Tag Archives: mobile branding

Global mobile entertainment revenues to climb up to $53.9 billion in 2016

Posted on by

A significant growth is expected to hit by storm in the global mobile entertainment market over the next 4 years, according to a market intelligence report headed by IEMR. Report revealed that the mobile entertainment revenue will accelerate in terms of revenue from $53.9 billion, quite higher than last year’s $39.6 billion. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2016 is projected at 6.3%.

Amidst the different categories playing in the mobile entertainment industry, the Mobile Music is predicted to see the biggest growth in revenue with $18 billion by 2016, compared to $9 billion of last year.

Meanwhile, India is taking a lead as the fastest-growing market due to mobile entertainment’s teeming with publishers, distributors, operator competition and relatively less stringent broadcasting regulations. The country’s mobile entertainment market is expected to rise at $1.79 billion in 2016, an impressive climb from $670 million in 2011 (CAGR of 18.2% from 2012 – 2016 period).

Operators and service providers are getting excited to provide value added services across the mobile multimedia value chain in India.

Marketing consultant believes 2012 an exploding year for mobile marketing

Posted on by

Mobile marketing gets a nod in connecting with the consumer mass market, with marketing consulting firm saying this year will experience a significant growth in terms of “mobile marketing and mobile-related ad spending”.

Noting an average of 30% that US adults spent over mobile interaction last year, Winterberry Group, a marketing consulting company, said that mobile will increase by a whopping 50.2% to $1.8 billion in 2012. During a presentation to Direct Marketing Club of New York, the firm’s managing director explained that mobile marketing has grown in value with the prevalence of Smartphones, geolocation and increasingly tech-savvy consumers. With such a notable change in terms of consumer market’s behavior, advertisers are advised to adopt quickly into it.

Direct and digital ad spending in the US reached a total of $215.9 billion in 2011, according to Winterberry report – 41.2% ($1.2 billion) of which came from mobile advertising. The insert media spending increased 12.5% to $0.9 billion in 2011, compared with 2010. Direct-response broadcast spending increased 7.6% to $25.4 billion year-over-year, while direct-response print increased 2% to $15.3 billion and teleservices spending increased 1.5% to $40.1 billion.

With this evolution seen to be exploding, strong data management platforms are vital to support vast new streams of information from mobile and digital channels; to include consumer behavior data, opt-in information, web analytics, contact and demographics information, transactional and loyalty records and public records.

Mobile marketing and advertising budgets to increase in 2012

Posted on by

This year 2012, mobile advertising/marketing spend is largely seen to increase in the US market, according to Digital Marketer managing editor. One big factor that leads to said prediction is the rising sales of Smartphones in the region, giving a perfect indicator for advertisers to double up their efforts in reaching to the public consumers. In fact, according to recent Nielsen’s report, there are about 43% of Americans having Smartphones with them.

Last year’s overall sales volume on Smartphone reached up to $5 billion; and while it sounds a huge number, Digital Marketer said it represents only to an equivalent of 2% of the total online ecommerce market. Had it been lesser than that of 2% being on Smartphone, it could never have been an attractive market for advertisers.

According to Digital Marketer, a pragmatic approach to mobile marketing has been wise up until now, and that all signs are pointing directly to increases in mobile marketing and advertising budgets. Last year’s 0.9% of advertising dollars went to mobile marketing spent will be expected to improve at a bigger percentage for this year.

Mobile Market Report: Ericsson to triple its mobile traffic

Posted on by

The changing mobile industry is driven by an increasing number of users, one being felt by Sony Ericsson with strong mobile subscriptions now reaching at 5.8 billion.

In its latest report “Traffic and Market Data”, Ericsson gave a picture analysis of the fast-moving mobile industry where mobile penetration rate reaches at 82%, equivalent to the number of mobile subscribers at almost 5.8 billion. This impressive record, according to the report, is driven swiftly by countries – China and India – where 50 million new users were added during the quarter.

