Posted on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 08:44 AM
Originally published on ClickZ
Everywhere we look, our industry seems to be telling us that when it comes to mobile marketing, women are the consumers to reach. Mobile Marketer's Mobile Outlook 2012 study asserts that female consumers are poised to embrace their smartphones for more than just communicating with family and friends. Last week The Wall Street Journal blogged that women and older mobile users are currently underserved by mobile advertising globally. Advertisers, they reported, are missing out on an opportunity to target female mobile users.
Since mobile usage among women is on the rise, and women make the majority of the purchasing decisions, it's natural to view them as a key target mobile market. And yes, female mobile users represent a viable market. To shift one's focus and begin targeting them at the expense of male users, however, might be a mistake.
The degree to which male consumers are embracing mobile ads became evident last year. Prior to Thanksgiving, studies were indicating 50 percent of men planned to make some of their holiday purchases by smartphone as a way to capitalize on pre-holiday deals without having to brave the crowds.
A new study from InsightExpress suggests male smartphone users - particularly those aged 18 to 29 - continue to shop by phone, and could make it a behavioral priority in 2012. The real surprise, though, is that besides spending more time shopping on their phones, they're putting mobile above other methods of shopping as well. The report found that 32 percent of these consumers rely on their mobile phones to make purchases rather than going online or in-store. Only 12 percent of women in the same age group do the same.
A Different Mindset Toward Mobile Ads
If a consumer is predisposed to shopping via mobile phone, it stands to reason that he'll pay some mind to mobile advertising. Sure enough, InsightExpress found men are both aware of seeing mobile ads and more likely to consider them "new and different" when compared with traditional ads and digital ads online. Couple that mindset with ad messaging that provides value to the consumer and men are apt to pay even more attention. Here are a few of the best ways to reach the mobile male this year.
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Consider including product prices in your mobile ads. When feasible, this approach is well worth testing. Given that 59 percent of men are using their mobile phones to seek out better prices on the items they're interested in purchasing, an ad that provides as much product information and special pricing offers as possible can help drive mobile conversions - particularly when consumers are searching for product information while in-store.
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Target ads locally. InsightExpress says 65 percent of young males have searched for a product in a nearby store while they're on the go. It's one of the most common activities among mobile users, and one that stands to produce the most conversions (in last year's Google and Ipsos OTX smartphone user study, researchers found 88 percent of mobile adults take action within a day of searching for local information on their phones).
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Incorporate QR codes into your campaigns. The concept of scanning a QR code with one's mobile phone to attain additional product information might seem as though it should be foreign to most consumers. In fact, not only are consumers of all genders growing comfortable with the action, they're already programmed to make it. Research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey recently reported that half of all smartphone users have already scanned a QR code, mostly because they were curious about what would happen when they did (46 percent of those consumers polled named this as their motivation, compared with the 41 percent that were seeking additional company, product, or deal information).
The action doesn't differ so much from using one's phone to take a photograph. When you consider that 41 percent of young males use their phones for this purpose, and that they're generally interested in gathering information, it seems as though scanning a QR code to inform a product purchase may be a natural extension of men's existing mobile behavior.
Mobile marketing in 2012 won't be a war of the sexes. At the end of the day, it isn't about which gender is more favorable to marketers eager to make sales through the mobile channel; it's about recognizing that both have potential, and identifying exactly where that potential lies.
In this way, media planners and buyers will be prepared to address the needs of all of their consumers, in all of their varied campaigns. Be sure to check back next week for a look at the female mobile user and unique strategies for how to reach her.
Posted on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 11:50 AM
Originally published on Research.
Researchers reveal how their out-of-hours pursuits influence the day job. This month we meet Jared Huizenga, a field services manager who also leads a competitive barbecue team.
Tell us about your day job
I am the field services manager at Chadwick Martin Bailey, a market research and consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. I work with our researchers and partners to ensure the fielding process goes well and produces the high-quality data we require.
