Mobile & TV see increase in Viewership & Usage Time

US adults spend more time with mobile than print magazines and newspapers combined

Adults are still watching more and more traditional TV, whether it’s live or recorded on a DVR or DVD, according to eMarketer. The average US Adult consumer spends 4 hours and 34 minutes each day watching TV and video on a traditional television set this year, up 10 minutes from last year.

Time spent with the internet and mobile phones was also up—by 7.7% and 30%, respectively—and while adults are spending less time than last year with radio and print publications, the increases to TV and digital also mean an increase in total time spent with media, to 11 hours and 33 minutes.

Mobile’s 30% jump from 2010 helped propel it past the 1-hour mark, but also means that US adults now spend more time with their mobile phones than with print magazines and newspapers combined, at 1 hour and 5 minutes vs. just 44 minutes.

Average Time Spent per Day with Major Media by US Adults, 2011 (hrs:mins)

Note: Time spent with each medium is averaged across the whole US adult population, not just users of the respective medium. Time spent with each medium also includes all time spent with that medium, regardless of multitasking, so an hour of watching TV while simultaneously on the internet is considered an hour of each activity.

Shifts in ad spending remain behind the shifting consumption patterns of the US population. While TV is unquestionably getting its fair share of dollars, the amount of ad spending going toward digital does not yet reflect the amount of time consumers have invested in these areas of their lives. Mobile, for example, has a more than 10% share of adults’ media time each day, but less than 1% of ad dollars. While much time spent on mobile is on communication activities that marketers would be wise not to interrupt (such as phone calls), it is also an underused touchpoint.

Share of Average Time Spent per Day with Select Media by US Adults vs. US Ad Spending Share, 2011 (% of total)

On the flip side, newspapers and magazines continue to command ad dollars far ahead of their importance in consumers’ day. Part of this is due to the cost of advertising—glossy magazine ads and full-page newspaper spreads command higher rates than much digital advertising. But it also indicates that the revenue troubles for print will likely continue as advertisers follow eyeballs and continue to pull spending from these media.

Take-Away: As advertisers awaken to the surge in mobile & social usage and the imbalance in advertising spend compared to other media options, advertising dollars will follow.

December 12, 2011 in Blog   |   No Comments

Consumers to Spend $2.1 Trillion on Digital Information and Entertainment Products and Services in 2011 Worldwide

Gartner Research firm has found that consumers are on track to spend a record $2.1 trillion on digital information and entertainment products this year. That figure is expected to hit $2.8 trillion by 2015. $1.2 trillion — 62% — is spent on subscription-based communication services such as mobile, voice, and data services, broadband packages, video services, online gaming, and cable TV subscriptions.

28% of that total $2.1 trillion or $600 billion is spent on devices themselves, and 10% is spent on content such as computer software, video on-demand, and pay-per-view services. “The three key technology areas that will offer the best opportunity for vendors during the next three years are:

1) Wireless Broadband – which will enable constant connectivity;
2) Location-based services (LBS) - which will personalize and take advantage of the constant connected state; and
3) Operating systems – which are the foundation for integration applications that can bring it all together.

The total consumer spend is expected to increase to $2.8 trillion by 2015, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide consumer spending on digital information and entertainment products and services is projected to reach $2.1 trillion in 2011.

The trend among vendors to offer a diversified portfolio of products and/or services puts them in a better position to seize a larger share of the consumer wallet. Gartner defines consumer wallet spending as the money spent by consumers for digital technology devices and services that are for accessing, consuming and creating content. This wallet is divided into three basic spending types — content, devices and services.

“While a vendor can be a leader in specializing within just one segment of the consumer wallet, there are a mounting number of examples that suggest diversification may be the optimal path forward in the consumer electronics industry,” said Amanda Sabia, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Vendors that diversify their offerings across multiple consumer spending segments earn revenue across the full ecosystem and take legacy services to transform to newer products and services.”

“There are two basic strategies that vendors have used to capture consumer spending that will enable their interconnected consumer experience,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The first is to concentrate in one consumer spending segment, and the second is to diversify into other consumer spending segments.”

“The challenge to vendors choosing to be hyper-focused on one wallet spending segment is the relentless pursuit of innovation required to maintain segment sales leadership in this one specific segment,” Ms. Kitagawa said.

“Technology innovation opens windows of opportunity for vendors to consider diversification,” said Ms. Kitagawa. “However, technology innovation also opens a window for change among consumers to switch vendors in the pursuit of cost savings or lifestyle-changing technology.”

“The three key technology areas that will offer the best opportunity for vendors during the next three years are: wireless broadband, which will enable constant connectivity; location-based services (LBS), which will personalize and take advantage of the constant connected state; and operating systems, which are the foundation for integration applications that can bring it all together.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Market Trends: Diversification Trends Capture More of Consumer Technology Spending.” The report presents what products and services make up the consumer wallet, and a high-level analysis of the varying strategies to capture that spending within and among the various segments.

June 28, 2011 in Blog   |   No Comments

Over 90% of Americans want or already own a Tablet. How about you?

According to a new reports conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Samsung, 90% of U.S. consumers either already own a tablet or would consider purchasing one.

THE FINDINGS
Out of 1,000 people surveyed:
76% use the devices to read books or news or books
64% watch TV shows and/or movies
61% listen to music
56% update their social network profiles

Additionally, it is worth noting that 53% said they would rather play games on a tablet than a PC or dedicated game console and 41% shared they were interested in video chat.

