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Three in Ten US Mobile Users Recall Seeing Mobile Ads »
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Three in Ten US Mobile Users Recall Seeing Mobile Ads

More than three in ten mobile users - some 78 million US consumers - saw or heard advertising on their mobile phones in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to a  study by Gfk/NOP Research conducted for mobile entertainment community Limbo.

More than 250 million Americans are mobile phone users, and SMS (text) leads in all non-voice data or communications services: some 56% of mobile users, or 141 million people, are SMS users - 60% higher than the next-ranked service (MMS):

Though SMS usage skews young (82% of those under 25 are active users), for all ages under 50, more than half are active users; moreover, African-Americans and Hispanics are 50% more likely to be SMS users:

Some 31% of all US mobile users recall seeing advertising on their handsets, with the largest segment - 16% of users - seeing SMS ads:

• Men are 20% more likely than woman to recall having seen mobile advertising.
• Also, those under 24 and African-Americans are nearly twice as likely to recall having seen mobile ads.

“The exciting news for marketers is that mobile advertising penetration is both broad – hitting one in three mobile phone users, and deep - with high recall statistics, especially among text messaging users and the ever-elusive ‘Millennials’ demographic,” said Rob Lawson, president and cofounder of Limbo.

“There is a clear disparity between the high reach of mobile media and the low percentage of marketing budget currently spent on the medium, which creates an obvious opportunity for savvy media buyers.”

The Mobile Advertising Report also highlights the brands and sectors that consumers remember seeing advertised in the mobile channel:

• Mobile carriers (notably Verizon and AT&T).
• Handset manufactures (Motorola, Blackberry)
• Entertainment brands (BET, Fox, MTV, various movies, music artists)
• CPG (Coke, Pepsi)
• Sports brands (NFL, Nike)
• Mobile services (Limbo, ringtones)
• Electronics (HP, Yahoo, SBC)
• Automotive (Chevrolet)
• QSR (McDonalds)

About the study: Limbo’s Mobile Advertising Report is based on a survey of 1,000 representative American adults interviewed by telephone.

Note: All graphics courtesy of Limbo.