Study: Mobile Media Users More Receptive to Ads

Mobile media users are more receptive to advertising and more willing to use their mobile devices for commerce than conventional wisdom would hold, finds a new study released by Starcom USA.

Regarding mobile advertising, Starcom’s study found that among light and heavy mobile media users, consumers are OK with advertising as long as it carries some relevance. That is due to the personal nature of mobile devices, says Starcom, which found that most participants in its study (conducted among users in Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco) are willing to share personal information with marketers in exchange for targeted, relevant ads. That flies in the face of some industry thinking, as advertisers are often wary of consumers’ crossing personal boundaries in mobile.

Similarly, with mobile commerce, Starcom found that the issue holding back consumers from buying things with their mobile devices isn’t privacy concerns, but rather frustration with the mobile shopping experience. However, just 5 percent of respondents cited shopping as something they’d like access to on their mobile phones.

Overall, the new study is aimed at dispelling a variety of mobile myths, said Starcom officials. The research identifies ten key insights for the nascent medium, which Starcom says has created a new daypart – a 24/7 media time period.

“Mobile’s capabilities are changing consumer expectations and therefore will have broader implications on how marketers approach all forms of communication moving forward,” said Angela Steele, Starcom vp/activation director, who led the research study. “These insights blow the doors wide open for new meaningful content, formats and opportunities for ad placement in campaigns.”

However, it’s worth mentioning that usage of mobile devices for functions other than phone calls or text messages remains in its infancy. Indeed, Starcom’s research is limited to consumers from urban regions who identify themselves as mobile media users. According to a November report from Nielsen, just 16 percent of the total U.S. mobile audience, or 33.7 million users, accessed the Internet at all using a mobile device.