When it comes to using mobile phones as the primary means of Web access, emerging countries like India or China might come to mind. But nearly a third (31%) of adult U.S. mobile Web users say they now go online mostly through their cell phones, according to the latest study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. That works out to 17% of all American adults who own a mobile handset. Those proportions are slightly above the corresponding figures last year of 27% and 13%, respectively, but the percentage increases are within the margin of error. Overall, more than half (55%) of mobile owners go online through their phones, up from 47% last year. Leading the mobile-only Web trend are young people and minorities. Nearly half of all 18- to-29-year-olds (45%) who access the Internet on phones do most of their online browsing on their mobile device. Half (51%) of African-Americans and 42% of Hispanics in the same category also mostly go online through their phones. By contrast, only 24% of white mobile Web users turn mainly to their devices for Web access. Less affluent (income of under $50,000 annually) and less well-educated people were also more likely to rely mostly on their phones for Web browsing than those with higher incomes and college or higher levels of education. Why are some people mostly using their phones to go online? The majority (64%) of “cell-mostly” users cited convenience and the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones as the main reason. They also said mobile devices better fit their online habits (18%), and 10% pointed to a lack of other options for going online. Looking at the broader population, Pew found 88% have a mobile device, and almost half (49%) use their devices to access the Web or use email. Three-quarters of mobile Web users (74%) go online on their phones at least once a day, or 41% of all cell owners. The report highlighted that mobile Web browsing and email use has risen steadily in recent years, to 55% of mobile owners as of April 2012, from 31% three years ago. The Pew figures roughly correspond with the latest data from comScore showing that 49% of mobile subscribers (13 and over) used a browser in April. The Pew findings were based on telephone (and cell phone) interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from March 15 to April 3, 2012 among a sample of 2,254 adults 18 and over.
Connecting the Internet with television viewing through mobile devices, the discovery media company Shazam will provide NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, with a social TV experience during the 2012 London Olympics. On NBCUniversal properties -- NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, Bravo and CNBC -- U.S. viewers can use the Shazam app on their mobile device to view polls and share on Twitter and Facebook, unlock unique content about athletes, and gain up-to-the-minute information on results and medal counts. Millions are expected to watch coverage this summer. The deal comes at a time when broadcasters and social media are more comfortable collaborating. In the United States, 88% of tablet owners and 86% of smartphone owners use their device while watching TV in a 30-day period, according to Nielsen. Shazam's goal to expand 30- and 60-second spots into a three-minute video or experience on Twitter and Facebook will likely tie brand sponsorships into the agreement. It's not clear whether the network will use the partnership to run 15-second tune-in spots. It is clear, however, that viewers can tap the Shazam app in front of the TV and in two seconds be transported to another experience across the Internet. "We see the strategy as taking a 30-second TV spot and turning it into three minutes or more of engagement on the Web," said Evan Krauss, EVP of advertising at Shazam. Nabisco launched a social media campaign on TV for Wheat Thins late last week using Shazam to spread the word on Twitter and Facebook. Through Shazam's technology, the audio in the television ad identifies the sound and links to a pre-written Twitter post. Those who tweet the post get a free sample of the product. Krauss said between 60% and 90% of consumers who initially engage with a Shazam ad take further action, such as tweeting a post or watching a video. Many consumers come back to the platform to explore the brand's advertisement up to three days later. Consumer packaged-goods companies tend to do well with coupons. Movie studios do well with trailers, times and ticket purchases. The "Men In Black 3" TV trailer built on Fandango gave consumers movie times in relation to their location, and allowed them to purchase the tickets. More than 80% of the time, consumers will spend more time with the trailer on the second screen. Backend analytics give advertisers aggregate numbers of people who "Touch to Shazam" on a smartphone or iPad. Advertisers also have access to reports that monitor each second. Krauss said "overlaying these numbers on top of TV schedules gives brands insight into markets, programs and commercial pods that drive engagement in spots."
