US users of Apple’s iPhone are 23% more aware of mobile ads than non-iPhone users and 66% more likely to respond to them, according to findings from the Q4 2008 Mobile Advertising Report, based on a survey by Limbo and GfK Technology.
The quarterly research also finds that US iPhone users are more than twice as likely as non users to browse the mobile web, and more than three times as likely to use a location-based service (LBS).
With more than 80% of iPhone users taking advantage of non-voice mobile data services (vs just more than 60% of non-iPhone users), Limbo and GfK say the findings suggest that advertisers can reach iPhone users with mobile campaigns more easily than with other platforms.
Jonathon Linner, Limbo CEO, said: “We found that the iPhone users are not only more accessible, but are also more aware of all mobile ads including those outside of the typical SMS and mobile Web formats.
“In addition, this report shows that other mobile ad formats, including location-based services, are growing and gaining traction, with iPhone users serving as the early adopters.”
One in ten mobile phone users in the US used a location-based service such as a map, friend or restaurant finder in Q4. The 25 – 34 age group has the highest levels of interest in this type of offering, with 22% penetration. In contrast, iPhone users are four times as likely to recall LBS ads as non-iPhone users, the study found.
Moreover, while 33% of mobile consumers recall seeing mobile advertisements in Q4, 41% of iPhone users recall seeing mobile ads. The vast majority of these ads were seen in SMS text messages, twice as much as mobile Web ads, which are the second most common mobile ad viewed.
A report from In-Stat published last month revealed that mobile users are sending more than two trillion SMS messages per day globally as of the end of 2008 (see Text messaging remains most profitable mobile data service).
Informa Telecoms & Media, meanwhile, predicts that annual revenues from the global mobile market will top $1.03 trillion by 2013, when the number of subscriptions worldwide will have risen to more than 5.3 billion (see Global mobile revenues to top $1 trillion by 2013).
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