The Life360 service involves a panel of 440 people aged 16 and over in Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town. Each is equipped with Blackberry handsets to monitor where, when and how often they are engaging with the World Cup and their awareness of related advertising.

Nielsen will survey all panel members several times a day asking respondents where they are and what they are doing. Respondents will also take a picture of their surroundings and caption them, as well as describing their mood at the time.

The firm said the results will provide an “extraordinary glimpse” into how the South African population is living and watching the World Cup.

Karen Benezra, vice president and executive director of Life360, said: “Never before has there been such an opportunity to capture this level of insight around consumers’ ‘day in the life’ activity and exposure to a major global sporting event such as the World Cup. Whether they are live at a stadium, watching a match at a bar or at home or tracking scores on their mobile phone, we will get a complete view of people’s lives during the World Cup.”