• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, August 11, 2011

I must be ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile marketing into the movie-going segment. If there is one segment for which much of my pre-purchase process has moved to mobile, it is for movies. I rely on several apps to scope out the local theaters, leaving it to the fastest responder to win my loyalty. But my wife and I move from a standing start of "why not a movie tonight" to consideration to purchase pretty much on our phones. It is hard to imagine a mobile marketing path more fertile for entertainment marketers than this. 

According to mobile social network MocoSpace, the Hispanic mobile segment is also scouting out the forward edge of mobilized movie marketing. In its newest research, partnering with Briabe Mobile, MocoSpace found a whopping 72% of the Hispanic members on the network say they rely on mobile phones when planning to see a movie.

Virtually every mobile metric report that accounts for ethnic breakdowns has show how both African American and Hispanic mobile user way overindex on all mobile use. This is one of the first studies I have seen that looked at the ways a single segment relies on mobile for a specific product category.  

Perhaps the most interesting part of these metrics is the irrelevance of age for the top line metrics. While the use of mobile for movie planning peaked in the 25- to 34-year-old segment for Hispanic users at 78%, it only fell to 67% for 45 and older.  This is a part of the U.S. population that is not only massively mobilized, but also very focused on entertainment. Citing Nielsen, MocoSpace and Briabe say that despite the fact that only 15% of the U.S. population is Hispanic, this segment represents 28% of frequent moviegoers. This is the target market for new movies, since they are twice as likely to see a movie on its opening weekend.

Mobile pretty much captures the interested Hispanic moviegoer right at the decision point. When planning to see a movie, 55% are using their phones within four hours of seeing the movie they choose. While 18% access mobile movie information between four to six hours before the showing, and 16% use their handsets a day before, this is clearly a mobile marketing opportunity for intercepting the user with the right message at the decision point.  

But where to intercept these eager movie-hunters? According to this survey, 65% of Hispanic users who consult their phones to make movie decisions are looking for locations and times. But 39% are using phones to look at trailers, and 35% to discover movies. Likewise, 28% are looking for movie reviews. Only 14% are looking to buy tickets. In other words, like me, this segment is relying on mobile for a good piece of the movie decision process for which we used to reference the Web.

 The trailer remains the most effective marketing piece on mobile, with 58% citing it as the most influential factor in planning to see a movie, followed by friends' comments (47%), and only then mobile ads (23%) and professional reviews (22%). Among the mobile ad types that have the greatest influence on Hispanic users, search (44%) beats banner ads (28%). The youngest mobile users in this sample, 16- to 24-year-olds, were most receptive to mobile banner ads and to apps connected to a film.  

Clearly the money that is pouring into mobile marketing from the entertainment sector is well-directed. I am guessing that the movie shopping behaviors of Hispanic users foreshadow the ways in which all mobile owners will leverage the platform in the near future. It will be interesting to see over time how the creative might change to account for the singular use cases mobile represents in this purchase process. When the mobilized moviegoer is in the final stages of deciding among films, what kind of trailer would serve the marketer best? Should the pitch be the same two hours out from a showing as it might be on the week or days before it opens?