In year 2016, the total mobile traffic is expected to triple with city dwellers’ mobile traffic contributions figured at 60%. Similarly, the behaviors of mobile subscribers are also anticipated to change as time goes by. Some of these behavioral findings in terms of mobile usage, according to report’s authors, disclosed a nearly 40% of Smartphone users who will check the internet before going to bed; driven mostly by demand for mobile video, mobile data traffic is expected to grow by 60% by 2016; mobile broadband subscriptions are expected to rise from 2011′s 900 million to 5 billion. The number of high-traffic Smartphones will grow more than 5 times, generating 12 times the traffic. Tablet subscriptions will also grow 10 times, generating 40 times the traffic.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

Posted on by

How to choose a winning mobile strategy

The executives who make the decision on strategy already have first-hand experience and an existing relationship with their phone. They understand the importance of mobile and are constantly reminded by friends and family that its influence is becoming increasingly broad on all levels. Secondly, the numbers are simply impossible to ignore. Businesses are moving their strategies in line with the evolving user behavior and companies of all sizes and sectors are putting mobile at the center of their business strategy.

comScore Reports June 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.3 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 40.1 percent market share in June.

Nokia still top mobile maker in Q2, but Apple grows 142 percent y-o-y

According to the IDC’s worldwide mobile phone tracker, vendors shipped 365.4 million units in 2Q11 compared to 328.4 million units in the second quarter of 2010. The 11.3-percent growth was lower than IDC’s forecast of 13.3 percent for the quarter and was also below the 16.8 percent growth in 1Q11. The feature phone market shrank 4 percent in 2Q11 when compared to 2Q10.

Nielsen Data Points to Continued Android Dominance in the US Smartphone Market

Google’s Android operating system isn’t backing down amid growing competition within the US smartphone market. Android now represents 39 percent of the US smartphone ownership market as of June 2011. That information comes from the latest Nielsen data. The data largely backs up the claims made three weeks ago by Google CEO Larry Page, who says Android-powered devices are being activated to the tune of 550,000 units a day.

8 in 10 Mobile Users Browse Products/Services

About eight in 10 (81%) US smartphone/tablet users browse or look for products and/or services with their mobile devices, according to the July 2011 Prosper Mobile Insights mobile survey. This was slightly more than the 80% who use their mobile devices to locate a store or store hours (more than one answer permitted). The top two choices among the eight offered respondents were about twice as popular as any other response. The next-most-popular mobile activity, researching specific products (56%), was performed by 43% fewer smartphone/tablet users. The only other activity performed by more than half of respondents was receiving text messages with special offers (53%).

Mobile Users Expand Their Search Habits

More than 91 million US consumers will use the internet through a mobile device at least monthly by the end of this year, eMarketer estimates, and research shows that the increase in on-the-go web usage goes hand in hand with more search activity for local content. According to research from comScore and the Local Search Association, 22% of all US mobile owners used search on their phone in January 2011, up from 16% a year earlier.

Apple Tops Nokia, Samsung to Become World’s Top Smartphone Maker

As evidenced by the fact that Apple now has more cash on hand than the US Treasury, Apple’s unprecedented growth continues and it doesn’t appear that even Nokia and Samsung can slow the momentum. According to a new report published Friday by Strategy Analytics, Apple is the new king of the global smartphone world.

Marketing is ‘moving to mobile devices’

Businesses aiming to achieve a complete customer view for marketing have been advised that more advertising spending is moving to mobile devices. Windsor Holden, the principal analyst at Juniper Research, said that while mobile advertising, which covers tablets, smartphones and cells, really took off in 2010, its potential has still yet to be realized.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

Posted on by

Creative and mobile marketing ‘to be key for travel brands’

Travel brands will be embracing mobile marketing next year, the latest study shows. Travel brands expect to increase the emphasis they place on using creative channels like social media and web content, as well as mobile marketing, new research suggests. According to a survey of 325 travel brands, including airlines, agents, tourist boards and tour operators, from Frommers, 70 per cent of respondents are planning to raise their digital marketing spend next year.

The mobile Internet does not need apps

THE CO-CEO of Canadian Blackberry smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM), Jim Balsillie has said that Apple’s idea that smartphones need apps is just plain silly and will die out quickly. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Balsillie said that you can bring the mobile to the web, but you don’t need to go through some kind of control point. Apple’s system for apps involves everything going through a central control point where they can be purged of anything that Steve Jobs does not like, he said.

Mobile banking revolution gathers pace, opens new frontier for profits

Kenya has been the birthplace of a banking revolution: with 65 per cent of mobile phone users now interested in adopting mobile banking services over traditional banking, according to a global survey last month by Netherlands technology firm Fundtech and research firm Aite Group.

