The iPhone truly sets us apart. You’re an iPhone user or… well… you’re just *not*.
It is something many of us have known for some time and something many iPhone users take pride in.
It is also something Apple Inc., maker of the iconic smartphone, has sought all along as it continues to differentiate itself from the competition. Still, further validation is welcome in a time and age when phones (and tablet computers) running Google’s Android operating system are threatening to give the iPhone and iPads a mighty race.
iPhone advertising? They love it!
According to the New York-based MediaMind Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MDMD), iPhone users are twice as likely to click on mobile advertisements than Android users, and five times more likely than (sorry!) BlackBerry users.
The conclusion was reached after reviewing 230 million mobile ad impressions over the past two quarters. The findings should warm the cockles of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who last year bought Quattro Inc., a mobile advertising startup, with a clear eye on rising mobile advertising dollars, just as it might dismay the tech-heavy titans of Google.
The results are far from surprising, given the demographics of iPhone users, its positioning in the market and past related surveys.
For example, we have known that users of iPhone and iPad buy many more apps than users of mobile devices running other operating systems. According to analysts at Distimo, Apple’s App Store has nearly three times more paid apps as Market, Google’s store that sells Android apps. What’s more, the value of apps sold by Apple is also likely significantly higher, too.
Mobiles click through rates strikingly high
Still, there is more than a glimmer of hope for all mobile advertisers.
MediaMind’s survey found a high click-through-rates on all mobile devices, much higher than that seen in good old PCs. For every 100 mobile users, 61 clicked on mobile banner ads versus a mere 7 for presumably fatigued PC users.
Also, mobile browsing – and ad click-throughs – peaked in the evenings, compared to a slump for PC browsing after office hours. The study also found high click-through rates for most verticals with entertainment, retail and financial services at the top, and apparel and government at the bottom.
The message to advertisers in Australia, where the iPhone has a nearly 40 percent market share, is clear, says Carolyn Bollaci, Country Manager of MediaMind Australia and New Zealand.
Advertisers “…can no longer afford to overlook mobile platforms when building their digital advertising strategy if they want their campaigns to have maximum consumer impact.”
Overall, though, as Gal Trifon, MediaMind’s CEO pointed out, “mobile is proving to be one of the most financially rewarding formats in the media mix” because of its strikingly high click-through rate.
“This is most likely the result of mobile ads being a new experience for many users, and that they occupy a larger portion of the screen as compared to browser ads,” adds Trifon, even though other positive signs exist for mobile advertising. For example, the Mobile Marketing Association and mobile advertising firm Out There Media reveal a mobile user in Asia as hungry for targeted ads and one willing to share location-based data, making him an even more attractive target for ads.
