Smartphone Content Buyers Are More Receptive to Mobile Ads
A new report from the Online Publishers Association (OPA), conducted in partnership with Frank N. Magid Associates Inc., dives deep into profiling smartphone users in the U.S. Among the findings in the report is that 57 percent of the U.S. Internet population is expected to own smartphones by 2013.
According to the report, “A Portrait of Today’s Smartphone User,” 31 percent of the U.S. Internet population owned smartphones in 2011. This figure increased to 44 percent in 2012, equivalent to 107.0 million smartphone owners. By 2013, this figure is expected to increase even more to 57 percent of the U.S. Internet population, or 142.3 million users.
The report found that 49 percent of smartphone users are male, down from 52 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, 51 percent are female, up from 48 percent in 2011. The smartphone user base in the U.S. is also getting older, as the population of smartphone users ages 35-64 rose 5 percent year-over-year, while the population smartphone users ages 8-24 declined 5 percent.
Android phones make up 46 percent of the market in 2012, up from 38 percent in 2011. iPhone follows with 35 percent, up from 26 percent last year. BlackBerry (16 percent) Windows Mobile Phone (7 percent), Nokia smartphone (2 percent) and Palm phone (1 percent) are among the other smartphone operating systems left with the scraps of the market.
One section of the report details mediums that respondents “cannot live without.” PC/laptop is the most crucial medium with a 67 percent response, followed by television with 62 percent, mobile phone with 56 percent (33 percent for smartphones, 23 percent for feature phones), radio with 32 percent and cellphone with 29 percent. Tablets have a 13 percent response.
Accessing content/information is the most popular regular (weekly) smartphone activity (besides phone calls) with a 93 percent response, unchanged from the 93 percent response observed in 2011. Accessing the Internet was second with a 59 percent response, down from 67 percent last year. Checking email (58 percent), listening to music (46 percent) and using a social network (48 percent) were also popular responses. Strangely enough, all activities except for accessing content/information have responses in 2012 that are lower than they were in 2011.
Though the percentages have declined, the overall markets for each activity have grown, thanks to increasing smartphone penetration.
OPA also found that 57 percent of respondents’ time is spent accessing content via the mobile Web, while the remaining 43 percent is spent accessing content via apps. This split varies when looking at specific categories.
Ninety-six percent of smartphone content consumers have downloaded apps in the last 12 months, with the average number of apps downloaded at 36.
The report also looked at the type of content being purchased via apps and the mobile Web. Video led the way with a 22 percent response, followed by entertainment with 21 percent, books with 21 percent, movies with 21 percent, weather with 19 percent and TV shows with 18 percent.
Not surprisingly, smartphone content buyers are more likely to have a favorable opinion of smartphone ads. While 38 percent of smartphone content buyers think smartphone ads are the same as Internet ads, just 28 percent of all smartphone owners think the same. More smartphone content buyers think smartphone ads are hard to ignore, eye-catching, relevant, unique and interesting, and motivating to research and purchase products than the average smartphone owner.
OPA highlights the finding that 79 percent of content buyers are likely to take an action after seeing a smartphone ad, more than twice the 39 percent of total smartphone owners saying the same.
Meanwhile, iPhone owners have more positive perspectives of smartphone advertising than Android owners and the overall average smartphone owner. iPhone owners are also more likely to take actions after seeing smartphone ads than other smartphone owners.
YouTube recently introduced skippable ads to its mobile apps, almost two years after those ads found their way to the traditional YouTube website.
Source:
http://www.wired.com/business/2012/08/youtube-gets-mobile-religion/