The rapid adoption of second digital video screens continues apace.In just the last 12 months, Nielsen says smartphone penetration has risen 34%, with tablets increasing 400%, and Internet-connected TV 25% higher. Gaming console growth has climbed 1% in the last 12 months.Steve Hasker, president of global media products and advertiser solutions for Nielsen, released the data at its Nielsen Consumer 360 event.All this means big hurdles, but also opportunities. Nielsen's Cross-Platform Ratings are intent on measuring second-screen viewing. Hasker says the company's next move is to double its panel size to 20,000.On a panel at the event, Peter Seymour, executive vice president of strategy and research, Disney Media Networks, said Disney just follows the consumer. “There are situational and age differences," he says, according to NielsenWire. "If kids are watching video in the back of the car, we empower them with mobile video.”John Spadaro, senior vice president and managing director research of Zenith Media, said: “It’s really not a question of how to use a specific channel. You simply cannot succeed in a single-channel environment.”Clint McClain, senior director of marketing of Walmart, added: “I’m looking for an innovation that we can build together for the consumer. I’m willing to roll the dice -- just tell me that the customers are going to be more engaged.”Brad Smallwood, head of measurement and insights for Facebook, said: “We recognize that the future for us is very much about people developing off of our platform. Collaborations with Zynga, social TV … that’s where we see a lot of our growth happening.”
Travora Media, which operates a vertical network of more than 300 travel lifestyle sites, is extending it business model beyond the desktop with the launch of a new mobile-focused ad network. Dubbed Mango (Mobile Ad Network on-the-GO), the network will offer inventory of over 350 million monthly page views across mobile Web sites and apps of its online properties. That includes content from travel publishers such as Flight View, My Weather, Guide Pal, Trazzler, Let’s Go, and Matador Network. Travora will offer advertisers standard mobile display placements, as well as higher-level ad and marketing options including location-based targeting, geo-fencing and augmented reality executions. Given the natural link between mobile technology and travel, Alec Tallman, VP, integrated marketing at Travora, said setting up a mobile network was a logic step for the company. “There’s a frenzy of activity that happens right around a couple of key points in a travel lifecycle -- booking, pre-trip, and all the activity that switches to a mobile device while people are in-trip,” Tallman said. Based on the limited mobile advertising Travora has run so far, he said the company is seeing higher engagement levels with mobile ads than those on the desktop. Vacation rental service HomeAway and Cathay Pacific Airways are among the travel marketers already running campaigns on the mobile side. Travora is selling mobile advertising on a CPM basis, but Tallman declined to provide rates. The company’s existing ad sales staff will take on selling mobile along with the network’s desktop inventory. It has also brought on mobile ad expertise via employees coming from some of the publishers in its network. Travora’s online network, which reaches 26 million monthly visitors, includes both owned-and-operated properties like the NileGuide, 10Best, and Localyte, as well as independent sites and apps. In terms of its mobile growth, the company says it has a goal of reaching 1 billion monthly page views.
Mobile Posse, which serves ads on the idle screens of cell phones, has raised $5 million in third-round venture funding led by Harbert Venture Partners and including Softbank Capital, Court Square Ventures, and Columbia Capital. That brings its total raised to date to $23.5 million. The company plans to use the new funding to add carrier partners internationally, build out its U.S.-based business and expand its sales operation. Mobile Posse has forged partnerships with seven domestic wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Alltel Wireless and MetroPCS to deliver content and targeting advertising to subscribers on an opt-in basis. Mobile consumers who opt in to use the Mobile Posse-powered "Daily Scoop" app on Verizon, for example, get information like weather and sports scores, along with local offers from retailers, restaurants and others and delivered periodically throughout the day to cell users’ home screens. Other carriers like MetroPCS and Cricket Communications offer similar white-labeled services from Mobile Posse. Marketers that have run mobile campaigns through the company’s platform include 7-Eleven, Allstate, ESPN, Ford and Wal-Mart. Over the last two and half years, Mobile Posse CEO Jon Jackson said the audience reached by its ad service has grown from 1 million to 15 million opt-in subscribers. But with a total of some 200 million mobile subscribers among the carriers it has distribution agreements with, Jackson said there is room for growth. Benefiting the company’s growth in the U.S. has been the proliferation of smartphones. “With those higher-end phones, you’re really able to tune the message and the response to what the advertiser is looking to drive,’ said Jackson. In that vein, he noted Mobile Posse’s ad offering typically delivers click-through rates of 8% to 10%, far higher than standard banners in mobile or the desktop The spread of Android phones in particular has been a plus for Mobile Posse, with a more than a third of its 15 million users owning phones that run the Google smartphone platform. Because Mobile Posse’s software isn’t pre-loaded onto iPhones, getting onto the Apple handsets has been a tougher challenge. The company is also looking to grow beyond the domestic market by striking similar distribution arrangements with carriers overseas.