Local Retailers Play Black Friday Catch Up with Mobile Marketing

Chicago, IL USA – Black Friday is just around the corner and mobile marketing and advertising is predicted to play a bigger role in driving in-store sales than ever before. “The 2010 holiday shopping season will demonstrate the strength of mobile marketing and advertising to drive in-store sales to the masses and introduce 2011 as what we and many other mobile experts believe will be the “stepping out” year for mobile.” says Scott Metcalfe, Chief Strategist at FetchLocalCustomers.com a Chicago based leader in local online marketing and local mobile marketing.

The Mobile Web: 3 Key Improvements

While mobile marketing has obviously seen explosive growth in recent years, 2011 brings the most significant mobile Web evolution as part of the overall mobile experience. With nearly 60 million Americans currently owning smartphones, the rapid growth and success of tablets, and improved user experience across devices, the mobile Web will become a much greater component to the multifaceted world of mobile marketing.

UK Consumers Are Doing More Online, More Often, With More Devices

Broadband access high, mobile web usage rising. UK internet users have embraced the web and its possibilities like never before, although some demographic groups remain offline. eMarketer estimates more than 44 million people are online in the UK in 2010 and nearly 70% of all households have broadband access.

Mobile Internet users in China to hit 800 mln in 2015

The number of mobile Internet users in China is on the path to reaching 800 million by 2015, and the total assets of the industry is to run over 100 billion yuan ($15.05 million), the Communication Information News reported Wednesday, citing a research report from the China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC).

Asia: Fostering mobile innovation

The Asia-Pacific region is home to almost half the world’s mobile subscribers and includes some of its fastest-growing and highly-penetrated markets. As Total Telecom prepares to head to Hong Kong for Mobile Asia Congress 2010, we take a look at some of the key markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Research and Markets: Cambodia – Telecoms, Mobile, Internet and Forecasts

Cambodia has managed a remarkable transition in building a vibrant telecom market. Despite the country’s status as one of the least developed nations in the world and whilst it remains one of the poorer countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia’s efforts to expand and upgrade its telecom infrastructure have certainly been bearing fruit. There was very little infrastructure remaining from before the tumultuous Khmer Rouge days. As a result, Cambodia bypassed rebuilding the fixed-line market and quickly launched into alternative technologies, jump-starting its telecommunications infrastructure with digital technology.

Print Publishers Say Mobile is in Their Future

Eighty-five percent of print publishers surveyed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations believe that more people will rely on mobile devices as a primary information source in the next three years. That probably does not surprise you.

Mobile market continues to grow

According to recent research, global sales of both smartphones and traditional mobile phones continued to grow rapidly in the third quarter of 2010. The report, released by Gartner, examines the sales of mobile devices worldwide. Overall, 417 million mobile phone units were sold in the quarter, a 35 percent increase from the same quarter in 2009. Smartphone growth was even more rapid, with a 96 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2009. Eighty-one million smartphones were sold worldwide during the quarter.

Africa Hits 500 Million Mobile Subscriptions Mark

The number of active mobile subscriptions in Africa crossed the half-a-billion mark in the third quarter of this year, to reach 506 million at end-September, according to research by UK-based Informa Telecoms & Media. The report, published on the researcher’s website said at the end of the third quarter of this year, Africa accounted for 10% of the world’s mobile subscriptions and was one of the world’s fastest-growing regions – with the subscription numbers increasing 18% over the year to September.

An apparel retailer launches mobile fashion alerts

Fashion emergency? Never fear, mobile fashion alerts are here. Women’s apparel retailer White House Black Market has launched FashionAlerts, location-based text messages that alert shoppers close to participating stores about upcoming in-store sales, online promotions, new product releases, sweepstakes and style tips.

Asia’s Mobile Innovation: Total Telecom looks at mega-key markets across ASPAC region

Posted on by

The Asia-Pacific region is seen as home to almost half of the world’s mobile subscribers including some of its fastest-growing and highly-penetrated markets. In fact, according to recent report of Total Telecom, 48% of the world’s over 5 billion mobile subscribers were from Asia-Pacific region as of mid-2010. Report said a large proportion of those mobile subscribers came from the mega-markets of China and India, with claimed 813.38 million and 692.83 million respectively.

