New research from Frank N. Magid Associates Inc. finds almost half of tablet owners have clicked on an ad in the past 30 days, showing the opportunities available to marketers across multiple mobile screens.
Magid’s “The Accelerating Mobile Landscape” study looked at how consumers respond to mobile advertising on both smartphones and tablets, especially at a local level. The study was sponsored by Tribune Interactive.
“I think it comes down to consumers trusting brands that they know in their local market, and that trust rubs off on advertisers as well,” said Andy Vogel, senior vice president of digital and mobile at Tribune Interactive, Chicago.
“I think the big thing from a local news perspective that we have to think about is that the tablet is clearly replacing the PC,” he said.
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In addition to the number of tablet users clicking on ads, 72 percent of tablet owners surveyed said that they had seen an ad on their device.
Although tablets do have the lead in getting users to interact with advertising, smartphones are not far behind.
The study found that 70 percent of smartphone users have seen a mobile ad on their phone. Forty percent of smartphone users have clicked on a mobile ad in the past 30 days.
Compared to the number of consumers who see ads on both devices, the higher percentage of tablet users who take a direct action can likely be chalked up to the different behavior of the devices.
For instance, tablets are primarily being used as lean-back devices while at home, meaning that big, national brands are using it to push immersive advertising that move towards a closer one-on-one relationship between marketers and consumers.
On the other hand, smartphone advertising is geared towards more time-sensitive, relevant messages.
SMS may not be the flashiest mobile channel available to marketers today, but it is still effective at targeting the majority of mobile phone users. Additionally, text messaging can be used to hook users into a brand’s other marketing mediums.
However, consumers also expect for SMS messages to be relevant to them, meaning that it is important to engage with small businesses to make mobile part of their overall marketing platforms, per Mr. Vogel.
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When it comes to content, consumers trust local television and newspaper outlets more than national sources, per the study.
The research found that consumers choose local to national publishers by a two-to-one margin in trust, credibility and reliability for both content and advertising.
Additionally, the study surveyed more than 1,500 consumers on which type of wireless device they prefer to consume content on. Sixty-six percent of consumers chose a tablet while 28 percent of consumers picked a PC.
Tablets users also tend to skew towards younger males with higher household income.
A sample of tablet users found that 59 percent of owners played games on their devices, 54 percent watched videos, 47 percent read books, 48 percent accessed social media and 29 percent shopped from their tablets.
Similarly, 52 percent of smartphone users accessed games, 50 percent accessed social media, 33 percent watched a video, 10 percent read a book and 14 used their smartphone to shop.
When it comes to smartphone operating system, Android made up 48 percent of smartphone ownership, marking a 13 percent increase from 2011. IPhone devices made up 32 percent of market share with only a three percent year-over-year growth.
Eighteen percent of iPhone users in the study claimed a six-figure household income, showing the opportunities available for high-end and luxury brands to target mobile consumers. In contrast, 51 percent of Android users said that they made $50,000 or less.
With more access to formats such as HTML5 and responsive design, publishers will be able to keep users engaged more content, per Mr. Vogel.
“We will continue to work with relevant experiences – consumers have clearly spoken on relevancy, so our ability to follow consumers with different content and advertising is only going to make it a better experience for brands to engage with consumers,” Mr. Vogel said.