Although competition for the iPhone has reduced churn for Sprint and Verizon, AT&T’s status as the first carrier to have the game-changing device continues to pay dividends in neutral territory, online and when it comes to getting new customers. According to a report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), new iPhone sales for use on AT&T’s network led in non-carrier-owned channels such as the Apple Store, Best Buy and warehouse and other mass merchants. According to the report, AT&T accounted for 62% of iPhone sales at those outlets, while Verizon accounted for 26% and Sprint accounted for 12%. (In individual sales channels, Sprint lagged behind Verizon and AT&T at Apple Stores, while Verizon was slightly behind Sprint and AT&T at Best Buy.) Sprint also lags when it comes to selling phones through retail channels. According to the data, both AT&T and Verzion each sold about a quarter of their iPhones through the online channel, while Sprint only sold 13% of its iPhones online. Although adding the iPhone has benefited both Sprint and Verizon with being able to reduce customer churn, AT&T is getting more of the customers coming from T-Mobile and other carriers than Sprint or Verizon, according to CIRP. “Even at the multi-carrier stores, most customers don’t switch carriers very much,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and co-founder, in a statement. “As the new iPhone carriers, Sprint and Verizon have fewer upgrade customers coming in than AT&T. Still, they get their fair share of customers coming from T-Mobile and the pre-pay providers.”
The quest for value via mobile check-in continues -- and to some extent, it's a land of extremes. At one extreme are those who view checking in to locations as totally pointless. At the other end are those who will check in everywhere they go. For example, Ryan and Chris -- two friends I know in their early 20s and both recent MBA grads -- compete with each other for points on Foursquare. At times the competition to "out check-in" each other gets the better of them. "Sometimes I check in even when I don’t want anyone to know where I am," says Chris. "I want the points." With Foursquare, when a person checks in more than others at a location, the person is bestowed the title of mayor of that location. "For the first time, I was the mayor of my gym but then I went away for a few days and found I was now four days away from being mayor," says Ryan, who feels compelled to regain the title. The two friends even have guilt-ridden check-ins, all in search of points. "I check in all the time at the bagel shop and fear my friends think I’m eating bagels all the time -- but I’m actually having fruit smoothies," says Chris. "But I want the points." Another driver of checking in is so friends can see where their friends are, a value in addition to the points. "You don’t have to notify a whole bunch of people when you’re going somewhere," says Ryan. Over the last couple of years, various check-in experiments have occurred -- and more are certain to come. One of these was initiated over the weekend by Facebook, which may have gotten a little ahead of itself. Facebook launched Find Friends Nearby, a location-based feature to identify people in their vicinity who were using Facebook, but were not necessarily friends (as in Facebook Friends). "That sounds creepy," said one 20-year-old. We tested the service over the weekend on a pair of iPhones. Whether creepy or not, the feature did not seem all that functional. Both phones in a given area had to have a certain page on the Facebook app open before the individuals could "see" each other. And the value was somewhat questionable, as unknown people could show up on your phone, and vice versa. By Monday, the service was shut down. Whether because it was considered a version of "stalking" or simply too clunky to use, the feature has vanished for now. But at least the mobile marketplace is witnessing experiments -- some of which will work and others not. For example, in its early interactions of experimenting with check-ins, Starbucks offered a deal through Foursquare. For Starbucks mayors, the chain offered a discount on a Frappuccino drink. The obvious problem was that if the mayor -- arguably one of a Starbucks store's most loyal customers -- did not like or drink Frappuccinos, the offers were of little value. However, after that experiment Starbucks moved to accepting payments by scanning mobile phone codes in the Starbucks app. The quick mobile checkout with automatic account reconciliation added value to the Starbucks experience. Another interesting approach came from American Express. As we were waiting in line to pay at a local restaurant recently, I checked in via Foursquare. Through a deal with American Express, there are offers based on certain check-in locations. By checking in on Foursquare and paying with American Express, a $10 credit was sent directly back to my Amex account. Now that is value. Very smartly, Amex bypassed the local establishment personnel training issue, since the cashier said she had never heard of Foursquare. It was value created directly between Amex and its customer, where the customer was using the Amex card. And that is exactly the point of check-in -- there must be value provided. While there will be those who will never check in because they see the process as worthless, there are others who will always check in. So between the two extremes -- of those who will not check in no matter what and those who will always check in no matter what -- lies the opportunity.