Why SmartPhone Integrations are Included in TLP TransMedia Strategies – 2011

May 5, 2011 Report:  The worldwide smartphone market grew 80% in the first quarter compared to a year ago as manufacturers rolled out much-anticipated new devices and prices on older models dropped, according to new data from technology research firm IDC. The number of smartphones shipped in the quarter nearly doubled to 99.6 million units from 55.4 million a year ago.

2011 Recent Study:  Greg Sterling, principal of Internet and mobile research firm Sterling Market Intelligence, says mobile cameras will likely overtake consumer-level standalone digital cameras, in terms of technological capability, within three years. Sterling also added that 50 percent of cell-phone users in the United States will likely have smartphones by 2012.  71% of smartphone users search because of an ad they’ve seen either online or offline; 82% of smartphone users notice mobile ads, 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase as a result of using their smartphones to help with shopping, and 88% of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day.  

The findings of this recent 2011 study have strong implications for businesses and mobile advertisers.  TLP integrates SmartPhone interactivity access and entry points into TransMedia Strategies because consumers regularly use their phones to find and act on information.  Incorporating location based products and services are recommended because it makes it easy for mobile customers to reach Brands.   A recent finding is local information seeking is common among smartphone users.  Developing a comprehensive cross-channel strategy makes great sense because mobile shoppers use their phones in-store, online and via mobile website and apps to research and make purchase decisions.  Finally, TLP recommends implementing a TransMedia strategy with brand integrated mobile advertising that takes advantage of the knowledge that people are using their smartphones while consuming other media and are influenced by it.

General Smartphone Usage: Smartphones have become an integral part of users’ daily lives. Consumers use smartphones as an extension of their desktop computers and use it as they multi-task and consume other media.  Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker helped stoke the mobile hype machine last year with her 424-page report predicting more people would be connected to the Web via mobile devices than PCs in five years. The topline data point from the latest report is that smartphone shipments will outpace those of notebook and desktop computers combined in two years, with more than 450 million projected to be shipped in 2012.  In addition, ccording to a recent report from Manhattan Research, by 2012 the percentage of U.S. physicians using smartphones will increase to 81 percent.  The current rate of penetration is 64 percent, according to the research firm’s report “Physicians in 2012: The Outlook for On Demand, Mobile, and Social Digital Media.

• 81% browse the Internet, 77% search, 68% use an app, and 48% watch videos on their smartphone
• 72% use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third while watching TV
• 93% of smartphone owners use their smartphones while at home

Action-Oriented Searchers: Mobile search is heavily used to find a wide variety of information and to navigate the mobile Internet.

• Search engine websites are the most visited websites with 77% of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail and video sharing websites
• Nine out of ten smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.)
• 24% recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search

Local Information Seekers: Looking for local information is done by virtually all smartphone users and consumers are ready to act on the information they find.

• 95% of smartphone users have looked for local information
• 88% of these users take action within a day, indicating these are immediate information needs
• 77% have contacted a business, with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business

Purchase-driven Shoppers: Smartphones have become an indispensable shopping tool and are used across channels and throughout the research and decision-making process.

• 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
• 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones
• 70% use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store

Reaching Mobile Consumers: Cross-media exposure influences smartphone user behavior and a majority notice mobile ads which leads to taking action on it.

• 71% search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68%) to online ads (18%) to mobile ads (27%)
• 82% notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads and a third notice mobile search ads
• Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35% visiting a website and 49% making a purchase

Connected TVs:  New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 30% of all households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a video game system, a Blu-ray player, and/or the TV set itself — up from 24% a year ago.  Overall, 10% of all adults watch video from the Internet via one of these devices at least weekly, compared to 5% last year. This increased usage is heavily driven by Netflix subscribers, with 30% of Netflix subscribers watching video from the Internet via one of these connected devices weekly, compared to 3% weekly use among all non-Netflix subscribers.  Connectivity continues its inexorable march into home entertainment.  A wide range of home media equipment is now network- or Internet-enabled, with the number of connected devices shipped into consumer markets expected to increase steadily at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% through 2016.  ABI Research’s forecasts for connected devices for the period show that between 2010 and 2016, a cumulative total of more than three billion devices will have shipped worldwide.

Tagged: 4 Screen, crossplatform, interactive, Mobile screens, narrowcast, optimization. inbound marketing agency, silos, smartphone, the legacy productions, TLP, TransMedia

Posted in: SmartPhone TransMedia Integrations, Storytelling, The Legacy Productions on Social Media, TransMedia