One in Three To Go Social, Watch Video Via Mobile By 2016

Posted by: Neil James // April 16th, 2012

We don’t need any new statistics that everybody in the world is using social media or mobile devices. News flash – they pretty much are. What we’re interested in now is how everyone uses social media and smartphones, and how do behaviors differ across different demographics?

One interesting trend is that social usage is increasingly migrating away from desktops and laptops. According to a new article from eMarketer, by 2016, more than 110 million Americans (one-third of the total population) will watch video content on a mobile phone at least once a month. Further, according to eMarketer, one-third of US consumers are projected to log into social networking sites via mobile devices at least monthly by 2014.

@NeilAndrewJames

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Mobile Phone Usage Levels Out, Smartphone Penetration Continues

Posted by: Matthew Bick // April 11th, 2012

While mobile phone usage has “plateaued,” according to eMarketer, smartphone usage continues to grow in the United States.  According to eMarketer’s research, “The number of US mobile phone users will increase at a compound annual rate of just 1.8% between 2011 and 2016.”  However, “eMarketer estimates the number of US consumers with a smartphone will more than double from 93.1 million at the end of 2011 to 192.4 million by 2016, when 58.5% of the total US population will have a smartphone.”

Among the interesting insights that can be gleaned from this information, it would appear that mobile advertising could see growth down the road.  With smartphone usage potentially doubling in just a few years, many more devices will be reachable through mobile ad spending.

@MatthewBick

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Forecasts Indicate Even More Smartphone and Tablet Growth by 2014

Posted by: Matthew Bick // February 29th, 2012

If you already thought that smartphones and tablets had overrun society, then you might want to begin preparations now.  A recent study from eMarketer reports that smartphone and tablet market penetration will only increase.  In smartphones alone, the increase will be enormous.  eMarketer currently estimates that there are 106.7 million smartphone users in the United States, representing 44% of mobile phone users.  That figure is set to increase by 8.8% to 52.8% of mobile phone users by 2014, representing 133 million Americans who will have a smartphone.

Tablets are expected to grow even faster than their slightly smaller counterparts.  Tablets are currently used by 22.9% of all internet users, approximately 54.8 million Americans.  89.5 million internet users are expected to use tablets by 2014, an increase of 12.7% to 35.6% of all American internet users. 

This continued growth likely means even more growth in mobile and tablet-specific app development as well as mobile web site development.  As an increasing number of users access the internet from devices other than laptops, there will be a much greater demand for content and functionality specifically designed for those devices.

@MatthewBick

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The Mobile Landscape of 2012

Posted by: Liz Mortek // January 17th, 2012

A recent article on Online Media Daily explains that in 2011, we saw an explosion in mobile marketing in the form of apps, commerce and analytics. And, with the announcement that 3.7 million Android devices were activated over Christmas weekend and 242 million apps were sold on Christmas Day alone, the possibilities for mobile marketing will be endless in the coming year.

The article suggests five trends to look out for in 2012, including an increase in time and money being devoted to engaging on mobile platforms, more mobile purchases, more meaningful apps, and better identified segments and targets. These trends suggest that it will get easier and easier to have meaningful interactions with the right audiences.

@EMortek

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Who Should You Trust With Your Money?

Posted by: Liz Mortek // August 24th, 2011

According to a survey conducted by Ogilvy & Mather, the answer is pretty clear, at least when it comes to mobile payments. In the past year, a slew of tech brands have introduced their own version of a mobile payment option; Google’s new Wallet app, the upcoming iPhone’s payment enabling chips and Jack Dorsey’s Square. While all reputable sources, when consumers were asked who they trust to handle mobile payments, they were more likely to stick with the same brands they currently trust payments today – specifically credit-card companies such as Visa, American Express and MasterCard.

Facebook was cited as the lest trusted brand among a list of large consumer brands, with only 12% expressing trust – furthermore the group was more likely to trust the United States Postal Service with mobile payments than Apple, Microsoft or Google.

What does this mean?   The survey suggests larger tech companies partner with credit-card brands in order to elevate service and build trust.

@EMortek

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Your Smartphone *Is* One. Let’s Use It That Way.