While India tops the research firm’s year-on-year growth rate table at a sizeable 47%, China’s 17% growth rate (which remains high in comparison to other markets; highly developed Japan recorded 5% growth over the same period, for example) leaves it languishing at number 10. Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka all saw growth of 30% or more.

At the other end of the scale – and Asia-Pac covers the whole gamut – sit the advanced markets in which penetration is creeping up towards 100%. Singapore tops the chart with 192% penetration, closely followed by Macau at 190%. And next on the list, with penetration of 143% and a well-advanced mobile market, comes Hong Kong, where the global mobile communications industry is set to convene on Wednesday at Mobile Asia Congress 2010.

More of Total Telecom findings as it looked into an in-depth analysis of the mobile potential across the Asia-Pacific region.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

Posted on by

Research finds Nokia still dominates mobile in Africa

India has sent a clear message that it is watching Africa closely, especially after the impressive US$10.7-billion move by Indian telecoms giant Bharti Airtel to take over Zain Africa’s mobile operations in 15 countries. Speaking recently at Kenya’s technology centre, iHub, Ankit Rawal, head of African advertising for mobile advertiser inMobi, spent some time explaining why Africa is at the centre of mobile’s global growth, backing it up with solid research.

Mobile Ad Spending Up Nearly 80% in 2010

Mobile has broken through to reach the mainstream of digital advertising in 2010, according to US ad spending estimates by eMarketer. This year, US mobile ad spending will be up 79% to reach $743 million, eMarketer forecasts. That growth will slow somewhat to still-dramatic double-digit rates as spending hits over $1.1 billion in 2011 and more than $2.5 billion by 2014.

Mobile to become a $1 billion business in the US next year

Mobile is red hot this year, but it still won’t be a billion-dollar ad business in the U.S. until 2011, according to new eMarketer estimates. According to a new report, U.S. mobile advertising spending will reach $743 million this year, up a whopping 79% from $416 million the year prior. Mobile spending will cross the $1 billion mark in 2011 with sustained growth, though at slower rates.

Mobile Consumers See Value in Advertising

More than a third say mobile ads serve ‘important purpose’. A recent study by mobile ad network InMobi andcomScore uncovered some good news for marketers: Consumers are getting more comfortable with seeing ads on their mobile devices. Of the nearly 4,400 US mobile phone users surveyed, 38% felt mobile ads “serve an important purpose,” while an additional 25% stated they are getting accustomed to viewing mobile ads. While 10% of respondents described themselves…

Apple Dominates US Mobile Device, Phone Markets

Apple led all mobile device and phone manufacturers in US market share during August 2010,according to Millennial Media Mobile Mix data. Apple Shines in Market Share. Apple was the leading mobile device provider in the US in August 2010, taking a substantial 28% of the US market. Samsung followed a distant second with 15% market share. In other noteworthy developments, Motorola passed RIM to become the third-largest mobile device manufacturer in the US in August 2010, holding 14% market share to RIM’s 11% market share.

Going mobile is the new digital mantra for businesses, people

The Internet has gone mobile and businesses that don’t join the trend risk being left behind in a world that will see the majority of Internet traffic on mobile devices rather than desktop and notebook computers by 2013. It represents both challenges and opportunities for businesses, but it’s a shift that is being ignored by many organizations that are failing to realize their customers are leaving them for their more mobile-savvy competition, according to Jonathan Carrigan, product development manager at CBC and co-found of Mobcom, a multidisciplinary speaker series on the implications of mobile computing.

Mobile internet stats round up

Mobile use in Japan, Europe and USA (comScore). While 75.2% of Japanese mobile users accessed ‘connected content’(meaning they browsed the internet, accessed applications or downloaded content) from their mobiles, the same figure for the US was 43.7% and 38.5% for Europe. Japanese mobile users were more likely to use their phone’s browsers and apps, with 59.3% of Japanese mobile users accessing browsers in June and 42.3% using apps.By comparison, 34% of US and 25.8% of European mobile users accessed the mobile internet, while 31.1% in the US and 24.9 in Europe used apps. Europeans were the biggest users of SMS, with 81.7% sending a text in June, compared to 66.8% of US and 40.1% of Japanese mobile users.

