MUMBAI: Starcom USA has revealed the results of research study gauging and mapping consumers’ mobile video interactions. One major highlight of the study was that iPods will not replace television as majority of respondents preferred to watch longer-format materials on their home television, indicating that programming can be specifically designed for mobile video devices.

Almost 80 per cent of early adapters prefer to view certain downloadable programming - such as sports highlights, sitcoms, and dramas - on their television.

The study, prompted by the emerging prominence of video-enabled iPods, cell phones and other mobile video devices, revealed the behavior of consumer groups in this burgeoning media space.

For the study, Starcom’s Insights and Analytics team surveyed 1,000 consumers age 13 and older to determine their attitudes toward mobile video devices such as video-capable MP3 players and mobile phones. Leveraging its own proprietary approach and a partnership with Survey Sampling International’s online consumer panel, the agency segmented consumers into three distinct user groups: early adopters, early majority or late majority.

• Mobile video device drives content selection: Early Adapters will download music videos, short films, sitcoms and dramas onto their MP3 players and download weather, financial news, and other updates to their cell phones.
• Cell phone downloads and MP3 downloads are driven by different needs: Consumers view the video features on their cell phones as informational tools; they consider MP3 players to be portable entertainment. Nearly 65 per cent of early adopters would watch a movie on their MP3 players, while only 40 per cent would do so on their cell phones.
• Download preferences do not vary greatly by user group: Although early adopters were most likely to download short films and music videos, there were no significant differences in the material any one group was willing to download.
• Consumers prefer ad-free content but are willing to download ad-supported content: Although almost 70 per cent of consumers would rather download ad-free content, nearly one in five would still download ad-supported content, and even more would download sponsored and brand-integrated content. Understandably, consumers expect to pay less for ad-supported material.

"This is a new type of media, and it has created a new type of consumer. An in-depth understanding of how consumers respond to and interact with mobile video is crucial to fostering meaningful advertising engagement – which will surely proliferate on these small screens in the not-too-distant future," said Starcom USA vice president and director of Insights and Analytics Richard Fielding.

The agency sought to ascertain if any of the groups had preferences for certain devices, based on the content they were using (i.e., mobile phones for weather, iPods for movies).