplifiers, talking points to anticipate.
Image of a Maghreb state. Weekly image and reputation monitoring reports covering a ministerial remit, with thematic summaries to inform communication choices.
Former heads of large companies in the Indian Ocean. Daily tracking of high-profile legal proceedings involving several former executives, for a client indirectly exposed.
Mapping civil society in a Southern African country. Identification and mapping of opposition and civil society organisations, figures and amplifiers, for a client seeking to understand a changing political landscape.
Search audit for a start-up co-founder. A page-by-page analysis of what Google and AI engines showed under his name after a change of company, then a search correction plan.
Online reputation monitoring for a dermo-cosmetics group. Continuous monitoring of the group’s brands on social networks, review sites and the health and beauty press, with alerts on sensitive signals.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between strategic monitoring and online reputation?
Online reputation is the image an organisation or a person projects online. Strategic monitoring is the activity of watching it, as well as the wider environment: competitors, regulators, media, communities. Monitoring is the means; online reputation is one of its subjects.
How much does an online reputation audit cost?
The price depends on the scope (a person, a brand, a group), the number of countries and languages, and the history to be analysed. We provide a quote after an initial conversation; an executive audit is the lightest format.
What does OSINT mean?
OSINT (open source intelligence) means collecting and analysing information that anyone can legally access, on the web, social networks, public registers and archives. Applied to reputation, OSINT makes it possible to trace content to its origin, identify the amplifiers of a campaign and document a situation precisely.
Do you also monitor what ChatGPT and other AI tools say?
Yes. AI engines have become a source of information for decision-makers and journalists. Our audits include a record of what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini say about you, and of the sources they cite, so that action can be taken on those sources.
Can you monitor several African countries at once?
Yes. We cover West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa, the Maghreb and the Indian Ocean, in French and in English, combining monitoring tools with local knowledge of media and networks.
How quickly can a monitoring set-up start?
Continuous monitoring is set up within a week. In a crisis, an alert set-up is operational within 24 hours.
What is an online reputation agency?
An online reputation agency analyses and improves what can be found online about an organisation or a person: search results, social networks, online press, review sites and generative AI answers. At Cabinet 86, this work starts with an audit, continues with ongoing monitoring and leads to content, press relations or response actions.
Do you work in Abidjan, Dakar, Conakry, Casablanca and Rabat?
Yes. The firm has two offices, at 16 rue de l’Arcade in Paris and in Cocody Angré in Abidjan, and works regularly throughout Côte d’Ivoire. We also work in Dakar, Conakry, Casablanca and Rabat: we have already carried out assignments in Senegal, Guinea and Morocco, as well as in Madagascar. Meetings take place in Paris, in Abidjan, at your premises or remotely.
What should you do if an online attack escalates?
We launch crisis tracking, operational within 24 hours, and our crisis communication team assesses the threat before recommending a response. We work in coordination with your lawyers when a right of reply, delisting or legal action is being considered.
Can an online reputation agency erase what is said on the internet?
No, and you should be wary of any agency that promises it. We correct what is false through legitimate channels, with your lawyers if necessary, and we bring accurate, up-to-date content to the surface. The aim is for what your audiences find first to reflect reality, in France as in Africa.