Tell us about your other life
I am the pitmaster of the competition barbecue team Insane Swine BBQ. Our team can be found travelling all over the north-east of the US, competing in weekend-long barbecue and grilling contests. I’m also the vice president of the board of directors for the New England Barbecue Society, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes barbecue in this area of the country.
“The best competition cooks are the ones who have a process but who can also adjust well to adverse situations. The same can be said of the best researchers”
Which came first?
I’ve always loved eating barbecue. However, I didn’t start competing or get involved with the barbecue society until after joining Chadwick Martin Bailey.
How do you fit the two around each other?
It’s pretty easy since the barbecue and grilling competitions are always on the weekends. I practice for competitions at night or at weekends, and take Friday off before competition weekends.
Are you ever tempted to become a full-time barbecue pitmaster?
It’s really difficult to make a living as a competition barbecue team – some contests pay thousands of dollars to the winner, but the competition these days is extremely fierce. Many serious, well-known competitors also have restaurants or catering businesses, but the food service industry has its own challenges.
What does competitive cooking offer you that research doesn’t?
It combines three of the things I enjoy most: cooking, the outdoors and socialising with friends. Even though these events are competitions, the atmosphere is friendly and most competitors enjoy hanging out with each other.
What does research offer you that competitive cooking doesn’t?
Research offers stability and the opportunity to improve the products and services companies offer. As researchers we are often so entrenched in the specifics of individual studies that we sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture and just how important market research is.
What does research teach you that you can use as a barbecue pitmaster?
My role as a researcher has taught me to how to follow a process and adapt to problems when they arise. There are many variables involved in cooking good barbecue: cooking temperature, meat selection, flavour profiles, fuel selection and the weather all play a part. A lot of planning is necessary to make sure everything goes according to schedule, but something always goes wrong. The best competition cooks are the ones who have a process but who can also adjust well to adverse situations. The same can be said of the best researchers.
What does competition cooking teach you as a researcher?
This hobby has enabled me to explore my passion for cooking while spending quality time with my friends and family. CMB has always stressed that employees should find the proper balance between work and personal life. I feel my life is in balance.
What do your colleagues say when you tell them about your other life?
Many of my colleagues are interested in what I do and I enjoy answering their questions about competitions or barbecue. They even get to sample some of my food – every year I cook barbecue for the whole firm. Colleagues donate money to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in exchange for all the barbecue they can eat.
What do your teammates say when you tell them you’re really a researcher?
They ask me if I’m the one who calls them during dinner trying to sell them things. I tell them that’s telemarketing. I’m the one who calls and asks if they will answer a bunch of questions.
If you had to give up one of your two lives, which would it be?
Luckily I don’t have to choose. I enjoy my job, but I dream of barbecue.
Posted on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 09:01 AM
Originally published in eMarketer
Top reason to scan was to find out what would happen
Half of smartphone users have now scanned a QR code at least once, according to research from Chadwick Martin Bailey, but findings suggest marketers have still not proven their value to consumers.
As QR codes pop up in more places, awareness of them is growing, and many users seem to learn what they do before learning what they are called. Chadwick Martin Bailey found that while just 21% of internet users surveyed had heard of QR codes before, more than four in five knew one when they saw one.
QR codes are becoming hard to miss, even for those without a smartphone. Data from mobile marketing firm Nellymoser indicates that well over 90% of the top 100 magazines in the US have featured at least one mobile barcode since May 2011; as recently as November 2010, just 9% had. The proportion of ad pages in those magazines that now feature mobile barcodes hovers around 5%.
That doesn’t even touch on the presence of QR codes in outdoor advertising, in-store signage and packaging, or business cards—all among the top places smartphone users have scanned QR codes from, according to Chadwick Martin Bailey. With QR codes seemingly all around them, smartphone users’ top reason to scan one was out of simple curiosity (46%), followed by the hope for more information (41%).