Mobile Navigation Users Increase 57 Percent Year-Over-Year To 44 Million

New data out from Berg Insight suggest the number of mobile subscribers using a turn-by-turn navigation service or application on their handset grew 57 percent from 2009 to 2010, reaching 44 million users worldwide. Showing substantial growth, the subscriber base is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.1 percent to reach 195 million users worldwide in 2015. The research attributes the proliferation of GPS is nearly all mobile phones sold these days, combined with attractive prices for the strong growth. In the US, where GPS handset penetration is above 70 percent, navigation services for mobile phones has already reached about 8 percent of the total mobile subscriber base.

US telcos bring down mobile internet bar

The US mobile revolution looks like it might be stalled by telcos ending their unlimited access schemes.
US Telco Verizon is moving away from its “unlimited access” schemes following the other big supplier AT&T. According to Digital Trends, Verizon Wireless wants to offer a restricted, less expensive data plan for its smartphone users Verizon customers will get a connection for $15 but will only be allowed 150MB of data access. If a user exceeds this arbitrary limit, a 10 cent charge is added for each additional megabyte.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

Posted on by

Seven Significant Trends in Mobile Usage

Understand the landscape and how it’s changing. With mobile penetration in the US estimated by eMarketer at nearly 80% this year, and the increasing sophistication of handsets, there is a mature mobile market with a critical mass of users increasingly receptive to marketing and content. As the space becomes more important for marketers’ efforts, they must keep pace with the changing scene.

Nokia slams critics with redefined mobile strategy

At Nokia World in London the handset manufacturer shared its vision and strategy as it unveiled a new line of smartphones and new initiatives to help Ovi developers monetize their applications. The 2010 edition of Nokia World is already unique in Nokia’s history due to the recent appointment of Stephen Elop as the new CEO and the resignation of Anssi Vanjoki, currently executive vice president of Nokia’s Mobile Solutions unit. Needless to say there is lots of speculation about Nokia’s future.

Consumers expect more immediacy from mobile than email: ExactTarget exec

Immediacy is what differentiates mobile marketing from its email counterpart, according to an ExactTarget executive. While the two channels are complementary ones that should tie together in multichannel campaigns, the campaign that simply mimics an email strategy in mobile will fail. Marketers should adjust their tactics accordingly, said R.J. Talyor, director of product marketing at ExactTarget, Indianapolis.

Can new CEO save Nokia from mobile oblivion?

Mr. Elop currently heads Microsoft’s business division and previously held senior executive positions in a number of United States-based public companies, including Juniper Networks, Adobe Systems Inc. and Macromedia Inc. Nokia’s manifold challenges include its smartphone business, which has a relatively uncompetitive platform—Symbian—that is losing out to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. “The key issue here is user experience,” said Nick Jones, Egham, Britain-based vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Apple and RIM have shown that owning your own platform can be valuable, but it must be a platform people want to use, so one thing Steve must do is fix the platform strategy.”

Mobile data consumption continues to accelerate: study

Mobile data penetration rates are expected to reach 80 percent by the end of the year, according to Validas research. The mobile software provider examined data consumption from more than 74,000 consumers’ wireless bills for its “Wireless Data Consumption, Analysis and Trends, 2009 – 2010” report. The research indicated that the number of mobile owners using data in some form jumped about 15 points, from 35 percent to 50 percent, between the end of 2009 and the midway point of 2010.

How to measure QR codes to determine customer behavior

As QR codes gain traction in the United States and marketing departments embrace the technology in new campaigns, the need to measure their success becomes even more important. Once you take the plunge and add QR codes to your printed materials, implementing procedures to measure the code’s success is the next step. With the right software, it is possible to track how many scans a code receives, the location the scan took place, and even the time of day the scan occurred. Here are a several ways companies can measure the QR codes they include on their marketing materials to determine customer behavior:

Nielsen: Android Users Click The Most Ads, Followed By Windows Mobile And iOS

Nielsen today released a new study in conjunction with the AppNation conference in San Francisco regarding users who click ads in the various mobile platforms. Again, Android comes out a winner with roughly one-third of users having clicked on an in-app ad.  Surprisingly, Windows Mobile came in second with 29% of users clicking in-app ads, followed by Apple’s iOS at 26%.  Rounding out the top five, Palm came in at number three with 22% followed by Blackberry at just 15%.  ”Other operating systems” came in at number five with 24%.

