For years we have looked to the UK Europe and Asia as a mobile marketing crystal ball. As trends emerge from markets with more mature mobile consumer habits (and carrier ecosystem) we can get a very good gauge of how consumers will be utilizing mobile in this country. Traditionally the US has been a year or two behind other markets in mobile usage and adoption figures. However the app / smart phone explosion in the US after has sped up the process. So we see similar numbers as presented in this study only about a year away in the US. Is your company ready for the mobile web explosion that’s headed to our shores? Reach out to ApolloBravo for a complementary corporate mobile readiness evaluation. Pay special attention to the nearly 70% of consumers accessing the mobile web via their phones.

From wark.com and IAB

LONDON: Consumers in the UK are adopting an increasingly diverse range of mobile habits, from browsing the web while on the move to using their phone when watching TV.

Industry body the IAB and research firm Connect Insight asked 500 people who regularly utilise applications and the internet, or download content, via handsets to keep a “media diary” for a week. These data were supplemented by six digital focus groups to gain a rounded picture regarding the daily role of wireless devices.

On average, individuals engaged with their mobile 18 times each day, going online most frequently among the pastimes assessed.
Indeed, 66% of contributors “couldn’t live without” such gadgets and 58% believed they helped ensure life was more organised.

Elsewhere, 40% of the panel had participated in one of the featured activities having witnessed advertising communications.
Some 69% of respondents accessed web-based content through a mobile browser, as opposed to links, shortcodes, apps and equivalent tools.

A further 27% agreed their phone assumed the status as “first choice” when it came to consuming content at least once a week.

Simultaneous media use is another widespread habit, given that 70% of the sample deployed a mobile at the same time as being exposed to a different medium. This is most commonly the case for TV, as 53% of those polled leveraged mobile media while viewing television broadcasts between 9pm and midnight.

From 6am to 9am, the mobile information of greatest interest concerned finance, weather and travel, a position held by entertainment, shopping and maps in the 3pm to 6pm slot. Entertainment, music, sport and games then took over, as people sought to relax after work.

“The implications of this consumer behaviour for advertisers are huge,” Alex Kozloff, the IAB’s mobile manager, said.

“Mobile is a hygiene factor that every brand should be thinking about to make sure the customer experience is a positive one.”

Data sourced from IAB; additional content by Warc staff, 3 February 2011 www.warc.com

From Warc.com  results from latest MMA study.

NEW YORK: A majority of brand owners are planning to increase their mobile marketing activity this year, a study has found.

Trade bodies the Association of National Advertisers and Mobile Marketing Association surveyed senior executives, mostly drawn from the ANA’s membership – and found that 88% of the panel intended to follow such a route.

Interviews were then conducted with 97 client-side marketers that had expressed a desire to make enhanced use of this channel in 2011.

The report also found 62% of the panel had used the medium last year, alongside 26% expecting to run their first initiatives.

To date, 71% of corporations had afforded responsibility for this discipline to an existing in-house unit – generally digital marketing teams – while 19% assigned these duties to a newly-created group.

Regarding budgets, 75% of participants projected expenditure levels on behalf of their brands would climb by an average of 59%.

At present, contributors already boasting a mobile presence had collectively adopted around 12 different formats to promote products.

The top five – deployed by at least half of the featured firms – were mobile websites, apps, SMS, display ads and search.

Among the main advantages of embracing this form of communications were portable web access, and the capacity to deliver content and deals to consumers on the move.

Furthermore, it was argued to offer convenience in terms of providing immediate customer and sales support, and help build loyalty. However, only 25% of executives stated their previous mobile efforts had performed “extremely” or “very” well, and another 53% described these programmes as “somewhat” successful.

The characteristics demonstrated by the most effective marketers included a longer history of using mobile, utilising a larger number of individual platforms and pursuing an integrated strategy.Establishing meaningful measurement tools and employing a wide variety of monitoring techniques also typically yielded stronger results.

Similarly, the absence of metrics to properly allocate mobile within the media mix and an ability to prove ROI were named as two primary obstacles to greater uptake.

A lack of understanding on the part of key colleagues had also slowed this process, the ANA/MMA research revealed.
“Mobile is clearly a fast-growing platform for marketers, but it has yet to attain its full potential,” said Bob Liodice, the ANA’s president/ceo.

“With the anticipated increase in adoption this year, we expect to see fresh, innovative approaches, increased brand-building success, and better accountability for this exciting channel.” Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola was praised by respondents for its mobile advertising, and retailer Target received accolades having combined the mobile web with reward programmes and a “wish list”.

Data sourced from MMA; additional content by Warc staff, 2 February 2011 http://goo.gl/4nMdh

Contact ApolloBravo for a free mobile marketing readiness evaluation. 703-548-3400