These results may give marketers pause. As 2-D barcodes become ubiquitous, people are learning what they are: something to scan with a special app on a smartphone. But as awareness develops, the novelty factor may be in danger of wearing off. Marketers will have to prove there is valuable information in store for QR code scanners—perhaps a coupon or exclusive content—or those who scan a few times out of curiosity may not develop a scanning habit.
Posted on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 10:07 AM
Originally Published on Mediapost
People are making use of QR codes, although they’re not really sure of the purpose those codes are supposed to serve.
According to a study of more than 1,200 people by research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, more than 80% of them recognize the black-and-white squares that link the real and virtual worlds (although only about 20% can refer to them as “QR”), and half of all smartphone owners have used their devices to scan the codes.
Beyond that, however, people are a bit murky on the purpose behind the codes. Only 18% said they used the information from the QR code to make a purchase; 21% said they passed the information on to someone else, while 57% said they did nothing with the information.
“I think there’s still a learning process [for QR codes],” Jeff McKenna, a senior consultant at Chadwick Martin Bailey, tells Marketing Daily. “We’re still in the early stages of people using smartphones for this purpose.”
Although people are familiar with the codes, they’re still in the curiosity stage about their purpose. Of those who scanned the codes, nearly half (46%) said they did so because they were curious about what it would do, while 41% said they wanted to get more information about a company or event. Only 18% said they scanned the code to take advantage of a discount or gift and 16% said they used it to access exclusive content. Only 6% said they used it to buy something.
“While there is a strong curiosity factor, there is a [small] group of people who are relying on QR codes,” McKenna says. “We’re still in the process of understanding the types of people that use them and the information they seek.”
Among those who scanned the codes, only 18% found the information from them useful, while 42% found the information of no use. About a similar number (41%) said they had mixed feelings about the information. (Men found the QR codes more useful than women, however.)
Even those who had never used the codes, however, had opinions about how they could or should be used. Forty-three percent of consumers surveyed said they would be interested in using the codes for discounts or other offers, while 26% said they would use them to find out more about a product or service (although only 18% said they would use them to get more information about a brand or company). Twenty-three percent said they would use them to purchase a product.
Despite the near ubiquity of the codes, most are still using old media sources to access the information from them. According to the survey, 35% of consumers accessed QR codes from a newspaper or magazine, while only 18% used the code from a package or container. Other access points included Web sites (13%), direct mailings (11%), billboards or other outdoor signage (11%) and email (4%).
Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/165210/qr-codes-prove-to-be-a-curiosity.html#ixzz1ih9TO59D
Posted on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 10:05 AM
Originally Published on Drug Store News
BOSTON — As many as 20% of smartphone users made a purchase after scanning a QR code, according to a Consumer Pulse study released Wednesday by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies.
“Consumers are curious about QR codes and the information they can get,” stated Jeff McKenna, senior consultant at Chadwick Martin Bailey. “But companies need to understand what consumers expect from a scan whether it’s more information, a coupon or exclusive offer. Companies who use QR codes successfully to drive engagement or sales will be those who meet customer expectations and offer compelling reasons to scan.”
The study also looked at ease of use, with 70% of those who scanned finding scanning to be a very easy process. However, only 41% reported the information they got to be useful.
Data was collected from 1,228 adults via a nationally representative online survey questionnaire within the United States by Chadwick Martin Bailey in October 2011.
A Chadwick Martin Bailey report with additional findings from this study is available here.
Posted on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 01:35 PM
Originally published on Marketing Pilgrim
QR codes are popping up everywhere. Not long ago, these mysterious patterned squares could be found in an occasional magazine or on a mailer. Now you can find them on grocery displays, packaging, even on bus shelters.
More QR codes must mean more people are using them! Right? Sort of. A new study from Chadwick Martin Bailey shows that people are scanning, but they don’t know what do with the results.
