Twenty-three percent (58 million) of all U.S. mobile subscribers say
they have been exposed to advertising on their phones in the past 30
days, according to a new report out today from The Nielsen Company.
Half (51% or 28 million) of all data users who recall seeing mobile
advertising in the previous 30 days say they responded to a mobile ad
in some way.
The findings come from the bi-annual Mobile Advertising Report from
Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, and are based on a
survey of more than 22,000 active mobile data users who used at least
one non-voice mobile service in the fourth quarter. In the report,
Nielsen examines consumer recall, responses and attitudes toward banner
ads on mobile web pages, SMS text-message advertising, sponsored
applications, video advertising and other types of advertising that
reach consumers while using data applications on their mobile phones.
The study further reveals that:
- The number of data users who recalled seeing mobile advertising between
the second and fourth quarters of 2007 increased 38% (from 42 to 58
million subscribers) - Teen data users (ages 13-17) were the most likely age segment to recall
seeing mobile advertising (46% recalled seeing some type of mobile
advertisement, compared to 29% of all data users) - Asian-Americans and African-Americans are more likely to recall mobile
advertising (42% and 40%, respectively) than all data users - 26% of those who saw an ad responded at least once by sending an SMS
text-message, the most popular ad response. 9% say they have used
click-to-call to respond to a mobile ad, where users follow a link on
their phone to call a specific number - 32% of data users said they are open to mobile advertising if it lowers
their overall bill - 13% (18% of males) said they are open to mobile advertising if it
improves the media and content currently available - 14% said they are already open to mobile advertising so long as it is
relevant to their interests - 23% expect to see more mobile advertising in the future (up from just
15% in Q1 2007)
While media companies and marketers explore the unique ways they can
interact with consumers over the highly personal mobile platform,
supporting mobile media content through advertising revenues,
advertising researchers must examine the ways in which audiences are
and are not willing to engage with mobile advertising.
“Increasing levels of consumer recall, interaction and receptivity
to mobile advertising reinforce the validity of the mobile marketing
medium,” said Jeff Herrmann, VP of Mobile Media at Nielsen Mobile.
“Nielsen’s Mobile Advertising Report helps marketers and media
companies better understand consumer interaction and the available
response mechanisms to drive conversion.”
Nielsen’s report provides specific insights on consumer perception
of mobile advertising. While just 10% of data users said they think
advertising on their mobile devices is acceptable, an increasing number
of mobile users appear to understand the value proposition of
ad-supported mobile content.
“We see an increasing trend of consumers willing to trade off and
receive advertising to gain more — and better — mobile content,” said
Herrmann. “Successful mobile marketers will meet the challenge offered
by consumers by engaging with them in a way that adds value to the
mobile user content experience.”
Nielsen’s Mobile Advertising Report is available from Nielsen today
and is the first in a series of services from Nielsen Mobile to help
marketers effectively leverage mobile advertising capabilities and
closely track the return on their mobile investment.
About Nielsen Mobile
Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, is the world’s
largest provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and
mobile media markets. After completing its acquisition of Telephia,
Inc. in August 2007, The Nielsen Company launched Nielsen Mobile to
integrate Telephia’s telecom expertise with Nielsen’s global media and
marketing research capabilities. For more information, please visit http://www.nielsenmobile.com/.