Smartphone Evolution

John Blaise
July 12, 2011
7 Comments

smartphone evolution
The above Ispos Reid study shows that smartphones are indeed everywhere and as they continue increase in number and function, they continue to exert a significant impact on communication and the way the world functions and behaves. From a marketing standpoint, many are yet to fully capitalize on the smartphone evolution as the impact on consumer behaviour in this dynamic space is yet to be fully grasped.

Ipsos Reid has been tracking smartphone penetration and consumer behavior in Canada for several years now and in the past year, two separate studies have shown a 50% increase in levels of smartphone penetration and usage from this time last year–to 31% of the online adult population. According to the above Ispos Reid study on Smart Insights on Smartphones; this sudden increase has come about due to the impact of technological advancements in device functionality as Apple, RIM and Android device manufacturers add an ever increasing array of capabilities to their phones more rapidly than in the past.

Additionally, the content providers (websites, media companies and app developers) have significantly upped the ante in terms of what is available for consumers to do and view on their phones. Increased competition has lead to increased functionality in smartphones. These days, people can watch streaming television directly from their smartphone, conduct our bank transactions and even make purchases, functions that weren’t available a few short years ago. As well, according to the study, the continued increase use of Facebook and other social media (45% now use Facebook at least weekly in Canada) has spawned a whole new demand for pictures and video via smartphones.

A significant finding in the study is that consumers are spending an average of 17 hours a week actively using their device–and that for the first time ever–activities like texting, surfing and viewing apps/websites/videos actually surpassed the amount of time that people spend actually talking on their device. According to the study, at this level, the device is competing closely with the PC or the television for the attention span of consumers. Despite this fact, the reality is that expenditures from marketers in mobile is a fraction of what it is for traditional media or online.

As Steve Mossop, President of Ipsos Reid notes about the study, these statistics have significant implications for marketers on a number of fronts:

1. Marketers need to align their focus to addressing this relatively untested medium and start to allocate significant dollars to this space.

2. Marketers and web developers have had to adapt to pinpoint marketing and make the full transition not only to one-on-one marketing, but have to invent location-based marketing from scratch. Web and content developers also need to deal with the limited real-estate of a smartphone screen, and determine if they want to invest in the app-route, or make their websites mobile-friendly. This is particularly true for the online gambling industry and their sports-betting apps. Innovative and adapted apps that do more than just mirror the parent site would resonate more with the smartphone user.

3. Companies need to understand to what extent are their own consumers using mobile, and understand their openness to things like text messages, mobile contests, co-creation, coupons, location-based alerts, etc.

Mossop acknowledges that most firms admit that they are just beginning to look at this space, which means they are already significantly behind.

In the competitive online gambling industry, this is a space that operators truly can’t afford to lag behind in. Operators must continuously strive to stay ahead of the curve and communication trends to gain an edge on their competition.

Smartphones are being used like a handheld PC and the gambling industry operators who are aware of this trend are wasting no time in marketing their products to cater to this trend with apps and an increasing presence in social media.

If time waits for no man, then the evolution of the smartphone isn’t waiting for the online gambling industry, those who aren’t in position or are unable to capitalize on this emerging space will undoubtedly fall behind the pack.

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Tags: Article, Ispos Reid Study, Smartphone, smartphone apps
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