Brands Failing To Engage In Smartphone Advertising As 86% Of Mobile Users Ignore Them

With the popularity of smartphones set to explode over the next year, brands may do well to heed the latest research published by agency YouGov that suggests a significant proportion of users find advertisements on their phones annoying.

The study, which analysed predictions for 2012 on consumer behaviour around smartphones, digital newspapers, digital tv and digital radio, found that in the UK, around 86 per cent of users ignore mobile advertising while 79 per cent said that they found their presence irritating.

Currently only 40 per cent of UK people own a smartphone, but this will increase to 68 per cent over the next year. This allows the potential for advertisers and companies to utilize the capabilities and functionality of smartphones for numerous purposes.

The report states that such ownership will result in increasing control and interaction with the real world, like interacting with technology inside and outside the home, location based marketing services, targeted video billboards and QR codes.

Other predictions included smart tv which doesn’t appear to increase in popularity over the next year as only 15 per cent of UK consumers said that they will own one within the next twelve months.

Leisurely Activities

Regarding tablets, an odd statistic is that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of tablet users access the internet through them while in bed. While an unusual finding, it supports the theory that tablets are seen as devices suited towards leisure.

At the moment, only 4 per cent of the UK population currently owns a tablet but with the market developing and new devices such as the Kindle Fire to be released soon, it could be a lifesaver for newspaper and magazine publishers who will divert their attention towards digital publications.

Speaking about the challenges faced by brands in tackling these emerging mediums, media consulting director at YouGov Dan Brilot said: “Smart content producers must continue to develop their services to make it increasingly easier for people to watch what they want, when they want, wherever they want.”

Also the decline of print media was alluded to by associated director of technology at YouGov Russel Feldman who said “the decline of print media will only accelerate during 2012…[and] tablets and apps will increase the digital cannibalisation of paper copies as they erode more of those previously inaccessible locations to digital devices.”

The report also stated that Facebook’s dominance would continue to grow, with it potentially becoming the world’s most visited web portal.