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Summary Connected You Web v18 2.24 Final
Summary Connected You Web v18 2.24 Final
YOU
INTRODUCTION
We all know that connectivity via technology is a tremendously important force in contemporary culture. In this, our tenth Truth Study, we have explored the notion of connectivity from some new and provocative angles. Weve broached subjects like whether mobility impacts fundamentals such as our motivations and personalities and whether life lived through a screen gives us a different moral compass. Most importantly, weve provided strategies for consumer brands, device manufacturers and networks to navigate this brave new world of ubiquitous connectivity. To find the Truth About Connected You, McCann Truth Central partnered with McCanns Global Telecom Practice. We conducted a 9,000 person online survey, representing the online populations of nine countries: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Data for this survey was collected by Harris Interactive on behalf of McCann Truth Central. McCann was responsible for survey design and data analysis. In addition, we conducted online discussion boards, garnering nearly 20,000 posts from consumers in 14 countries: The nine above, plus Chile, Egypt, Norway, the Philippines, and Sweden. Finally, we had hundreds of submissions to a contest asking respondents to illustrate and describe their dream mobile device.
Combining all of this research, we uncovered five themes, which together reveal the truth of how and why we connect with others through our mobile devices. These themes are:
Teenage Dreaming Figuring Out Relationships Who Are We Really? Smashing Stereotypes
TEENAGE DREAMING
On the flip side, we have also entered an age in which we are susceptible to judgment and peer pressure. 74% globally feel that their mobile devices help them to fit in versus stand out. 55% also admit to judging others based on the mobile devices that they own. As one Japanese respondent stated, There is a guy at work, who has a rabbit as a cover, and I feel that type of cover is for a student. I worry whether I can do business with such guy. And we judge not just on devices, but also on behaviors. Said one person in the UK, You can tell how important someone wants to feel by how often they check their phone.
The good news for brands is that in this world of connected teenagers, nothing has been set in stone. Relationships are forming but malleable. Brand loyalty and friendships are up for grabs. The opportunity for marketers is outsized, as the globes mobile teenagers move into their 20s; mobile ad spend is expected to rise from $9 billion in 2013 to $24 billion in 2017.
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WHAT SORT OF GUIDANCE DO OUR TEENAGE SELVES NEED?
What brands can do is help us overcome our teenage insecurities. When it comes to being a teenager, we want to know what others have and how we measure up against them. After all, who wants to be the last in line? To keep us ahead of the competition as trendsetters, brands can show us what we are doing, downloading, and how it compares to other people with similar profiles.
Perhaps the best parts of growing up are the milestones that make our teenage years and subsequent decades so memorable. Aside from counteracting our insecurities, brands have the power to create mobile milestones and celebrate them. Can we commemorate a persons millionth text? Or congratulate someone on buying their first house? How about creating a mobile device for someone who just had a baby or just retired?
As mobile consumers grow older, they expect their relationships with their mobile devices to intensify with time. 84% believe that in the future we will be even more connected than we are today. The mobile device is at the center of this increased connectivity, so much so that three-quarters of consumers say that their choice of mobile device is a very important decision.
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Whats Worse?
Ignoring texts (27%) Breaking up with someone via text (60%) Not answering a message (37%) Pretending to be someone youre not online (44%) Ignoring calls (73%) Breaking up with someone at a crowded party (40%) Phubbing (Phone snubbing) (63%) Pretending to be someone youre not over the phone (56%)
If theres a split in the global mobile moral compass, its definitely an East vs. West divide. Asian markets disagree with the global average, and Chinese, Japanese, and Indian consumers all think its worse to break up with someone at a crowded party. Similarly, Japanese consumers think its worse to ignore a message than a face-to-face conversational partner, and they think faking an online identity is a worse tech transgression.
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CIRCLE OF LOVE
iHIDE
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Because brands are already spending more time talking to people in a mobile world, theres an important question that needs to be answered: Are we sure we know whos on the other side? Or are we playing a game of phone- and text-tag with a wrong number and dont know it? To that end, we wondered if peoples behaviors and motivations, the basic layers of their personality, are the same on mobile platforms as they are in face-to-face communication.
