IPhone Shows Strong Ad Performance (Big Surprise)

Market research agency GfK just released a report confirming lots of claims that user engagement is higher on the mobile device than on the PC. This is especially true on the iPhone, where this report focused. From ReadWriteWeb:

Seeing Ads

• One in ten mobile phone users in the U.S. used a location-based service such as a map, friend or restaurant finder in Q4, 2008. The 25 – 34 age group saw the highest levels of interest in this type of offering, with 22 percent penetration. 
• One in seven mobile phone users visit a mobile Web site, the second most popular response; this rises to one in five for iPhone users.

Recalling Ads

• iPhone users are four times as likely to recall LBS (location-based service) ads as non-iPhone users.
• 33 percent of mobile consumers recall seeing mobile advertisements this quarter, compared to 41 percent of iPhone users.
• One in three consumers that recall seeing a mobile ad responded in some way; this rises to one in two for iPhone users.
• While men and women are equally likely to recall mobile advertising, women are 85 percent more likely to respond to ads than men.

Responding to Ads

• Calling a toll free phone number published in the ads is the most common means of response; iPhone users called twice as much as non-iPhone users.
• One in seven consumers reported buying a product or visiting a store as a result of seeing a mobile advertisement; for iPhone users, more than one in four bought something as a result of seeing an ad.

There is still a market imbalance in that advertiser demand, CPMs and other ad rates don’t yet reflect these usage realities. But they will soon.