On the Eve of CES New Research Reveals It's More Likely to Be the Place Not the Device That Matters Most If You Want to Get Your Messages Across to Consumers

Online, January 2, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The research found that: consumers still prefer using laptops or desktop computers to smartphones and tablets; if someone does an activity online, they are just as likely to do that activity on any device and the location someone is in will have more impact on what they are doing online than the technology that is available to them at the time.

The sixth year of the Mindreader survey, a study of 42,000 consumers from 42 countries, releases findings ahead of The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 in Las Vegas showing more than 90% of respondents use a laptop or desktop on a regular basis, compared to 56% who use a smart phone and just 33% who own a tablet.

Norm Johnston, Chief Digital Officer, Mindshare Worldwide, believes that reports of the demise of the traditional computer are way off the mark. He said: "Although the penetration of both smartphones and tablets is increasing, the majority of people are still using traditional technology to access the internet. It would be foolhardy to write off PCs as an essential technology for consumers this year."

US respondents indicated that they are still more likely to undertake a variety of online activities at home - where the primary device for accessing the internet is still the laptop or PC and where the 'hierarchy of screens' comes into play (bigger screen is better). They might occasionally do the activities in other places but that is more out of need then out of want. Typical online activities such as buying groceries, doing online banking and even reading maps and planning routes tends to be done primarily at home rather than on the move.

Of those surveyed who owned 3 devices or more, only using a social networking site, uploading photos to a photo sharing site and looking up directions were activities identified as being carried out on average in more than two locations. Other activities including posting reviews, researching products, browsing news, online banking, watching videos or buying groceries were all carried out in less than two locations.

This means that advertisers must put more thought into the content they provide for their target audiences, rather than focusing on the device that a consumer might be accessing it on. It's about being adaptive in your content approach, not device orientated.

Norm Johnston added: "Even though the development of new technology remains an exciting and evolutionary journey for manufacturers, consumers and marketing departments, we simply can't predict the type of device someone might use when completing an online activity. You simply have to have an adaptive approach to how a consumer will interact with your brand and don't get drawn into device specific marketing.

"They will use what they have at hand and are just as likely to use a mobile as a PC. This means that if we limit the way consumers connect to a campaign by optimising for a device we will be forcing them to use a device which they might not naturally use for that activity and therefore run the risk of alienating consumers. We need to think about every platform available."

CES 2014 (CES) is set to the launch of 20,000 new products next week from phones and tablets, to smart TVs and wearable technology.

ENDS
 
NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

ABOUT MINDSHARE

Mindshare is a global media agency network with billings in excess of US$29.2 billion (source: RECMA). The network consists of 113 offices in 82 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, each dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands. Mindshare is part of GroupM, which oversees the media investment management sector for WPP, the world's leading communications services group.
Mindreader is Mindshare's proprietary research looking into the digital consumers from around the world. Its aim is to not only understand people's media habits but to also understand their lives, attitudes and cultural differences. The most recent wave of fieldwork covers 42 countries across 5 continents. Using an online survey of 1000 people in each country, we cover a wide array of topics, including media behaviour (including both traditional and digital media), attitudes, personality, concerns and lifestyles.
To find out more, please visit: http://mindreader.mindshareworld.com/

ABOUT GROUPM

GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation. It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare. Our primary purpose is to maximize the performance of WPP's media communications agencies on behalf of our clients, our stakeholders and our people by operating as a parent and collaborator in performance-enhancing activities such as trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of physical and intellectual scale to benefit trading, innovation, and new communication services, to bring competitive advantage to our clients and our companies.
Visit Mindshare online at www.mindshareworld.com
For further information contact:
David Alexander, Calacus PR: david.alexander@calacus.com or +44-7802-412424
Nathalie Agnew, Calacus PR: nathalie.agnew@calacus.com or +44-7985-595510
Kourtney Shaw, Calacus PR: kourtney.shaw@calacus.com or +44-7731-769269
Gemma Mejer, Calacus PR: gemma.mejer@calacus.com or +44-7730-766195