These figures came out last week while we were in New York, but they’re certainly worth looking at in a world where smart phones and mobile are not only important themselves in the marketing mix, but are also key in campaign integration and interactivity with digital out-of-home screens and their content.
[1]IAB Canada [2] released its new Mobile In Canada: A Summary Of Current Facts + Trends Report to add to the Canadian information presented within the IAB US [3] Global Mobile Anthology.
The IAB US Global Mobile Anthology Report presents highlights of research from 17 countries worldwide, and shows among other insights:
- Canada is in third place (at 45%), and ahead of the US in terms of Smartphone Share of Total Mobile Subscribers;
- Canada is in fourth place (at 49.9%), and ahead of most European countries in terms of Percentage of Mobile Media Users.
A sample of significant findings included in IAB Canada’s detailed Mobile In Canada Report show:
- The four top, monthly Mobile Internet activities are using downloaded Apps (85% of Smartphone subscribers), browsing (76%), Emailing and accessing Social Networks/Blogs (MobiLens Canada [4], Dec. 2011, comScore Inc. [4]);
- The most-accessed Mobile Internet Content on a weekly basis is Weather (18% of Mobile Internet users), followed by Maps, News and Sports and Entertainment News (MobiLens Canada, Dec. 2011, comScore Inc.);
- Tablet penetration rose to 10% among adults by Fall 2011, and is highest among males (12%) and the 35-49 age group (14%) (Media Technology Monitor [5] (MTM) Fall 2011).
“The main take-away for Canadian advertisers from these two reports is that the Mobile medium is alive and well in Canada and across the globe, and as with the Internet, Canadians are early adopters of many of the most marketing-friendly features of the medium,” says Steve Rosenblum, research director, IAB Canada.
“Also, as with the Internet, Mobile therefore represents a huge opportunity for Advertisers to amplify their marketing messages across platforms whose use is growing by leaps and bounds each year.”