iPhoners are More Likely to Stop for Mobile Ads than Non-Owners

02.20.09 @ 8:00am Michael Alexander No Comments

iPhone owners are often on the move but they’re twice as likely as Brand X phone owners to stop for mobile ads, according to a new research study released by Limbo, a mobile social network company, and GfK Technology, a market-research firm.

In their just-released Mobile Advertising Report for the fourth quarter, the two companies also found iPhone owners are more than three times as likely to use a location-based service or social network than their counterparts.

The study’s takeaway, the two companies say, is that advertisers can more readily reach out and touch iPhone users with mobile campaigns than with other ad vehicles. Unless they’re using an iPhone, most mobile customers are just not getting the message, the say.

“This report compared iPhone users with non-iPhone users to better evaluate and more clearly understand the impact of mobile marketing on each platform,” Limbo CEO Jonathon Linner says.

“We found that the iPhone users are not only more accessible, but are also more aware of all mobile ads including those outside of the typical SMS and mobile Web formats. In addition, this report shows that other mobile ad formats, including location-based services, are growing and gaining traction, with iPhone users serving as the early adopters.”

iPhoners, especially in the 25-34 age group, also are big fans of using location-based services to find food, friends and fun, according to the new study. Forty-one percent of iPhoners recall ads served over LBS than the iPhone-less. The majority of these ads are served up by via SMS, followed by mobile Web ads.

The study concludes iPhone users are more likely to see and respond to mobile ads; to use toll-free numbers published in ads; to visit a mobile Web site or retail outlet; and more likely to open their wallets.

“The latest Mobile Advertising Report reveals a huge opportunity for advertisers to create iPhone-specific campaigns to see higher response rates for their mobile efforts,” asserts Colin Strong, head of Mobile Communications Research at GfK Technology.

“With this report as a benchmark, we will be able to analyze how the landscape is changing throughout 2009 and monitor the impact of iPhone user behavior on the rest of the U.S. mobile market.”