Internet More Mobile and Useful

(Top News, 9 Oct 2009)

InSites Consulting has launched MC DC "Marketers & Consumers, Digital & Connected", in co-operation with IAB Europe. The main conclusion is that marketers will need to adapt to the new possibilities offered by the Internet and other digital media to consumers if they want to meet the expectations of contemporary consumers. A number of evolutions include the shift to more mobile surfing on the Internet, at home and on the move. Apart from fun, the Internet also needs to be useful to surfers. These are some of the results of the MC DC report, conducted in 16 European countries.

MC DC, using digital media in a changed marketing landscape
"Several market research reports and articles are available with adoption figures of digital media," says Gianni Cooreman, Director of Digital Media at InSites Consulting. "For instance, the number of people on social networks, online activities, how mobile phones are used..."
Few reports go beyond these figures though. It is a fact that consumers live and interact with other people and brands in the virtual world. Often, marketers keep guessing at the answers to vital questions such as: how can I use social networks to strengthen my brand? How can consumers co-create via digital channels? How does a brand gain approval to enter their virtual world? How do I integrate mobile and location-based services into my marketing mix? ... To answer all these questions we have launched MC DC 'Marketers & Consumers, Digital & Connected'.

Internet becomes mobile
Over the last few years there has been a shift from desktop computers to laptops and recently to netbooks. Surfers want more mobility. 1 out of 2 European surfers also has a Wi-Fi Internet connection at home. Apart from at home, an increasing number of surfers also use the Internet on the move. 1 out of 4 has already used a hotspot at a public location to surf on a laptop. 18 percent has already surfed the Internet on the mobile network of his/her GSM. 13 percent has a data plan to consult the Internet via their GSM or smartphone.

"Due to the growing success of the smartphone the mobility of the Internet will increase further," says Gianni Cooreman, Director of Digital Media at InSites Consulting. "The smartphone already has an adoption percentage of 14 percent. We noticed that smartphones and mobile Internet are still most popular among men aged between 25 and 44 with a higher income."

Not just fun, useful as well
'Utility' of the Internet means that the surfer tries to fill a personal need as much as possible. Almost 8 out of 10 European Internet users say the Internet has become more useful to them compared to a few years ago. E-mail, online banking and online photo albums are still mainstays of the Internet. However, they are used differently than before. Due to the increasing volume of e-mail traffic, e-mail is used much less to send jokes, movies, photographs or chain letters.

Surfers discover applications and services that are interesting and useful to them. Increasingly, "cloud computing applications" (all kinds of online applications and services) are becoming more important on the Internet. For instance, 1 out of 10 Internet users regularly use online calendars to manage their appointments or store personal data on an online back-up service.

Challenge for the marketer: useful applications for their target group
This need for utility for the consumer and being aware of it also creates new challenges for the marketer.

"Marketers who realize that their target group is looking for useful and relevant applications on the Internet or in other digital media can take advantage of this," says Gianni Cooreman, Director of Digital Media at InSites Consulting. "By creatively using this information and interacting with his/her target group, the marketer can meet a real need and strengthen the connection between the consumer and the brand."

17 challenges for marketers in the field of digital media
The Internet adoption figures and 'utility of the Internet' are two topics of the MC DC report. Based on talks with marketers, 17 topics have been defined. These topics deal with challenges facing brands, marketers and companies today when they enter the digital world of the consumer.