WWW.MEDIAPOST.COM
App Ads Precipitate Sales
by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 8:15 AM
A recent study from mobile audience media company JiWire revealed that, of the roughly 1,000 smartphone users surveyed, 52% claim they have acted on an advertisement in an app and 18% have made a
purchase directly from an ad in an app in the last month. Their new report "examines device use, consumer adoption of Wi-Fi and consumer preferences for mobile content and advertising
delivery." 55% of the on-the-go audience owns an app-enabled smartphone or mobile device. The top devices (and % ownership) are:
- iPhone 36%
- BlackBerry
27
- iPod Touch 17
- Android 7
- Windows Mobile 5
- Palm 2
Respondents say that advertisements on mobile devices are both welcome and
effective, with 53% saying they were willing to share their location to receive more relevant advertising, and 76% said they would prefer to download a free, advertising-supported app instead of
paying an upfront fee for the same app. David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire, says "People have a completely different perception of mobile content and advertising
when they're on-the-go... half of the on-the-go mobile audience say they are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their current location... "
Likelihood of Ad Engagement Relevant to Current Location (% of Respondents)
Likelihood% of Respondents
More likely 38% Makes no difference 46% Less likely 16%
Source: JiWire Mobile Audience Insights Report, Q1 2010 The report also found that more than
40% of those surveyed spend more than one hour per day using apps, the most popular of which is Facebook, and have an average of 22 apps on their devices. Over 50% of this audience has
engaged with advertisements on an app in the previous 30 days:
- 35% clicked on ad
- 27% visited advertiser's web site
- 18% made a
purchase
The top 12 mobile applications are: 1. Facebook 2. Google 3. The Weather
Channel 4. Pandora 5. Twitter 6. ESPN 7. Yahoo! 8. CNN
9. New York Times 10. Skype 11. Flight Tracker 12. Yelp
On-The-Go Mobile Audience Top Mobile Application Categories (Q1 2010, % of Users)
Application
Category% Using Social networking 63% Weather 60 News &
reference 60 Travel 45
Music & entertainment 36 Games 36 Utilities & productivity 31
Sport 30 Business & finance 29
Lifestyle 20
Source: JiWire Mobile
Audience Insights Report, Q1 2010 An interesting take-away from the report is the finding that the iPad has had a non-trivial effect on WiFi usage,
indicating that people really do want to access content on-the-go but might not want to do so with a phone or a laptop. Key data collected by JiWire from the study:
- 40% spend over one hour daily using apps and have an average of 22 apps on their mobile device.
- 76% prefer free apps that have advertising over paying a fee for the same
apps.
- 84% would be just as likely or more likely to engage with an ad relevant to their current location.
- 53% are willing to share their current location to receive more relevant
advertising.
- 52% acted on an advertisement in an app and 18% made a purchase from an ad in an app in the last 30 days.
To
access the full report, please visit JiWire here, or to review more of the
report
summary, please visit here.