comScore Study Identifies Mobile Device Preferences for US Market

If the sight of people obsessively using mobile devices everywhere you go isn’t enough to convince you, back-to- back three-month studies conducted by comScore, Inc. now show increases in nearly all types of mobile activity, from communicating to gaming.  Moreover, the report—the result of surveying more than 30,000 mobile phone users—identified a few key trends in the kinds of devices and platforms US mobile subscribers prefer.

First, let’s take a look at the technology side.  When compared to March, April and May of this year, the three following months ending in August found Samsung holding steady as the number one handset manufacturer, with more than one-quarter of American users.  LG held onto second place, but dropped nearly a full percent (from 19.1 to 18.2 percent), while the number of users for third-ranked Apple rose from 15.0 to 17.1 percent.   Motorola and HTC rounded out the top five OEMs at slightly more than 11 and 6 percent respectively.

Smartphone ownership grew 6 percent between the study that ended in May and the one that wrapped up in August.  Google Android clearly dominates the field as far as the most-used smartphone platform, with more than half the total market share.  Apple, however, gained the most ground over the same time period, increasing its share of the smartphone platform market by 2.4 percent, and it is now used by more than one-third of all smartphone owners.  RIM, Microsoft and Symbian all saw decreases in this category during the same time frame.

comScore’s study also revealed what people are using their mobile devices for:

Aprimo Celebrates Its 100 Billionth Email Sent

We have reached a major milestone. Recently, Aprimo sent its 100 billionth email.

100 billion. That’s roughly equivalent to the number of planets in the Milky Way, more than 600 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun (in kilometers) and a suitable ransom amount (in dollars) for the entire world, according to Dr. Evil.

Wow! Email certainly has come a long way from the computers at MIT, where it was first conceived back in 1965. As this infographic illustrates, email’s journey is punctuated with numerous momentous events, including:

1982 – First known use of the word “email” (actually, “e-mail,” then).
1988 – Microsoft Mail is released for the Mac
1997 – Yahoo! introduces Yahoo! Mail
2007 – Google makes Gmail available to the worldwide public

And that brings us to today, when the estimated number of current email users is a staggering 1.3 billion.

Over the years, email has matured into an essential communication tool. (Case in point: In 2008, then Presidential candidate Obama amassed a database of more than 13 million email addresses.) As a result, email is now one of the most important tactics marketers can use to reach consumers.

At Aprimo, we’ve seen firsthand how email continues to be a cost-effective, efficient and potent way to engage with customers and drive purchases, despite the fragmentation of audiences by social networks, texting, etc. In fact, it appears that instead of depleting email’s effectiveness, other online capabilities actually reinforce it. As MediaPost reports, a new study by Forrester Research, in collaboration with GSI Commerce Spring Attribution Research, found that:

Enterprise Mobility Brings Power to the People

Today’s business leaders face complex challenges about whether and how to incorporate today’s technology into their strategic plans.  As if dealing with ever-expanding social media and software options were not enough, along comes the increasingly sophisticated world of mobile technology with its dizzying array of apps.  Mobile today is much more than just a way to check your email when you’re on the road. But, what exactly should –and shouldn’t –employees have access to on their devices?

Although quick to endorse cell phones as a way to get in touch with management and key employees both during and outside of work hours, many companies have not shown the same level of interest towards providing these same workers with the apps that would make them most productive.  In its latest report on what it calls “enterprise mobility,” Altimeter Group  discovered that the rollout of mobile strategic initiatives is still in the infancy stage at most companies, if it exists at all.

The author of this study, Altimeter industry analyst Chris Silva, found organizations that were early adopters of mobile technologies as business tools learned over time that different devices and apps were better suited for certain jobs than for others.  Based on their experiences, Silva proposes that the key to developing an effective mobile strategy involves three elements: looking at which employees would benefit from using mobile, figuring out how they would use it, and then determine which devices and apps would make the most business sense.

Let’s take a look at each component:

How to Build Your Brand’s Mombassadors: Pinterest, Coupons and Mobile!

With Mother’s Day flowers still on the kitchen table and the card still taped to the fridge, I can’t help but reflect on the “mommy” demographic, which has always been a critically important target audience for marketers. It’s no secret to Dad, the kids and the rest of the family (including the dog!) that Mom is the decision-maker, not just at home, but also in the marketplace. In fact, with $2.1 trillion in spending clout, a mom’s brain is “built for shopping,” says Forbes.

And in many ways, digital shopping is built for moms. Digital moms are empowered with mobile devices, and they’re no longer a segmented group reached only through niche sites. Whether it’s searching for a healthy recipe, finding reviews on a local repair shop or looking for medical insight, moms are heavily dependent on search engines. In addition, “mommy bloggers” are now thought leaders, and many moms find information in online communities like CafeMom and Cool Mom Picks.

Moms as “Mombassadors”

According to another new study by Performics, moms are active and engaged users of social networking sites, compared to other women. They’re more likely to visit these social media sites regularly, trust what they read their about their favorite brands and make a purchase – such as a car, clothes or travel – based on social media recommendations.

What’s more, moms are recommendation engines. Once a mom discovers a brand or company she likes, she is more likely to become a brand ambassador. Mothers were 34 percent more likely to recommend companies and brands through social networking sites and 25 percent more likely to talk about companies and brands they follow. This is probably a reflection of the finding that almost two-thirds of moms believe they can influence companies by voicing their opinions on social networks.

Let’s face it: moms like to talk about their likes and dislikes, including passing on brand information. (“You should see this deal I got today!”) Thousands of women are online generating brand buzz and acknowledgement, but remember: This kind of WOM doesn’t happen overnight. It takes an integrated media approach to fully understand what makes moms want to engage and how best to get them talking up your product/service.

Moms are Most Engaged on Pinterest

Pinterest is a rising star and already has the attention of top brands across the board. Moms have taken to Pinterest quickly as well and according to Nielsen, they’re 61 percent more likely to use the network than the average American.

Better yet for marketers,

Four in Ten US Mobile Subscribers Now Use Smartphones

With the increasing sophistication of smartphones, the growing popularity of tablets and the ever-expanding ubiquity of wi-fi, the future of mobile marketing is not only bright, but blinding.

In its most recent annual report on this topic, comScore highlighted a number of factors that point towards nothing short of a mobile marketing groundswell.  Take a look at these key findings:

• The number of people who use mobile devices to surf the internet, download information or access apps continues to grow.  More than four in ten American (42 percent) and EU5 (44 percent) mobile phone subscribers now have smartphones.
• During 2011, growth in the use of mobile apps in the US and EU5 (comprised of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) exceeded growth in mobile browsing, with the retail category coming in second only to health-related apps.
• More than 50 percent of US smartphone owners used them for retail research, such as price comparison while shopping at a brick and mortar store, demonstrating an increasing comfort level with the technology at their fingertips.
• Speaking of comfort level,