Mobile communications that provide a seamless and integrated experience are welcomed by smartphone readers. In fact, they are keen for companies to exploit digital technology and believe ads make a valid contribution to their mobile experience, according to the research ‘Be smart about smartphones’, which was presented at a breakfast event yesterday morning.
In the UK, says Newsworks, 36 million adults now own a smartphone and spend an average of 2 hours 4 minutes on them every day. News brands reach 85% of the active smartphone audience, 25 million people in total (comScore August 2015).
Newsworks partnered with YouGov to explore reading patterns among news brand readers, both via apps and news brand websites. The research found that the key times of day for reach and engagement on newspaper websites are 9am, 11am, 7pm and then from 10pm until midnight.
Newspaper app sessions are longer, with reach peaking between 8 and 9am, and again at 6pm. The longest time spent is at 10am.
The research also shows that the vast majority of mobile reading is in a fixed location using Wi-Fi, although a third of readers are roaming at lunchtime.
Smartphone news brand readers make significantly more visits to all major advertising categories than non-readers, according to Newsworks. They are 12 times more likely to visit food and drink sites and 21 times more likely to visit motor sites.
Blogging research conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide, which was commissioned by Newsworks in parallel to the YouGov study, found that readers notice and enjoy seeing tailored ads on their smartphones and click on them regularly. They are more receptive when ads are streamlined and non-invasive to news content.
Ads that are interactive, personalised and seamlessly integrated into the conversations which mobile readers are already having are particularly effective. Unsurprisingly, users reject and filter out ads which disrupt their experience.
Denise Turner, insight director at Newsworks, said: “Ad-blocking has made many headlines since Apple updated its iOS operating system, allowing users to download apps that block ads on web pages on their iPhones and iPads. However, our research shows that ads aren’t uniformly rejected by mobile users and those which are relevant and tailored can actually enhance the smartphone experience for news brand readers. Hopefully this will mean an end to irrelevant and intrusive advertising, while encouraging genuinely engaging and valuable mobile experiences, something which news brand readers on smartphones are particularly susceptible to.”
YouGov tracked mobile data of 1,242 readers of news brand apps or websites between April and July 2015. Lieberman Research Worldwide conducted blogging research among 13 millennial smartphone readers.