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A MOBILE PERSONALITY
To find out just how different we can be in face-to-face versus mobile communication, McCann Truth Central and the McCann Global Telecom Practice created a short assessment of consumers mobile thoughts and practices. We called this the McCann Mobile Personality Profiler, and had our 9,000 online consumers complete the assessment. We also had them answer questions about their general personality to compare and contrast. What we found was that our mobile personalities can in fact be quite different from our face-to-face personalities. Based on non-mobile questions, we determined that 43% of our global respondents were more outgoing in their face-to-face communication, while the remainder (57%) were more reserved. But as people transition to mobile, a significant number switch from reserved to outgoing. In fact, on mobile nearly 2/3 (65%) of consumers were classified as outgoing, and only 35% were reserved. The biggest shifts were seen in China, where 38% of people switched from reserved in face-to-face communication to more outgoing on mobile. South Africans were also much more outgoing on mobile (33% shifted). Germany was the most consistent, with only a 7% point shift to more outgoing.
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Most consumers felt that the filtering effect of the screens in mobile communication helped them feel more comfortable about being talkative and provocative. One consumer in India observed, Some people sound more profound or funny on their mobiles than in real life. Perhaps because they have the advantage of time and distance to compose themselves. Of course, while the majority of consumers were more outgoing on mobile, some of lifes biggest extroverts found themselves retreating into their own mobile world, becoming more reserved. A Brazilian participant observed this in his own behavior. He said, When I am on the phone, I get really anti-social, given that I get zoned out on the internet. Comparing the results of the Mobile Personality Profiler to questions about face-to-face personalities, we also found that theres a noticeable shift in how organized or dynamic people become in a mobile context. Taking full advantage of their mobiles tools and suffering from constant ringing reminders 8% more consumers identified themselves as organized in a mobile context, actually shifting the balance away from a dynamic and flexible approach to scheduling exhibited in face-to-face behaviors. Chinese consumers were the most likely to switch towards an organized mobile (42% point increase) but UK consumers were likely to become more dynamic (2% point increase).
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We used the results of the Mobile Personality Profiler to identify distinct mobile personalities. Curious to know what your mobile personality is? You can access the Personality Profiler via your mobile device using the QR code below or you can visit the website www.McCannTruthProfiler.Com
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Mobile Matre-D
iChatty
Wireless Warrior
Silicon Simon
This chatty group generally prefers to keep a ringtone on so they know when theyre receiving various messages and they like getting lots of messages. They prefer more emotive means of communication, such as voice and video, to less emotional but faster means like text. Of course, theres variance within the group. The Mobile Matre-D is hyper-organized, but doesnt like to upgrade or change devices too often because he or she hates disrupting routines. Silicon Simon, on the other hand, is a bit more disorganized and loves having the latest and greatest tech. iChatty is always worried about answering calls from her friends so they dont feel slighted, but the Wireless Warrior is going to put his or her clients calls as top priority and may let friends and family linger in voicemail until the end of the day.
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We also have the cast that tends to be a bit more behind the scenes. Our more reserved personalities may prefer to keep their devices on silent. Heres our Silent Crowd:
Mobile Missionary
Techie Teddie
Gadget Gary
Plugged-in Professor
The more reserved silent crowd is equally enthusiastic about mobile devices maybe even more so but theyre more selective about how, when, and with whom they use their mobile devices. The Linked Out Loyalist loves her phone, but she mostly uses it to call her friends whom she prefers to see in person. Shes also going to be loyal to a device model or brand, because she loves how well it works for her. Gadget Gary, on the other hand, is probably frequently seen surfing online or in store for the latest devices. He might be more into his devices for their apps and tools than for calling up old friends. The Mobile Missionary also loves his mobile, but might get preachy if he sees you texting during a date or hears your ringer during a movie. And our Plugged-In Professor is so into mobile Twitter that she forgets to put your number in her contacts and only knows how to reach you by your @ handle.
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A CREATIVE SPRINGBOARD
Brands should use these mobile personalities as a creative springboard for coming up with new and innovative ways to engage consumers. For example, a brand could create a safe way for the Mobile Matre-D to try out new tech and apps, by offering up a monthly package of personalized apps that help him connect with his favorite regulars.
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SMASHING STEREOTYPES
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In actuality, network providers have the power to further their relationship with consumers. 80% globally say that their choice of the provider is a very important decision, and 75% say that various network providers have different personalities. 52% go as far as saying that their network provider should reflect their personality. Network provider brands can take data and personalization to new levels, providing utility to consumers. As one Spanish respondent said, When you go to a bar for the first time they dont know you, but the more you go the more they know about what you likesame would be desirable for a mobile network. 49% globally want mobile network providers to use their data to provide them with deals and services which are better suited to their needs, in addition to billing them correctly.
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for a full explanation of these need-states and their implications for your brand, please contact us at truthcentral.mccann.com
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