Captivating Connections.

apps vs. mobile web.

When it comes to using apps vs. the mobile web, which one do you rely on and access via your mobile devices?

Personally, I tend to rely on the tried and true apps I have found to love and rely on, like Maps and HopStop. However, when something is outside my knowledge base, I have no issue tapping open the mobile web and doing a quick search to get what I need.

While both apps and the mobile web are increasing in popularity, according to Niesel, apps are beating out the mobile web or time spent. In fact, "the amount of time spent with apps versus the mobile Web increased to 81% from 73% a year ago."

What else did they find?

- The average time spent on apps per day has changed in the last year, up two minutes to 39 minutes.

- People are dividing their attention across a wider selection of apps; the proportion of time spent among the 50 most popular apps declined from 74% to 58% in the last year.

- However, the top 5 apps (Facebook, YouTube, Android Market [now Google Play], Google Search and Gmail) remain unchanged from a year ago. Perhaps related to the people spreading time over a more diverse group of apps is the fact that the average number of apps per smartphone has risen, from 32 to 41.

are you an app or browser type?

As smartphones become increasingly popular, this means that more and more consumers have access to mobile programs and the mobile web. The question for brands looking to connect with consumers via mobile is quickly becoming "do I target them via an app or via the web?"

According to a Jumptap study of ad requests served, there's "a slight lead for the mobile web." However, "ads served to both the web and mobile apps are growing at a similar rate."

This is impressively close. So, what does this mean for brands and marketers? As the company explained, it's all about who you're trying to connect with: “One thing to remember is you don’t have to have either to advertise—even if an advertiser doesn’t have an app or a mobile website, they can still have a mobile landing page.”

What do you think?

 

do you spend more time on the web or on an app?

According to Flurry, "U.S. smartphone users now spend more time with mobile applications per day than people do using the desktop and mobile Web."

The proof? "As of June, time spent with mobile apps per day per person reached an average of 81 minutes compared to 74 minutes on the Web, according to app analytics and advertising firm Flurry. In December, the split was nearly even: 70 minutes spent with apps versus 66 online. A year ago, time spent clearly favored the Web, at an average of 64 minutes to 43 for apps. The change reflects a 91% increase in time spent with apps since June 2010."

where are all the mobile diners?

According to a joint study done by Yahoo and Nielsen, "finding nearby restaurants and dining options is one of the ways that people use their mobile phones."

That's not exactly a surprise. However, check out the breakdown of who's searching for what...

"About 34 million Americans get dining and restaurant information from a mobile device. That audience skews young, with more than half falling between the ages of 13 and 34. They tend to have high incomes -- $87,000 per year -- while more than half are married and 41% have one or more children. A majority (58%) identified themselves as suburban.

To find dining information, 82% said they used search, with 68% going through their mobile browser and 17% through an app. About a third of respondents (34%) remembered seeing a dining ad on their mobile device, and most of those (77%) "sometimes" or "always" looked at it.

Naturally, most (67%) said they were looking for options in their area, and 77% said they preferred ads to be 'relevant to my current location.' But most weren't looking for three-star restaurants. Nearly half (49%) were interested in casual sit-down dining (at popular chains such as Chili's, Applebee's and Olive Garden), while 30% wanted fast food such as McDonald's or Subway.

Only 23% expressed interest in getting information on fine dining (places like Morton's Steakhouse and McCormick & Schmick)."

do you have a herding instinct?

"A new study shows that consumers are more likely to show interest in a product if they see that it is already very popular.

The research, from Oxford University, shows that consumers have a herding instinct to 'follow the crowd' once a clear winner is established. However, this instinct appears to switch off almost entirely if the product fails to achieve a certain popularity threshold.

The findings have implications for the retail online world. Online book retailer Amazon and the online DVD rental service Netflix already allow their users to rate the products, and as a consequence, influence their future popularity. The study concludes that while some books and films are highly advertised by their producers, that element is only a small fraction, leaving the great majority of books and films exposed to the forces of social influence.

The study is based on an analysis of how millions of Facebook users adopted software, known as apps, to personalize their Facebook pages. The researchers analyzed data that tracked 100 million installations of apps adopted by Facebook users over two months in 2007. The data allowed researchers to observe on an hourly basis the rate at which 2,700 apps were installed by 50 million Facebook users.

