Room For Growth In Mobile Advertising
According to a new survey from Ingenio, more than four out of five US adults surveyed (85%) currently own a mobile phone compared to only about seven in ten (71%) who have a landline or home phone. Of the overwhelming majority of US consumers that own a mobile phone, the study finds that only a minority of mobile phone owners (30%) can recall seeing or hearing an advertisement on their mobile phone in the past year.
Marc Barach, chief marketing officer, Ingenio, said: “Mobile advertising is one of the most intriguing business opportunities today. Advertising on the internet, especially pay-per-click ads served up with search results, grew to a multibillion dollar industry within a few short years. Though the mobile environment is clearly different from the PC, it presents a similar opportunity for new ad models provided that they are adapted to the specific needs of mobile users.”
The survey was conducted online among 4,123 adults 18 and over in the United States. The research was commissioned by Ingenio to gather a better understanding of peoples’ attitudes towards, and usage of, their mobile phones.
Nearly two-thirds of mobile phone owners (63%) agreed that their phone is very personal to them, and they also expressed preferences regarding the kind of mobile ads they found acceptable.
Survey results show that the most favourable response was to sponsored text links that appear as a result of internet searches (26%), confirming the value of returning ads relevant to the consumer’s search query.
This was closely followed by audio ads that play instead of ringing when waiting for someone to answer a call (21%), or a text message from a company (20%) as the type of mobile ads rated at least somewhat acceptable by at least one in five mobile phone owners.
When asked about their current and anticipated cell phone use, about half of mobile phone owners (49%) indicated that they are already using their phones for more than just calls, including sending and receiving text messages (36%), and taking, sending and receiving photos (24%).
The survey also found that younger adults are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to own a mobile phone than a landline: among adults ages 18-34, 89% own a cell phone or smart phone, but only 57% have a landline.
The survey also found that over the next three years, more than half of mobile phone owners (57%) anticipate using their phones for more than just making and receiving phone calls with younger mobile phone owners more likely than their older counterparts (75% of those ages 18-34 versus 33% of those ages 55 and up).
A recent report from Strategy Analytics said that advertisers will spend $1.4 billion worldwide on mobile media this year, rising to $14.4 billion by 2011 (see Mobile Media Adspend To Increase).
Meanwhile, a recent survey from Q Research found that only 32% of the British 11-20 year olds surveyed would be happy to receive advertising messages to their mobile phones (see Some British Teens Happy To Receive Mobile Ads).