User Behaviour
The output of the GSMA’s Mobile Media Metrics programme would allow brands, publishers and agencies access to rich, aggregated user behaviour data, enabling comparison with other media. For example, mobile users accessing Facebook spend an average of 24 minutes per day on the site, similar to the 27.5 minutes spent by PC users. Mobile users on Facebook averaged 3.3 visits per day versus 2.3 visits per day by PC users.

Mobile is used consistently throughout the whole day, but the early morning (7-10am) is the key day part for mobile, accounting for 22 percent of total mobile minutes browsed, compared with only 11 percent of total minutes browsed by PC Internet users in the same day part. Mobile can therefore act as an extension to media such as the Internet and TV, while it reinforces other early morning media, such as radio and newspapers.

Demographics
The real value came in the combination of aggregated site popularity and user behaviour data with independently collected demographic information, which enabled more effective targeting of campaigns. Mobile had been confirmed as a strong youth medium with 48 per cent of users between 18-34 years old, compared to 40 per cent for the fixed Internet and 29 per cent for the TV audience (source: BMRB’s TGI).

Mobile was also more skewed towards men, who represented 63 per cent of total users compared with 53 per cent for the fixed Internet.

“The mobile phone has the potential to offer relevant, personalised advertising on a level that has largely been unattainable until now,” said Conway. “This potential can only be achieved if mobile is part of a sophisticated, integrated approach to advertising. The rich data delivered through this programme will enable advertisers to create truly comprehensive, cross-platform media plan and campaigns.”

In the feasibility study, the GSMA worked with comScore as its measurement partner and ABC Electronic its media audit partner, as well as key industry stakeholders including JICWEBS and its member associations. The next phase of the programme would see commercial launch of an audited mobile measurement service, expected in the second half of 2009.

The GSMA would establish three further working groups, one each for advertisers, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. These working groups would confirm the measurement and reporting needs of the media industry, gather support for the proposed measures as a ‘common currency’ for mobile audience measurement, and establish how best to integrate this valuable information into existing cross-media business processes and tools.