More than 28% of all French, German and UK donors pledge financial support for Haiti via mobile

London, Paris and Berlin: 15 April, 2010 - In the wake of the recent Haiti earthquake, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mmaglobal.com) and its research partner, Lightspeed Research (www.lightspeedresearch.com), have released the results of the latest Consumer Briefing reports into mobile giving in the UK, French and German markets, demonstrating that people are increasingly turning to mobile as a way of quickly donating to a cause. Following the disaster, 23.4% of all UK, French and German people surveyed donated to the Haitian Earthquake relief efforts. Of these donors, 21.4% had pledged money via text, and 7% by visiting a charitable website from their mobile device. This total of 28.4% of donors using mobile to give money to Haiti demonstrates a clear trend towards its emergence as an important and instantaneous new way for people to help victims and charities.

France emerged as the market most likely to use mobile for charitable donations with 30% of all donors choosing to text their financial support and making this the most popular way of contributing. Germany was a close second, with 26% of all donors using text – a strong choice behind PC-based donation. The inclusion of donations made via a website accessed from the mobile device into statistics made mobile the most popular way to contribute in both France and Germany. Although UK consumers showed that they had a way to go until they caught up with their European counterparts, with 9% of all donors using text and 8.6% visiting a website from their mobile phone, UK mobile consumers described themselves as the most likely to donate by mobile in the future, with 19% stating that they were very likely or likely to do so, followed by the French at 16% and the Germans at 11%.

The reports provide insight which will improve market understanding of consumer feelings towards using the mobile device for accessing charitable donation services and will help in the design and development of these services. Practices that would encourage greater rates of donation via mobile in the future across the three markets were found to be:

• Guaranteeing that mobile numbers would not be retained or used to contact the consumer again without their permission
• Making it clear how much of the money pledged actually goes to the charity
• Not fixing the amount a consumer is able to contribute so that the decision is theirs

The reports, which are available to MMA members, highlighted several other key findings:

• In all countries it was the younger population that donated more via text, although this trend was more pronounced in the UK than in France or Germany where there was less difference between age groups
• There is no significant difference in popularity between the genders, except in France where more females than males donated via text
• When asked about previous charity campaigns, the results showed that both French and UK consumers reported relatively high levels of prior experience with texting as a means of donating or responding to ads. 16% of French and 14% of UK respondents indicated they had experience of texting donations or replying to adverts, compared to 6% of German respondents

“Humanitarian disasters demand immediate response, and the donating public appears to recognize the effectiveness of texting and using mobile generally as a way to help those in need, when they need it,” said Dr. Peter A. Johnson, VP of Market Intelligence for the MMA.   “We are encouraged to see that even more citizens report themselves willing and ready to pull out their mobiles to take instant action when the need arises in the future.”

  “The research shows that donating to charities using mobile phones is now popular and with the high penetration and usage of mobile, this medium could provide an attractive new opportunity for charities to fundraise,” said Ralph Risk, Marketing Director, EMEA, Lightspeed Research. “To help encourage more people to contribute, charities still need to educate people about how they can donate, while at the same time re-assuring them that the money will go to the nominated charity and that their phone numbers will not be used without their permission.”

Editor’s notes:

Conducted from February 20th to 22nd 2010, the survey asked respondents a variety of questions regarding current mobile usage and how likely they were to use their mobile phone in charity activities. The survey covered manufacturer of mobile phone, current mobile phone operator, message (text) plan used, current method of donating to charities, previous experience with texting donations, future likelihood of texting a donation to charity and factors that would make consumers more likely to donate via texting.

 A monthly online survey of British, French and German consumers’ mobile marketing behaviours and opinions conducted on the Lightspeed Research omnibus, the MMA Consumer Briefing features input from over 1,000 adult consumers in each market, screened to be demographically representative of the adult consumer population as a whole. Each Consumer Briefing includes a 2- to 3-page executive summary, all survey questions and up to 50 tables of detailed results. Survey responses are provided both in aggregate and in cross-tabulation by standard audience demographics, such as age, gender and income, as well as wireless carrier and handset manufacturer.

MMA Consumer Briefings on this topic are also available for the US market. To learn more about the MMA’s market research benefits, visit the MMA’s Research Home Page.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. 

About Lightspeed Research
Through proprietary global panels and research products and services, Lightspeed Research delivers valuable research to help businesses make informed decisions. From recruitment, to activity level, to ongoing profiling, Lightspeed Research’s panels are actively managed to provide engaged survey respondents and support studies that range in scope and complexity across industry sectors. Deeply profiled specialty panels including automotive, B2B, beverage, family and household, finance, health and wellness, media consumption, mobile phone, beauty and personal care, sports and hobbies, and travel and leisure, provide quick access to target audiences. As a leader in quality, Lightspeed Research has implemented extensive measures to prevent fraudulent panel registrations and poor survey data.


 FOR MORE INFORMATION:
MMA:
Jen Hibberd and Becca Daniel, Mi liberty
E: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 207 751 4444

Lightspeed Research:
Charlotte Herbert, PR Consultant - Greenfields Communications
E: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 7870 204 242

Ralph Risk, Marketing Director Europe – Lightspeed Research
E: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7896 1950