With the rapidly expanding mobile internet and interest growing in our uptake of it. Here are three Infographics, showing the numbers behind our usage of mobile social network browsing.
The first's from Flowtown, on how mobile is shaping the way social media is consumed. It’s interesting to see that from these stats, 25% or more than 100 million Facebook users access from a mobile phone, and those who do, are twice as active on social networks compared to people accessing from a computer! Plus, in January 2010, more than double the number of users accessed Facebook from their mobiles, over those in 2009.
The 35-54 year old bracket is the most active mobile social users!
The second's also from Flowtown, on how teenagers use mobile phones in the US. Some of the key findings from their research is that 75% of all teenagers in the US now have a mobile phone, while almost 35% of teenagers send over 100 text messages per day, one in three people text while driving and one in two talk on a mobile phone while at the wheel. But only 25% are using social networks on their phones, with females still being the highest users of mobile phones.
The third one's another great infographic by Pingdom, this time on Instant Messaging. There are some pretty crazy stats in there like the 47 Billion daily instant messages sent, or the 40 million simultaneous logged in windows messenger users. I see a lot of media plans buying Windows Messenger banners, it’s a popular (and pretty cheap) buy, which is clearly due to the serious amount of impressions they’d serve every day!
Where research shows that buying objects is ultimately more disappointing than buying experiences.
Psychological research tells us that this disappointment is particularly pronounced when people buy things like mp3 players or watches, compared with experiences like vacations or concert tickets. The researchers explore six reasons why objects are less satisfying than their experiential counterparts:
1. Objects are easy to compare unfavorably
2. A “maximising” strategy leaves us less satisfied
3. Material purchases more likely to be re-evaluated
4. The new option effect
5. The reduced price effect
6. A cheaper rival
This seems problematic. The research suggests then, that if we design objects in the context of a larger experience, we’ll lower the risk of disappointment. What is the difference between 'object' and 'experience' though? That distinction seems very much at the discretion of an individual, not the Ad men and women.
I have always been of the opinion that the guise of time changes our opinion on purchases. The value of things decreases with time due to simple depreciation. Conversely, to me, it seems the value of experiences seems to increase as time moves along, because they are transient. If they are good, I remember them fondly. And the fondness seems to be able to grow exponentially: the next time, I not only remember my fondness for the experience, but also the other times I’ve thought of it when it has made me happy. Stuff can’t do that.
This got me thinking on how you'ld go about, integrating the longer lasting and greater enjoyment, that comes from an 'experience'. With the material purchase of buying an 'object'. To date I don't know of anyone who's successfully married the two, with a product that's readily available.
Bergs play with a computer linked desktop man, that responds when your MSN friends log on.
Georg Reil's 'Fine Collection Of Curious Sound Objects'. Musical household and personal objects, that respond to your use of them.
Plus Nike's DJ Music Trainers. Although these aren't intended for sale, as it's clearly just a branding campaign. But the campaigns existence does help to promote the arrival of this new user interaction, and the possibilities that are now available to us. One that open source tech has delivered.
But no one has yet delivered it for real. Amongst the bunch, it's VW that expresses the sentiment of the 'experience' better than the others. Better than Nike anyway, as the other two aren't really products, just developers.
I've also noticed that the two main ingredients being used, are sound and movement.
At worst, VW's TheFunTheory.com is just an analogy, at best, a philosophy. And while I'm genuinely interested in where they're going to take it, and how they're going to incorporate this belief into their products, cars. I suspect it'll be through a rather tenuous link, with the very latest technology in driver aids and passenger environment. I do hope I'm wrong, and that the link is much stronger than that.
If Nike take the opportunity, or even know that it exists, in successfully delivering a marriage between 'experience' and 'object'. They're probably better qualified to deliver this, to great effect, than any other brand I know.
Through their strong brand links and heritage with contemporary fashion and music, as seen in their ad above, allowing them to integrate the necessary ingredients of sound and movement. Again, as the add so beautifully expressed. Well for starters anyway, as this combination is the most obvious place to start from. All they need to do now, is make it happen. Delivering a pair of trainers that really do allow you to walk, or run in rhythm, to a rhythm of your choice. One's that would hook up to your iPod. Now that's an 'experience' Nike could own.
But before you read it. I noticed the outtake from it all, is that, advertising that promotes an emotional reaction/message, over that, that promotes a cost reaction/message. Lends itself to an 'experience' far more successfully, than those, that lead with a message of cost. Supporting the belief, that Brand campaigns really are more effective at generating positive reactions, from the customer at large, than Promotional campaigns do. And it's this, that lift's meaningful long term sales.
The AdAge 2010 Digital conference has just been and gone, with it came a few fantastic presentations that I hope to post over the coming week, so to kick them off, here's a great presentation from Ashley Ringrose who runs BannerBlog, on the 'Six Foundations Of Great Digital Creative'.
I thought this was a pretty inspiring piece, it combines all the key base creative elements that a lot of agencies have trouble combining with digital creative. The presentation also has many click-able digital creative examples to help make the point.
