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Academic Review: Hispanic Mobile Telephony Trends
Academic Review: Hispanic
By Larry Upton
edioma, Inc.
Edited by,
Michael Becker
iLoop Mobile, Inc.
Hispanics account for approximately 15% of the
On the whole, this same purchasing power extends to Hispanic Internet users. There were approximately 16.7 million Hispanic Internet users in 2006: that number should reach nearly 21 million by 2010 (eMarketer, 2006). Equally important, the number of Hispanic Internet users under the age of 35 is projected to grow to 12.1 million by 2010. As a comparison, the median age of the
However, similar studies indicate that Hispanics, especially first generation immigrants and those who are Spanish dependent, access the Internet far less frequently than White, African Americans, or English-speaking Hispanics. In fact, findings from the Pew Group (Fox and Livingston, March 2007) indicate only 29% of Hispanic adults have home broadband connections, compared with 43% of White adults. This difference is driven primarily by the fact that Latino internet users are less likely than non-Hispanic white internet users to have any kind of Internet connection at home (79%, compared to 92%). Pew likewise found that 78% of Latinos who are English-dominant and 76% of bilingual Latinos use the Internet (compared with 32% of Spanish-dominant Hispanic adults), while 76% of U.S.-born Latinos go online, compared with 43% of those born outside the
In fact, recent studies from Forrester Research and the Mobile Marketing Association show that the Hispanic market segment use the mobile phone more than other demographic groups (Young 2005; MMA 2006) These insights were further supported by a January 2007 study commissioned by edioma, a provider of mobile language assistance solutions, and conducted by Galloway Research of San Antonio, Texas (http://www.gallowayresearch.com). The purpose of the research was to determine Spanish-dependent mobile phone user preferences and trends related to wireless carrier choice, data usage patterns, proclivity toward 3rd party mobile application purchase, and interest in e-learning products.
During a six-week period commencing December 15, 2006 Galloway placed over 9,000 calls to mobile phone users throughout
The findings for this study should be of particular interest to both mobile content and mobile advertising providers:
· 32% of respondents use T-Mobile as their wireless carrier, followed by Cricket/Pocket/Metro PCS (21%), Sprint-Nextel at (27%), and Cingular (11%).
· Over 75% subscribed to their wireless service on an annual basis, while 23% indicated they purchased minutes/data on a pre-paid basis.
· 34% of those questioned access the Internet over traditional means at home or work, the majority of which (48%) surfed the Web less than 3 times per week.
· Over 48% of persons interviewed were interested to receive more information on learning English over their mobile phone.
· Average price users were willing to pay for a mobile language instruction service was approximately $21.50 per month.
· Over 73% of respondents indicated they would be willing to watch a 2-3 second advertisement on their mobile phone in exchange for free/discounted English lessons.
Although based on research conducted in a single market (
Unlike traditional content, language instruction programs (if properly designed) can offer valuable insight into the “back-end demographics” of a mobile customer. Statistics indicate that a consumer who downloads a situation-specific phrase kit, e.g., “On the Jobsite,” likely shares certain key personal demographics (e.g., 18-40 year old male) as others who download the same package. In addition, an advertiser may surmise from the language instruction path (base to secondary), what the end-user’s native language might be, while the mobile number itself and inherent GPS capability contained within most handsets lends into ascertaining current location and base market. Thus a properly developed language assistance program might provide the four “golden demographics” to a potential advertiser: gender, age, language, and location.
For more information on the edioma Galloway Research Hispanic Mobile Use Trend study, please email research@mmaglobal.com or research@edioma.com.
References:
eMarketer (April 13, 2006). 21 Million Hispanic Internet Users by 2010, as taken from http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1003927
Frenck, Moses (January 8, 2007). TNS Forecasts 5.4% Ad Spend Growth in Hispanic Media in 2007, as taken from http://www.marketingymedios.com/marketingymedios/noticias/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003528723
Fox, Susannah and Livingston, Gretchen (March 14, 2007). Latinos Online: Hispanics with lower levels of education and English proficiency remain largely disconnected from the Internet. www.pewhispanic.org – www.pewinternet.org
MMA Mobile Attitude & Usage Study (November 2006). Mobile Marketing Association, Denver, CO.
Rockwell, Mark (January 11, 2007). Reaching Out to Hispanics. Amoroso, Marina (Yankee Group), as taken from
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article.aspx?id=92034&terms=
Young, Shawn (Oct. 2005). Telecommunications; Mobile Mavens: African-Americans and are the early adopters when it comes to wireless phone service. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition).
