Bandwidth Gluttons Make Usage Stats Deceiving

Think your digital campaigns are reaching your target market?  Think again.  The New York Times reported on January 5, 2012 that the

Top 1% of Mobile Users Consume Half of World's Bandwidth

WHAT THIS MEANS
Despite the bullish news coverage of digital as a platform, and the seemingly bottomless pit of apps, QR codes, and social ads - marketing communicators may have put the proverbial cart before the horse, beating customers to technology and over assuming their adoption/usage.


While the usage of bandwidth hints at the "traffic" of digital media, past estimates of overall usage and number of users has failed to explain the nuances of usage on a user by user basis.  That is, there was no ability to categorize users based on their bandwidth behaviors.


The current study, conducted by the English firm Arieso, is itself far from nuanced in how it describes such users but is still a step in the right direction.  The study distinguishes a group of "extreme" users - who make up 1% of the mobile market - as the source of half of all bandwidth activity.  This means that a remarkably small group of people are responsibility for much of the digital usage around the world.


While the study seems designed to help mobile operators better manage their networks, there is also a huge learning moment for IMC: marketers using digital platforms as a main channel of communication may find their messages are not reaching the large number of consumers they assume.


A MORE CAUTIOUS APPROACH
Industry reports suggest that marketers have gotten carried away with the "shiny new toy" of digital.


Ad Age continues to critique the use of QR Codes by many marketers as off target and ineffective.  Questioning campaigns by Red Bull and American Airlines, which put QR codes where lack of cell phone service would render them useless - in the subway, and inflight magazines respectively - evidence of blindly adopting this execution abounds.


Recently, Marc Browenstein of Ad Age lambasted marketers for making the "mistake" of shifting all, or most, of their media dollars online.  Citing evidence of how his wife and kids watch TV -  "often with a mobile or tablet device on their laps" - while not scientific, is right on.  This "multiscreening" behavior has been cited by several researchers in much more scientific studies.


As digital media matures, traditional media evolves (or doesn't), but still brings in audiences and eyeballs.  Nothing really has changed from a planning/strategy perspective.  Knowing your customer, and their media consumption behavior is key; and integrating your message across a media mix tuned to this behavior will pay dividends in the battle for the hearts and minds of consumers.