The national survey, commissioned by Samsung Mobile, was conducted by Kelton Research and included 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older. Samsung had the survey conducted as part of an upcoming launch for their Galaxy Tab 10.1 device powered by Google’s Android 3.1 Honeycomb OS.

THE iCLOUD
Just this week, Steve Jobs also introduced the world to the new iOS5 which promises greater notifications, messaging options and hooks into their new iCloud service. Apple will launch the new iOS in the coming months across all their latest devices including iPad, iPod and iPhone.

According to John Gruber, a veteran Apple Commentator, the new “iCloud will shape the next 10 years the way the iTunes-on-your-Mac/PC digital hub shaped the last 10,” he wrote. “This is a fundamentally different vision for the coming decade than Google’s. In both cases, your data is in the cloud, and you can access it from anywhere with a network connection. But Google’s vision is about software you run in a web browser. Apple’s is about native apps you run on devices. Apple is as committed to native apps – on the desktop, tablet, and handheld – as it has ever been.”

It will be interesting to see how Google responds with future versions of Android or if it will leave it up to developers to share their open-source direction for their platform.

Bottom Line: Apple continues to dominate the Tablet space making it even easier for these users to be connected to the other facets of their life (and Apple devices). The average American wants a tablet and the ease of access it provides to information and content. Brands need to be mindful of these trends and be sure to include them in their marketing mix and mobile strategy.

June 8, 2011 in Blog   |   No Comments

Mobile Video Usage Continues Climbing

It’s not a mystery, but it is still of interest to those of us who watch trends: Mobile users steadily continue to discovery mobile video on their cell phones.

A recent study by Nielsen shows that the number of mobile video users continued to grow along with their time spent watching video. However, the population remains small – for now.

PEOPLE WATCHING MOBILE VIDEO
According to Nielsen, during the 2nd Quarter, 22 million people watched mobile video on their mobile devices – a 43% increase. That represents about 10% of all mobile phone users, which stands at 229.4 million during the 2nd Quarter of this year — a number that has climbed 4% over a year ago.

MONTHLY TIME SPENT WATCHING MOBILE VIDEO
The time spent among mobile subscribers watching video over each month was 3:37 minutes (three hours thirty-seven minutes) – a gain of 11.3% over the previous year. That is 22 more minutes in the second quarter 2010 versus the second quarter 2009.

BIGGEST USERS OF MOBILE VIDEO
The largest group of mobile subscribers were teens 13-17, racking up 7:13 minutes (seven hours and 13 minutes) a month of video; 18-24 users were next, with 4:20; followed by 25-34 users with 3:37; 35-49 users at 2:53; adults 50-64 at 2:10; those 65 and older, 1:48; and persons 13 years and older (the entire mobile population) at 3:37.

Looking at overall share among each group, 25-54 users comprised 30% of all video usage; 35-49 was next, at 25%; then 13-17 users, 18%; 18-24 users, 15%; 50- to-64-year-olds, 11%; and 65-plus, 2%.

Overall, men use mobile video more than women — 55% to 45%. However, that too is shifting to 50/50 as does most technology patterns as they become widely adopted.

BOTTOM LINE:

As more smart phones hit the market such as iPhones, Androids and Win7 devices, so will the adoption of mobile video. Intermediary devices and tablets will also fuel “mobile” video usage as a higher percent of computer viewing moves from the desktop and laptop into consumers hands.

Read More: State of the Media Report (click here)

December 9, 2010 in Blog   |   No Comments

Mobile social networking Exploding according to Forrester

Everyday, the number of people accessing social network from their cell phone grows as people find it more convenient to stay connected to their friends and acquaintances while on the go. Forrester Research reports this in a new report called “Why Mobile Could Reinvent Social Computing.”

Forrester claims that the number of people regularly accessing social networks on their mobile phones has doubled in the past six months. The percentage of mobile subscribers in the US accessing social networks from their mobile phones at least once a month has jumped from 5 percent in early 2009 to 10 percent last quarter.

“If mobile experiences are convenient, consumers will use them.” said Julie Ask, San Francisco-based vice president/principal analyst at Forrester Research. “In mobile, convenient mobile experiences will have context, that is, leverage location or past usage, be simple and be such that consumers value immediacy of the information or service,” she said.

The Forrester report argues that mobile phones hold the key to unlocking the full potential of social technologies, because the digital social experience is fragmented. People have separate identities in each social network they visit.
Facebook nets 1M mobile app downloads weekly over

However, in the future, universal social IDs will enable a portable identity that will empower consumers. And that is when the mobile phone will become the hub of social computing activities—the glue that holds the social graph together.

The always-on handset connected to the mobile Web is what frees social from the chains of the PC and thrusts it into the real world, according to Forrester.

The ubiquitous experience that mobile creates when it links together online and offline communication and touchpoints will further be realized by consumers when they are able to have a seamless, easy and convenient experience.

A methodology at QWASI used to evaluate customer connections and communication touchpoints is called Synchrosy. This approach allows QWASI to evaluate the customer experience in light of existing forms of communication and reveals new methods to connecting customers to communications and community. Contact QWASI today to learn more about Synchrosy when creating your Mobile Strategy.

October 21, 2009 in Blog   |   No Comments