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The mobile video phenomenon

September 14, 2013

Australia, Mobile, Video

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4 years from now mobile video consumption will become mainstream Cisco tells us.

The multinational predicts that two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2017.

In other words, consuming video content on your smartphone or tablet will become as mundane as watching TV or sending a SMS.

Come to think about it, 2017 is not that far off. This made me consider my own current mobile usage behaviour:

How often do I watch videos on my phone or tablet these days? Twice a week on average I would say and mostly YouTube videos.

And do I watch more video content on these devices now than I did a year ago? Absolutely – and upgrading from a multimedia phone to a smartphone certainly helped.

By extension, it also made me wonder how close Cisco’s forecast was to becoming a reality for my fellow Australians. Well, according to the latest research, 2017 is a lot closer than one might think:

According to eMarketer, 64% of the 25-34 year-olds in Australia are already watching video on their mobile phones and tablets, followed by 61% of the 35-49 year-olds and 36% of the 18-24 year-olds.

For these age groups, mobile phone is the most popular platform for viewing video content (87%), with tablet a close second (74%).

Additionally, 53% of Aussie smartphone users admit to viewing mobile video several times a week with 18% of those once a day (honourable yet worth noting that there is still room for growth as Americans remain ahead of the pack with 31% of them watching mobile video at least once a day) – Source: Nielsen’s The Mobile Consumer: a global snapshot, Feb.2013.

Combine all of this with a smartphone penetration of 73% in the 15 to 65 age group predicted to reach a whopping 93% in 2018, a tablet penetration forecast to increase to a no less impressive 80% from 49% (source: Frost and Sullivan’s Australian Mobile Device Usage Trends study), ever increasing mobile data allowances, faster networks, bigger and higher res screens, content quality on the rise, suddenly it is easy to see how quickly Cisco’s forecast will come to realize Down Under.

And naturally, with more of us consuming mobile video content by the day, marketers the world over are taking notice and starting to invest serious ad dollars on video ads as a new and effective way of reaching and engaging their audiences. Video is indeed one of the fastest growing digital ad formats, with its stickiness and engagement rate alleged to be superior to other digital formats.

Some parts of the world are embracing the video format more quickly than others however – with the US leading the charge yet again and Australia far behind in comparison.

Whilst the mobile advertising market in Australia is the fastest growing component of the digital sector (its $ value grew by 190% YOY in FY13), it is still only 5% of the total search and display spend – well behind the US and UK who report mobile as being 10% and 9% of spend respectively (source: IAB’s Mobile Trends Report, September 2013).

The first time I reported on the gap between Australian advertisers’ uptake of mobile and their audience’s mobile consumption was in January 2013.

9 months on the issue remains.

Here is to Australian marketers getting serious about all things mobile before 2017 – if not before the end of the year.

Related articles

The Rise in Mobile Video [Infographic] (digitalsurgeons.com)
These 5 Mobile Video Data Points Show How Audiences Are Flocking To Watch Content On Phones And Tablets (businessinsider.com)

Are you having a love affair with your smartphone?

2013 outlook, China, Mobile

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The Chinese most definitely are according to GroupM Interaction’s latest survey of close to 1000 respondents.

Some of the most striking results, which I couldn’t help but compare myself to, include:

– 80% of respondents admit sleeping with their phones at arm’s reach (tick);
– 73% of smartphone users wake up to their phone alarm (tick), increasingly making watches a thing of the past (tick);
– 95% use their phones just before bedtime at the ’25th hour’ (er, tick);
– 66% ended a relationship by mobile – making this form of breakup otherwise known as a digital dump – (thankfully not a tick!). On the same note, sadly, according to other non-China specific surveys, most connected users would rather leave their spouses than their iPads at home when they go on holiday…

A quick poll to see if you too are guilty of the above sins! Say yes for those of you who tick 4 or more of the above behaviours.

Finally, we learn that in February this year China overtook the US as the world’s largest smartphone market.

With this in mind, marketers the world over ought to play closer attention to both trending and emerging consumer mobile usage behaviours in that part of the world. Watch, learn and get their marketing ready ahead of these behaviours hitting their shores.

More survey results can be viewed here:

Where (and when) do you use your smartphone? (cnn.com)

Mobile search: a powerful driver of conversions

2013 outlook, Mobile, Omni-channel shopping, Search, USA

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I have just come across yet more insightful research from our Google friends, which the advertising types amongst us will no doubt find useful.

This time the research focuses on mobile searches – specifically, mobile user search behaviours and the correlation of mobile searches with online and offline conversions.

You can view the full Mobile Search Moments study here – for now, I just wanted to point out a couple of striking stats.

First – their research shows that a staggering 77% of mobile searches happen at home or work (i.e. a location likely to have a PC), with only 17% on the go.

This surprised me at first as I had thought until now that smartphones were used for searching mainly on the move (i.e. when no PC is available). Then I remembered my own behavior at home: since trading my old phone for an iPhone 5, my smartphone has fast become my #1 device of choice for initiating all sort of activities from the comfort of my sofa including checking emails, reading online articles, playing games and … searching.

The study goes on by explaining that the key reason for users preferring their mobile phone over a tablet or PC when searching at home is the convenience and speed it offers. A respondent explains: “It was easier on the mobile device as I didn’t have to get up to turn on the computer and wait for it to boot up”. I could indeed have said this myself to justify my own behavior.

One other key insight that stuck with me is how powerful a conversion tool mobile is:

Not only 3 out of 4 mobile searches trigger follow up actions (e.g. visiting a retailer’s site, sharing the info you have found etc.), but also – and most importantly – 55% of purchase-related conversions (i.e. store visit, phone call or purchase) occur within one hour of the initial mobile search, with that number increasing to 81% within 5 hours.

As the ultimate “always on, anywhere anytime’’ companion device, the ever increasing take up of smartphones and with both a purchase intent and conversions this high, it is easy to see why smartphone users need to be at the top of any marketer’s priority list (sadly not always the case).

And for the time-poor amongst us, the below infographic sums up all other key insights for future reference – Thank you Google!

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