The Influence of Mobile on Social Marketing’s Future

Mobile platforms and location-based networks could take social marketing to the next level. As the increase in smart device ownership helps put the mobile web in the pocket of more and more Americans, mobile will play a greater role in all forms of content consumption—including social media.  US marketers surveyed in June 2010 by PRWeek and MS&L Group believed mobile social would have important consequences for their brand.

What Marketers Can Learn from Global Media Trends

Making sense of worldwide shifts in media usage and ad spending trends. The global advertising and media industry has been going through massive changes in recent years, between the inexorable shift from traditional to digital channels and a recession that damaged markets around the world. To help marketers make sense of the often-conflicting data and shed some light on the trends that will have the greatest effect on their business, eMarketer collaborated with Starcom MediaVest Group to produce the “Global Media Intelligence Report.”

Research and Markets: China’s Mobile Advertising Market Grows in 2010 – Big Brands Take Action

This report is an update to “China’s Mobile Advertising Market: Sales-Oriented Ads First, Brand Ads Second” published in June 2008. The Chinese mobile advertising market has changed considerably since Chinese operators launched 3G services in May 2009. This report analyzes the impact of these changes. The network upgrade to 3G at the end of 2008, the increasing base of mobile Internet users, and the development of the mobile network have together created a growing market for mobile advertising.

Indian youth to spend $9 bn on mobile Internet by 2012

The operators in India definitely have a reason to focus on data services. According to a report by mobileYouth, the operators will earn $7.7 bn from data usage by youth in India. Also, the spend on mobile Internet by the young population in India will cross $9 bn by 2012. The report throws light on some very interesting facts about the mobile usage trends of the young mobile users in the country. The report says, the Indian youth are increasingly using their mobile handsets to access the Internet. For 75% of Indian youth, their first exposure to the Internet is most likely to be through mobile phone.

7 key trends mobile marketers need to know: eMarketer keynote

NEW YORK – An eMarketer analyst revealed seven key trends that mobile marketers need to know during a keynote address at the digiday: Mobile conference. Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer, New York, offered up the following list of trends shaping the mobile marketing space: No. 1 Mobile usage has become pervasive.

 ABI Research: Mobile Internet Usage And Mobile Broadband Technology Continuously Growing

According to the ABI Research report, approximately c of the world’s population will subscribe to mobile-broadband services and due to the increasing Internet-surfing smartphone users it will boost to 1.5 billion in 2015. Mobile Operator and mobile providers are starting to capitalize the increasing revenue growth in mobile broadband services, according to a new report.

7 key trends shaping the mobile marketing space: Why do mobile marketers need to know?

Posted on by

For marketers who are planning to integrate the mobile devices on their marketing plans, here are some of the exciting facts that make you really on the right track. eMarketer analyst has recently revealed seven (7) key trends shaping the mobile marketing space that mobile marketers need to know. READ ON

7 key trends mobile marketers need to know: eMarketer keynote

By: Dan Butcher

NEW YORK – An eMarketer analyst revealed seven key trends that mobile marketers need to know during a keynote address at the digiday: Mobile conference.

Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer, New York, offered up the following list of trends shaping the mobile marketing space:

# 1: Mobile usage has become pervasive.

In 2008, there were 228.2 million mobile phone users in the United States, representing 75 percent of the population. In 2009, those numbers grew to 239.1 million, representing 77.8 percent.

This year, eMarketer projects 246.1 million U.S. mobile phone users, 79. 3 percent of the population, and expects those number to grow to 250.9 million (80.1 percent) in 2011.

# 2: Mobile devices and platforms have experienced dramatic evolution.

“Mobile phones have become more advanced and significantly cheaper and significantly lighter,” Mr. Elkin said. “They have effectively become mini-computers that are connected to a whole platform and content.

“In 2007, the iPhone and Kindle helped redefine what a mobile device is,” he said. “They united hardware with software and put a universe of content in more accessible reach better than any of their predecessors, helping the industry take big step forward.

“That set the stage for the iPad in 2010, and the tablet category is also helping to drive the market forward.”

# 3: The device market is shifting in favor of smartphones, and the U.S., is driving a lot of the demand.

In June, ChangeWave Research found the 16 percent of U.S. consumers planned on buying a smartphone in the next 90 days.

In terms of smartphone penetration in the U.S., in the second quarter of 2009 it was at 16 percent while in the second quarter of this year it had grown to 25 percent, according to Nielsen.

“We see this trend continuing to accentuate,” Mr. Elkin said.

