Portable Planet

With strong usage growth and consumers watching and acting upon advertisements, the mobile Web is a compelling platform for content and marketing, according to the latest research from the Online Publishers Association (OPA). Going Mobile: An International Study of Content Use and Advertising on the Mobile Web is the first OPA study to go beyond the U.S., involving over 6,000 interviews in the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The study was conducted in partnership with TNS Media and Entertainment.

The rich platform offered by the mobile Web is demonstrated by Going Mobile’s key findings:

Access to the mobile Web is widespread and usage will continue to grow in 2007.

Advertising works on the mobile Web — both in terms of receptivity and action.

Brands play a significant role in driving mobile Web activity.

People depend on the mobile Web for key content and are actively registering, personalizing and paying for content.

“While people often think of the mobile Web as the realm of ringtones and messaging, it is clearly a rich platform for quality content and marketing,” said OPA president Pam Horan. “Mobile content consumption is high and growing - in the year ahead, current users plan to spend more time with the mobile Web and new audiences will adopt the platform. Additionally, a large number of consumers are watching ads and acting on them. The OPA ‘Going Mobile’ study indicates that very real opportunities exist for marketers and publishers to take advantage of the mobile Internet.”

“From health info to local news, consumers are devouring a broad range of content on their mobile devices. Going Mobile also found that the passion for mobile content is particularly high among consumers of some key content types, including weather, sports, news and stock quotes,” Horan said. “Additionally, it’s revealing to see that PC Internet brands are transferring their equity to the mobile Web. Many consumers frequent the same sites on their Mobile Web that they visit on their PC.”

The complete Going Mobile report is available at www.online-publishers.org.

Heavy Access and Growing Usage

According to Going Mobile, 76% of all consumers in the U.S. and Western Europe have access to the Web on their mobile device, and one third (32%) use it. Among those with mobile access, the U.K. leads in usage (54%), followed by the U.S. and Italy, both at 41%. Eighteen percent internationally expect to spend more time in 2007 on the mobile Web — the U.S. leads the way with 25%, followed by Italy (22%) and the U.K. (20%). Additionally, 41% of those without mobile Web access expect to have it on their next mobile device.

Advertising is Driving Action

An impressive one-third (34%) of mobile Web users internationally say they will watch advertisements in exchange for free mobile content. The appreciation of ads runs highest in Europe, with 37% willing to watch ads.

Importantly, these ads are driving significant numbers of consumers to take specific actions internationally, both online and offline. Nearly one-in-ten consumers actually made a purchase based on a mobile Web ad. Other common actions include: checking out a website (23%); requesting more information about a product or service (13%); and, going to a store to check out a product (11%).

Horan commented, “Consumers in every country are watching mobile ads and large numbers are being compelled to act. Nearly one quarter of mobile Web users have visited a website based on an ad they viewed, and one out of ten make a purchase. This is a clear indication that the mobile Web is an effective advertising delivery platform and a potentially valuable source of revenue.”

PC Web Brands Driving Mobile Web Activity

Going Mobile found that PC Internet brands are the leading source for mobile Web users internationally. Across all content categories, more than 50% of mobile Web consumers use the same brands they use on their PC. Leading the way are consumers who read technology news on the mobile Web: 73% rely on PC Internet brands. Mobile Web users that access stock quotes (69%), business news (66%) and health news (65%) also rely heavily on PC Internet brands.

The study also revealed that the mobile Internet is complementing activity on the PC Internet. Eighteen percent of users internationally say they actually spend more time on the PC Internet since they began using the mobile Internet.

Mobile Web is Vital for Consumers of Sports, Weather and News

The mobile Web is particularly important to consumers of popular content verticals: 53% of all online weather consumers leverage their mobile access to get weather information, followed by 49% of online sports information consumers, 36% of online local/national news consumers, and 35% of online stock quote consumers.

With its previous Paid Online Content U.S. Market Spending Report, the OPA proved that people pay for online content. Going Mobile shows that this translates to the mobile Web. More than one-in-ten mobile Internet users have paid for content across categories. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of Americans have paid for tech news, followed by lifestyles content (21%) and product information (20%).

Additionally, mobile Web users are actively registering and personalizing content across categories. For instance, of those mobile Web users who access stock quotes, 66% register and 61% personalize the content.

About the Online Publishers Association

Founded in 2001, the U.S.-based Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the highest standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA’s membership has an unduplicated audience of 128.2 million unique visitors or 74% reach of the U.S. online population (comScore Media Metrix, July 2006). Visit www.online-publishers.org for more information.

Source: OPA Press Release