Here’s a visual from Marketing Charts:
I’m part of that top line, too. When QR codes were new, I scanned them all the time. Now, I rarely bother. I find that most codes just lead me to a website that I could have arrived at more easily by typing in the URL. Other than that, I’ve been led to a few recipes and some behind the scenes videos for movies. Nothing thrilling and certainly nothing worth sharing.
I suppose there’s some hope in the fact that 18% of people made a purchase after using a code. I don’t recall this ever being an option on codes I’ve scanned but. . .41% also said they found the information to be “useful.” Which is funny, seeing as most people said they didn’t use this “useful” information.
So what are people expecting when they scan a QR code? Not much. 41% said “more information,” but 46% said they scanned simply because they were curious. Only 16% were looking for exclusive content and that’s a problem. Shouldn’t the information hidden behind a QR code be “exclusive?” QR codes are codes. That implies they hold the secret to a treasure. But why bother if what you access is available to anyone who visits the site online, code or not?
Here’s the most interesting stat from the study. 18% scanned a QR code in order to get a discount, coupon or gift. You can bet that number is low not because people don’t want deals but because brands aren’t using QR codes that way.
I don’t get it. A QR code is the perfect path to an online deal. If I’m going to go through the trouble to pull out my phone, line up the code and scan, then I want something for my efforts. Something tangible, like a B1G1 Free sandwich as my favorite fast food place.
QR code creators, stop sending us to your generic, company website page or presenting me with a recipe I could find anywhere online. Put something truly unique and cool inside those QR codes and become part of the of “shared it” line on the graph, instead of the “I did nothing.”
Posted on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 11:35 AM
Originally published in Digital Media Wire
New research from Chadwick Martin Bailey found that half of appropriately capable smartphone owners had scanned a QR code, and a fifth of those had gone on to make a purchase. Those are glass-half-full numbers for fans of the scannable squares, but the report nonetheless provides information about how the codes are faring in the real world.
The Consumer Pulse study was conducted by CMB and and iModerate Research Technologies in order to learn how people are using QR (Quick Response) codes and why they’re using them, with an eye toward how to improve their popularity.
Marketing teams should note that although only 21 percent of respondents knew what the term QR code meant, 81 percent of them had seen them. That shows it’s still necessary to explain rather than assume consumers are familiar with the technology.
According to the report, half of smartphone owners had scanned a QR code, and nearly 20 percent of them made a purchase after scanning. Of course, not all QR codes are related to a purchase, since they’re used to convey information of all kinds.
Importantly, the report found that those offering the codes have some work to do: under half (41 percent) of respondents rated the information they got from scanning the code to be useful. But at least 70 percent of people found QR codes were easy to use.
“Consumers are curious about QR codes and the information they can get,” said Jeff McKenna, senior consultant at Chadwick Martin Bailey. “But companies need to understand what consumers expect from a scan whether it’s more information, a coupon, or exclusive offer. Companies who use QR codes successfully to drive engagement or sales will be those who meet customer expectations and offer compelling reasons to scan.”
Related links:
http://www.cmbinfo.com
http://www.imoderate.com
http://blog.cmbinfo.com/qr-codes
Photo by Flickr user CleverCupcakes, used under Creative Commons license
Posted on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 11:28 AM
Originally posted on Marketing Vox
Increasingly a conundrum has been observed and wondered about: with so few people familiar and comfortable with QR codes, why do marketers persist in using them?
One reason is undoubtedly their sex appeal: they are last year’s augmented reality apps. However, there is also a wealth of statistics to show that they do have an impact on those consumers that do respond to them, the latest from Chadwick Martin Bailey’s CMB Consumer Pulse program. It found that nearly 1 in 5 people made a purchase after scanning a QR Code.
Whatever the reason, it is clear that QR codes are being used in increasing ways. More marketers are making them a part of integrated campaigns. They are also increasingly being used by retailers at transportation hubs as a way to make quick purchases.
They are also breathing new life into established formats such as email marketing and as OFM, an office and school furniture manufacturer now shows, in product catalogs.