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // August 10th, 2011

Josh Bernhoff, writing for AdAge Digital, has an interesting point - Don’t Treat Smartphones Like ‘Little PCs’. If we confuse the two we risk missing out on what Josh feels is the coming app…well now honestly I was going to say ‘appocolypse,’ but that sounds negative. But if we go with ‘appenaissance’ it sounds too much like ‘applesauce.’ Oh man…is it Friday yet? Let’s just say Josh feels strongly that a Golden Age of phone apps is right around the corner, and if we are thinking of our phones only as little computers we risk missing the boat.  He concludes his article by proposing a 4-stage roadmap, one marketers can use to successfully integrate this unique technology, as opposed to simply chasing it.

@BenWritten

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Mobile E-Mail Marketing More Likely to Drive Purchase Than Apps, Text Messaging

Posted by: Neil James // August 8th, 2011

Admit it. We’re getting closer and closer to the creepy world where instead of pulling out your wallet, you simply run an app on your phone to pay for your purchases. And you’re secretly excited about it. Wait, you’re not?

Well, that’s okay. But more and more consumers are getting more comfortable with the idea of m-commerce. But just knowing that people shop via mobile phone doesn’t mean you know the whole story. Do they prefer to shop via apps? Facebook? In what mobile channels should you set up shop?

According to a new article from eMarketer, our old friend e-mail is the top performing channel. eMarketer cites research from ExactTarget that found 56 percent of smartphone owners who made a purchase after receiving a mobile marketing message did so because of because of a mobile e-mail. Close behind were text messages, Facebook, and shopping applications such as Amazon or Groupon. Interestingly, an actual telephone call (18 percent) led to purchases more frequently than messages via location-based services such as Foursquare (15 percent) and non-shopping related applications (11 percent.)

@NeilAndrewJames

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Smartphones Used to Compare Prices More Than Conduct Transactions

Posted by: Neil James // April 13th, 2011

Smartphones Used to Compare Prices More Than Conduct Transactions

Perhaps you’ve done some shopping at Target and you’ve seen a nearby shopper typing what appeared to be a small novella on their iPhone. If you work at Target, you may wonder whether that person is buying your goods from Amazon or another online retailer. Just what are they doing? A new article from eMarketer, Top Mobile Shopping Activities of US Smartphone Users, has the answer. According to eMarketer, two-thirds of those who use their smartphones while shopping do so to conduct price comparisons. Finding nearby store locations was the next most frequent activity. Less than one in five reported making a purchase was the reason for their in-store smartphone usage.

@NeilAndrewJames

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The QR Stands For “Quick Response”

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // April 12th, 2011

The QR Stands For Quick Response

Now you know. This is a helpful fact, which Natalie Zmuda also points out in her article for Ad Age, QR Codes Gaining Prominence Thanks to Few Big Players.

The challenge is this: big players like Macy’s, Best Buy, and Post Cereals must educate consumers to how QR codes function, while simultaneously working to impart them with value.

On the one hand, these codes may be forcing consumers to take an extra step, since they must remove their phones to scan the code in the hope it will lead them to something they value. (assuming they have a phone that can play ball at all)

On the other, as I sit on the train heading home, easily half of my fellow passengers look not out the window, or at each other, and instead focus their gaze down at their phones, most ear-budded to block out any unpleasant public transitisims. From this observation it’s easy to conclude that this extra step might be taking itself.

At the end of the day, whether or not the use of QR codes evolves to be a boon to consumers, anything that inspires innovative thinking and non-traditional marketing can be a boon for this industry.

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Smartphones Supplementing, Not Replacing, Traditional Media

Posted by: Neil James // April 5th, 2011

Smartphones Supplementing Not Replacing Traditional Media

Despite Steve Jobs’ hopeful dreams, the launch of the iPad and iPhone did not coincide with the demise of traditional media publishers – newspapers and television. Although newspapers have certainly taken a hit, they haven’t become extinct, and television viewership has actually increased! Why? David Zax explores this topic in an article for Fast Company, Smartphones May Not Threaten Old Media. According to Zax, consumption of content via smartphones did not come at the expense of content consumed via traditional means – rather, it came at the expense of “interstitial spaces.” Zax states that even with the advent of mobile technologies, newspapers still belong to the morning, desktops belong to the workday and television programming belongs to the evening hour. By virtue of their intrinsically wireless nature, mobile content fills the gaps, giving us news when we’re riding the bus from one stage of the day to the next.

@NeilAndrewJames

Image Credit – The Phoenix

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