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 4G Marcom Watch By Emma Hancox, Marketing Director Contact the author at emma@maravedis-bwa.com |
Mobile applications were first introduced to the market by Palm back in the 1990s, when developers created thousands of applications to run on its open platform. Applications could be downloaded to PCs and then synchronized to users’ PDAs. However, it was Apple’s App Store that revolutionized this concept when it opened last July. iPhone and App Store hype have transformed how we think about mobile applications – as total consumer experiences, rather than simply practical and utilitarian added-features. Apple, and now nearly every major smartphone platform, have revolutionized the mobile advertising market and are clearing the path for paid branded applications. According to a recent report by eMarketer, rising smartphone popularity is expected to increase the number of mobile Internet users to 134 million by 2013. Although the mobile device market has not fully escaped the global economic downturn, smartphones have fared quite well, and shipments are expected to grow by 3.4% this year. The device landscape is transforming, and by 2013 it is predicted that nearly 40% of global handset sales will consist of smartphones. As these devices become more technologically sophisticated and as prices continue to drop (as we saw last week when Apple lowered the existing standard 3G iPhone price to $99), consumers will continue to upgrade their handsets. According to the new eMarketer report author Noah Elkin, once users “have experienced mobile Internet through improved browsers or installed applications, they appear unwilling to let it go.” Due to the speed at which app stores are proliferating and their catalogs growing, it is difficult to determine the true size of the mobile applications market. But international middle market investment bank and institutional securities firm Piper Jaffray estimates that spending on mobile applications will reach US$13 billion worldwide by 2012 – almost five times what it is today. Markerters consider mobile applications a necessary channel “for reaching and engaging with their customers, either by building and marketing a proprietary application or sponsoring a third-party app,” says Mr. Elkin. The fundamental challenge they face is how to interpret, analyze and predict consumer behavior in order to create experiences that connect with target audiences and integrate seamlessly with other channels. Join our LinkedIn Group and follow us on Twitter. We look forward to connecting with you! For more information you can contact the author at emma@maravedis-bwa.com |
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