Limbo and Gfk Technology released their latest joint
Mobile Advertising Report (MAR). The third quarter report reveals that
mobile advertising awareness grew 33 percent in nine months against a
backdrop of six percent growth in cell phone usage. This suggests an
increased allocation of advertising dollars to mobile formats through
the first nine months of the year.
"In
economic slowdowns, advertisers typically divert budgets from branding
media to direct marketing channels and it appears that mobile media is
benefiting from this in 2008," says Limbo CEO Jonathon Linner. "Mobile
offers advertisers a way to reach their core audience in an interactive
and cost-effective medium. We anticipate these numbers will continue to
grow as more and more advertisers experience firsthand the benefits of
mobile advertising."
Nearly
four out of ten Americans with a cell phone (104 million) recall seeing
advertising on the device between July and September 2008. This is the
first time the number of Americans aware of mobile advertising has
exceeded 100 million in a 3-month period. The most commonly viewed ads
were in text messages - 60 million consumers recalled seeing text message-based ads -
an increase of 42 percent in nine months. Mobile Web advertising also
grew strongly, but with 31 million people recalling this format, it has
about half the reach of text messaging ads.
The profile of people recalling mobile advertising offers few surprises:
- 57 percent male, 43 percent female
- 52 percent are between 35-64 years of age, 28 percent are aged 50 and above and just 43 percent are under 34
- Their ethnic profile is also similar to the US population - 68 percent Caucasian, 20 percent African American and 12 percent Hispanic
“The US is the world’s
dominant advertising market but has traditionally been behind Asian and
European markets in terms of consumer use of mobile devices. The latest
Mobile Advertising Report shows that US consumers are accelerating
their use of the mobile device and advertisers are hot on their tails,
using the new medium to reach consumers in pioneering ways,” says Colin Strong, head of Mobile Communications Research at GfK Technology.
About the Mobile Advertising Report
The
Limbo-GfK Technology Mobile Advertising Report is a tool used to help
marketers and their agencies understand the fast-changing mobile
advertising medium. The report is produced quarterly and is distributed
free to marketers. The Q3 2008 report is based on a survey of 1,000
representative American adults and 1,000 UK adults interviewed by
telephone.
To receive a copy of the full report, as well as future editions, send your request to mar@limbo.com.