How to Connect with Mobile Consumers - research from Yahoo!


Image001

Original source: http://advertising.yahoo.com/article/mobile-modes.html

Comment - The consumer only does what they already do, as the brain is the laziest organ and requires too much energy to change; so it doesn't and other reasons why behaviour continues until we can change it......

How to Connect with Mobile Consumers

The explosive growth in usage of the mobile Internet is creating significant opportunities for marketers. In fact, the IDC projects there will be more than 186.5 million mobile Internet users in the U.S. by 2014 (a 163% growth from 2010). But in order to take full advantage of this medium, advertisers must understand how consumers use the mobile web and how it affects media planning and messaging.

Similar to PC, the key to success in mobile advertising lies in understanding how to map advertising tone, format and call-to- action to our understanding of the consumers’ mindset as they browse on their mobile phones. Yahoo!’s Mobile Modes study takes a closer look at mobile Internet usage in order to answer some important questions for marketers:

·                        What types of content are mobile Internet users consuming on their phones?

·                        Where and when are mobile users typically viewing this mobile content?

·                        What are the key motivations that drive consumers to use the mobile Internet and how can marketers optimize their mobile advertising to improve effectiveness?


To answer these questions, Yahoo! and Ipsos spoke to 3,844 consumers aged 13-54 including a comprehensive attitudes & usage study and a past-day diary detailing their use of mobile Internet. In order to better understand mobile Internet usage, Yahoo! defined seven modes that encompass all mobile online activity:

Key Findings

1. Rapid Growth

Consumers are spending more time on their mobile phones compared to a year ago, specifically, there’s been a 54% increase in time spent on the mobile web and 29% increase in time spent watching video on a mobile device. Most of the time spent occurs before 1pm.

2. Mobile Isn't Always on the Go

A third of consumers’ total time spent on the mobile device is spent while at home, most often during down times and breaks and/or free time.

3. The Mobile Web, Starting to Deliver a Content Driven Experience

News, weather and sports are the most often consumed written content. While mobile video usage shifts more to entertainment with music, gaming, food and movie trailers leading.

4. Mobile: Our Co-Pilot & Extension to Online

Content consumption patterns on the mobile web mirror that of the PC. Connecting, searching and entertaining dominated mobile web usage. The mobile web is a key tool in all areas of consumers’ lives as it quickly provides immediate answers to questions, is vital to their social life and even cures boredom.

5. Mobile Ad Expectations

The highest proportion of ad recall is during the hours of 6am to 12pm – during which they are usually in connect, search, or manage modes. Despite small screen sizes, consumers desire bold, graphic rich, and targeted ads with the highest levels of ad receptivity when they are in shopping, informing or entertaining modes.

Marketing Implications


  • Be Part of the Growth. Even with the exponential growth of the mobile web, the audience and the experience is still new. Capitalize on the fact that 60% are still looking for a better mobile Internet experience and optimize PC websites to be mobile enabled to engage a growing audience.
  • Be Around Content, a Growing Daily Part of the Mobile Experience. Align your brands with content that achieves the most scale, notably content of a more professional variety like news, sports, and entertainment.
  • Use Dayparts to Optimize Metrics. Ad recall is strongest in the morning. However, in-home usage peaks during primetime, offering opportunities to integrate mobile with TV advertising.
  • Optimize Mobile Ads by Mode. Use modes to ensure that your message will be well received. For example, when shopping or navigating, interactive ad formats related to the experience might work best. Minor changes in your creative execution could have significant impact on ad performance.


Image002

Conclusion

Given that consumers describe the connection to their mobile devices in human terms – their co-pilots, marketers need to be even more vigilant in fighting and producing the right ads for the right context. Mobile advertising needs to evolve to be the most personalized, localized, and impactful given the small screen.