They discovered that once an app had reached a rate of about 55 installations a day, its popularity then soared to reach stellar proportions. A typical app was installed by 1,000 users, but the most popular app 'Top Friends' was in a different league, being adopted by almost a fifth (12 million users) of the entire Facebook population.

The study concludes that social influence had a key role in whether apps became flops or hits."

Very interesting.

the role of mobile in entertaining kidlets.

"The majority of mobile entertainment devices used by parents and kids host less than 20 apps geared toward children, but about 7% host more than 60 apps for a child, according to The NPD Group Kids' Mobile Entertainment & Apps study released Monday.

Gaming is the most popular type of app downloaded, with the average mobile device used by a child containing approximately 10 game-related apps. Music ranked No. 2.

When it comes to overall downloads, however, music dominates and games moves to the No. 2 spot. Video steps in at No. 3.

Music makes up more than half of all downloads and about 61% of all child-related downloads to a mobile entertainment device. The remaining types of downloads, including ringtones, TV shows and movies, comprise less than 10% of all downloading activity.

Three top themes emerged in the study that keep kids coming back for more, and parents agreeing to allow the kids to download, listen to music and play games. Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group, says these themes include the love of music, laughter to keep kids entertained, and fun and addicting applications. 'Parents are more willing to pay for apps when they think their kids will use them a lot,' she says."

the tv/app relationship.

"Apps are nowhere near a prerequisite for launching a successful series today, but mobile could bring back a slice of lost ad revenue and put networks and their brands on some of the screens that are stealing attention from TV viewership.

ABC and MTV were both first-movers on the iPad. During the upfront, Kristin Frank, general manager of MTV and VH1 Digital, said the network will package mobile with TV and other properties for advertisers. For MTV, apps create context for its shows and let the network interact with viewers while simultaneously laying the foundation for additional revenue streams.

'Clearly we're looking at apps to be a successful marketing tool,' said Ms. Frank. 'As an industry trend, we're not at a point of saturation by any means. It's not critical, right now, for the success of a show.' Beyond ad sales, which would likely represent the largest chunk of mobile revenue, networks could sell additional content to users in apps. ABC declined to comment on upfront plans."

Now, here's the real question on everyone's minds: "But will advertisers be buying?

'We're not quiet there yet from an advertising perspective,' said Chris Allen, VP-director of video innovations, Starcom USA. 'But we do have clients that are interested in exploring mobile as part of cross-platform programs.'"

It looks like it's going to be an exciting few months for mobile & TV.

location. location. location.

The latest research on location and mobile yields interesting results:

"Research from Wi-Fi provider and mobile ad server JiWire buttresses reports on the effectiveness of mobile advertising, especially in apps and location-based services.

The company found that most users of its public Wi-Fi services had downloaded at least 10 smartphone apps and about two-thirds spent more than 30 minutes a day using the applications. In addition, 63% said they 'frequently' use apps that require them to give their location to serve specific content.

JiWire’s audience was somewhat less likely to say they would allow an app to access their location just to serve more relevant advertisements, but more than one-half reported they would.

While users seem to understand the trade-off of advertising for free content, with 76% saying they prefer ad-supported, free apps to paid ones, they are more ready to disclose location-based information for improved content than just for ads."

it's official...

...there were 300,000 iPads sold on the first day. Well played, Apple.

So what are the iPad owners doing with this magnifique creations?

"Currently, the top three paid iPad applications belong to a suite of applications intended to give the iPad more heft as a machine for productivity. They are adaptations of Apple’s iWork tools and include Pages, a word processing application, Keynote, which allows users to create visually rich presentations, and Numbers, a spreadsheet application. Each sells for $9.99.

But perhaps the most interesting application on the top 10 list is one called Star Walk, a $2.99 astronomy application that morphs the iPad into a star chart. Pointing the tablet at the sky activates an internal digital compass, instantly locating stars, planets and other celestial bodies.  Tapping on an object reveals more information about it.

GoodReader, which costs 99 cents and is hovering in the fourth most downloaded slot, is a documents reader for the iPad that can handle a range of formats, including PDF files and high-resolution images. SketchBookPro, $8.99, a sophisticated drawing application that lets users craft paintings with their hands, is also on the list."

keep yourself from having an epic (facebook) fail.

iMedia has a great article looking at "10 Signs Your Facebook App Will Fail," looking at what NOT to do (even though a lot of people do) when it comes to launching branding applications.

Some examples of what not to do?

- Make it all about the brand

- Approach application development as web development

- Speak to consumers about products

- Expect applications to go viral