Mobile

Epsilon and Email Institute released the Q1 2013 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks report. The report shows email open rates continue to increase quarter over quarter and year over year as consumers engage with email at any time and from any location via mobile devices.

Mobile has become so key to consumers’ lives that for the first time this year, time spent on nonvoice mobile activities will surpass time spent online on desktop and laptop computers, eMarketer estimates.

In celebration of creativity and in preparation for the 2013 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the IAB has created a unique, comprehensive view of today’s mobile creative best practices. This report contains the findings from research based on Dynamic Logic data from more than 100 mobile campaigns, and Millward Brown Firefly’s in-depth interviews with a variety of creative agency leaders about their thoughts on mobile creative best practice.

With technological advancements in connectivity and speed, there has been a shift to mobile devices as the primary access point of all things digital. Smartphone and tablets are revolutionizing the way people consume information, including content sent via email. With 88 percent of users checking their email via mobile devices daily, mobile email is a valuable platform for marketers to connect with consumers.

According to the new Mobile Consumer Habits study released by Jumio, Inc. and conducted online by Harris Interactive, smartphone usage is so prevalent in Americans’ everyday lives that nearly one in ten (9%) smartphone owners admit to having used their phone during sex, along with unexpected places, such as the shower (12%), in church or other place of worship (19%), and more.

US Hispanics have been on the leading edge of mobile adoption, and eMarketer estimates that 25.6 million Hispanics—46.9% of this demographic group—will be using smartphones by the end of 2013, representing the second-highest penetration rate among all US races/ethnicities. Only US Asians boast a higher smartphone penetration rate. And in terms of sheer numbers, Hispanic smartphone users outnumber Asian smartphone users by more than three to one, making Hispanics an extremely important mobile-enabled demographic.

According to a new eMarketer report, “Mobile Messaging Trends: Tapping into SMS, Mobile Email and Push Notifications,” marketers are treading carefully to only send mobile notices that are personally or contextually relevant. This is especially true of marketers leveraging channels that deliver content directly to the home screen and require users to opt in, namely SMS, MMS and push notifications.

Keith Turner, president of advertising sales and marketing at Univision Communications Inc., spoke with eMarketer’s Ellen Oppenheim for eMarketer’s Media Voices series about how the company is leveraging Hispanic consumers’ mobile and digital usage.

The U.S. IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB Europe and IHS revealed that global figures for mobile advertising revenue leaped a massive 82.8 percent to $8.9 billion (€6.9 billion) in 2012 from $5.3 billion (€3.8 billion) in 2011 – highlighting a strong positive growth story taking place across mobile advertising formats.

Mobile consumers are more receptive when brands offer value in exchange for their time, says new research report Exploring the Role of Value in Mobile Advertising.

Around the world, web users are surfing the internet on ever-more devices. A GlobalWebIndex survey of 180,000 web users in 31 countries found that as of Q1 2013, three out of five respondents accessed the internet on a mobile phone, and 22% used a tablet. That’s in addition to the steady percentage of internet users—about 93%—who’ve been using a personal desktop or laptop for the past couple of years.

With close to 75 per cent of mobile users falling asleep with their device within reach, the power and influence that mobile has on consumers’ daily lives is undeniable. To frame mobile as a force in the media world, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) unveiled a new positioning to reflect the value that mobile offers as a marketing vehicle.

So if consumers are using second screens while watching TV, are they using them merely as distractions? Or are they using these second screens to engage more deeply with what they’re watching? The answer is both. Among tablet owners, general Web searches (76%) and general Web browsing (68%) are still among the top second-screen activities. But consumers are also using second screens for activities that are directly related to the content they’re viewing, as almost half of tablet owners look up information about what they’re watching.

A new study by Digitas finds that LGBT individuals and families are embracing the “mobile first” way by adopting smartphones and tablets to manage family households, plan and book travel, and leverage mobile shopping technology.

While disparities in Internet use persist among racial and ethnic groups, smartphones appear to be helping to bridge the digital divide, according to a report issued today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

For the first time since the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project began systematically tracking smartphone adoption, a majority of Americans now own a smartphone of some kind.