Mobile Recall: Targeting Smartphone Users Part 2
This article is Part 2 of an article posted on the SJG blog on 5/1/12. Mobile Recall: Targeting Smartphone Users.
In this corner, standing at 32 gigabytes, dressed in green, we have the Android.
And in this corner, weighing in at 140 grams, with 64 gigabytes, he’s already gotten a bite taken out of him, we have the Apple.
The constant battle between Apple users and Android users has more at stake than the simple keeping up with the Jones’ style bragging rights; they are also fighting to be the biggest market share.
Recently, we posted a blog about digital media ad recall. As promised, we distributed an interoffice questionnaire to see what demographics have the highest advertisement recall, what devices they are using, and what types of digital advertisements people are remembering.
The Results
Apple is winning the consumer battle. iPhone users are consumers that advertisers want to target. Compared to Android and Blackberry users, Apple users have the highest digital advertisement recall—they also dominate the population. Half of those surveyed use an iPhone, 40% use Androids and 10% use Blackberrys. Therefore, not only do iPhone users have the highest ad recall, iPhones are the most used smartphones.
Remember back when iPhones were simply iPods? Playing music (and perhaps some games) were the original functions. Even with all the added features (apps, email and phone capabilities), people still utilize their iPhones and smartphones for music and games. According to the survey results, 75% of those who listened to music apps on their mobile could recall advertisements, and 63% could recall advertisements on their gaming apps. Moving from the general population into the bilingual acculturated Hispanic population, recall increases. Eighty percent of Hispanics surveyed said they recalled advertisements on their music and game applications.
With applications, the question, “to pay or download the ‘lite’ version,” always arises. The proverb, “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free” fits the mobile app predicament. All but one surveyed stated they prefer free/“lite” apps as opposed to purchasing an app: an important trend. People are on their phones multiple times a day, everyday. Therefore, each time they open one of their free/“lite” apps, they are introducing themselves to advertisements.
“The results of this internal survey suggest that distracting consumers during engaging activities will increase ad recall, especially with the multicultural market,” said George L. San Jose, President and Chief Operating Officer of The San Jose Group.
What does this mean for Advertisers?
People are distracted from traditional ads. While people used to take notice to the world around them, today they seem concerned with looking at one thing: their cell phone screen. Marketers must follow the consumer from the physical world into the digital one. Advertising on mobile apps has a high success rate (especially on music and game apps). When aiming for the Hispanic market, entertainment apps are the place to go.
Currently, Apple users are the top smartphone users and correspondingly have the most recall, but they are still “duking it out” with Android. Stay tuned for a future blog on the Apple/Android debate.
