Make the most of Mobile: Pounce, as other lean back

MOBILE is the talk of the town right now. There is no doubt that we have reached the post PC era. The shift of media consumption usage towards connected devices is undeniable and all things point towards sustained growth. But savvy marketers need to stop playing catch-up and really start to leverage the power of mobile. Let's look at what we're dealing with. Australia is in the top five countries in the world when is comes to smartphone penetration. According to the latest Nielsen stats, mobile internet usage has skyrocketed to reach 221 million page views in March 2012, up from only 59 million page views a year ago. Meanwhile, over the same time period, online usage has flat-lined. These trends are confirmed from recent media consumption research from InMobi, which shows that the average Australian spends six and a half hours a day consuming media, with almost 30 per cent of their media consumption occurring on their mobile devices. And mobile media consumption is only the beginning of this evolution that we are living through. Tablet devices are beginning to penetrate both homes and businesses, and according to the latest industry forecasts from Yankee Group, tablet sales will outperform PC sales in 2015. But we already know mobile is huge and is going to get bigger. The first question on every marketer's mind is how do I actually ensure I get the best results for my brand using mobile as a channel? The second is how do I keep up with consumers' demand? The answer lies in understanding the relationship consumers have with mobile devices. It's what content they consume, when they consume and how they consume that creates an entirely new opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences. Research shows that mobile (including tablets) is the preferred medium for communication (social media), entertainment (games, music, video) and consuming information content (sports, news) compared to any other channel. The effect of mobile advertising has already changed consumers' purchasing habits, with 34 per cent claiming it has introduced them to something new, 12 per cent saying it has caused them to reconsider a product, and 10 per cent being influenced to purchase in-store. With tablet sales set to treble by 2013, the influence of mobile on purchasing behavior will only grow. Additionally, usage data has illuminated another interesting behavioural insight around the time of day when mobile and tablet usage is highest. Data shows that tablet usage in Australia on the InMobi network from January to March was 71 per cent higher between the hours of 6pm to 10pm, compared to 8am to 6pm. Similarly, smartphone usage peaked 35 per cent higher during the same hours over the same time period. This time of day - commonly referred to as 'lean back' time - signifies the moment when consumers are relaxing at home, usually in front of the TV and simultaneously on their connected devices, which are specifically designed for the lean back content experience. What happens at this time of day is interesting. Consumers enter a different state of mind. They become relaxed, open, intrigued. They roam the internet on their connected devices, happy to explore new content to augment their TV experience. This includes advertising, with click through rates jumping by more than 10 per cent for mobile campaigns at this time of day. Understanding the consumer's behaviour during lean back time is a huge opportunity for any advertiser wanting to harness mobile. By tailoring creative to be content rich and engaging through rich media, an advertiser can maximize their 'moment' with the consumer and ultimately deliver more effective advertising. In many ways, TV Prime Time is Prime Time for mobile as well.