For many people smartphones have replaced the wristwatch, and like the watch of old, smartphones are always within reach of their owners. They help us stay in touch wherever we are and whenever we want. They provide immediate access to favorite magazine apps and other preferred content. Smartphones facilitate access to social media, targeted internet browsing, shopping and reading activity. Your favorite magazines are always at hand. Smartphones are the new social network.
Smartphone penetration continues to increase, and has reached nearly 50% in Canada. Owners in Canada skew age 18 to 49 with a predominance of 18 to 34 versus cell phone owners who skew 35-64 versus the general population. Smartphone owners tend to have higher household income.
Source: PMB 2012 Spring (1-year data)
Owners of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, regularly perform a wide array of activities each day including leisure reading (54%), 17% of whom spend more than one hour per day reading.
Source: Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 2012
According to app analytics firm Flurry, which tracks app usage on 300,000 apps on over a billion active mobile devices, an average of 158 minutes every day is spent on smartphones and tablets. Two hours and seven minutes of that is in an app. And don’t forget that this technology has only been in use in a real way for the last five years! The best is yet to come.
All of this app time translates to immense opportunity for generating revenue through digital publications and mobile applications. Ads in digital magazines are seen to be significantly more helpful and interesting than ads in other electronic media. Furthermore, they have the least negative impact on the reader experience. Let’s discuss it.