Which platform will win the increasingly competitive smartphone race?

Globally Nokia’s Symbian OS accounts for about half of smartphone subscribers due to its dominant position in Europe and Asia-Pacific, but in the U.S. Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and RIM’s BlackBerry are grabbing market share Nokia and are dominant in North America.

In the U.S., BlackBerry enjoys the largest market share (35 percent in the second quarter of 2010), but it is slowly but steadily dropping, according to eMarketer.

“BlackBerry users demonstrate a lack of loyalty to the platform, with only 42 percent of current BlackBerry owners would opt for another BlackBerry as their next smartphone,” Mr. Elkin said.

The iPhone has 28 percent of U.S. smartphone market share and Android is coming on strong with 13 percent.

“Android is the fastest-growing smartphone OS—its market share tripled over past three quarters,” Mr. Elkin said. “Android has nowhere to go but up.

“Keep in mind, though, that HP bought Palm, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 series is launching very shortly, so the current configuration may shift over the next few years,” he said. “Smartphone owners are voracious media consumers—they simply do more of everything: more app use, browsing, social networking, music, video and messaging.

“While smartphone users are a quarter of the population, they already represent more than half of key mobile activities.”

# 4: Increased ownership of smart devices is driving mobile Internet growth.

U.S. mobile Internet users have grown from 50.9 million (16.7 percent of the population) in 2008 to 68.6 million (22.3 percent) in 2009 and 85.5 million (27.6 percent) this year.

That number is projected to grow to 101.1 million (32.3 percent) next year.

# 5: Communication modes are undergoing a significant shift.

Among U.S. mobile phone users, in May 2010 65.2 percent sent a text message to another phone, 31.9 percent used their phone’s browser, 30 percent used/downloaded applications, 22.5 percent played mobile games and 20.8 percent accessed a social networking site or blog.

Social networks are fast becoming the primary way mobile users exchange information. Frequent social network access is linked to above-average mobile content consumption.

The nexus of mobile and social is increasingly about one key attribute—location. And, location leads to increased relevance for mobile marketing.

“The closer you get to a consumer, the more relevant an offer you can present,” Mr. Elkin said. “Location is very powerful data because it puts you in the palm of consumers’ hand near the point of purchase, which represents part of the future of marketing.

“Location-based ads and messages can prompt relevant actions, encourage consumers to take the next step, find out more information about a brand or product and make a purchase,” he said. “For consumers, sharing location is all about the value exchange.

“They expect to get something in return for sharing where they are and what they’re doing.”

# 6: The base of mobile content users will continue to see strong growth.

The percentage of mobile gamers has gone from 45.6 percent in 2008 to 64 percent this year, and it is projected to rise to 72.8 percent in 2011.

The percentage of mobile video viewers has risen from 12.3 percent in 2008 to 21.7 this year, and it is projected to rise to 31.4 percent in 2011.

The percentage of mobile music listeners has gone from 12.9 percent in 2008 to 21.7 percent this year, and it is projected to rise to 29.2 percent in 2011.

“Mobile gaming, music and video revenues will more than double from 2010 to 2014,” Mr. Elkin said. “The ad-supported component will grow fourfold over that time—much quicker than paid content.

“It’s important to figure out the optimal balance between free and fee,” he said.

# 7: Tablets are changing the face of mobility and computing.

EMarketer projects 12.9 million iPad shipments worldwide in 2010, 36.5 million 2011 and 50.4 million in 2012.

By 2015, Forrester projects that tablets will represent 23 percent of all PC sales, which will be more than either desktops or netbooks, trailing only notebooks.

Tablet buyers are wealthier, better educated and more connected than the average U.S. adult.

For marketers, tablets’ bigger screens promise more immersive experiences.

“The key thing for marketers is the combination of larger screens and the touch Web really shouldn’t be underestimated,” Mr. Elkin said. “There are much higher interaction rates for the Web and apps among smartphone owners, and on a bigger canvas we expect those deltas to go even higher.

“We often see double consumption and usage on touchscreen devices versus non-touch interfaces,” he said. “The mobile Web is becoming more app-like in appearance and experience, and the likelihood is that the mobile Web and apps will continue to coexist.

“As the industry pushes towards the HTML 5 standard, the Web is becoming more app-like, so there’s an increasing convergence between the appearance and experience.”