Canada marks the eighth individual market now reported in MobiLens, along with US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.
"We are excited to bring MobiLens to market in Canada in order to deliver a mobile measurement solution to this growing industry," said comScore vice president Bryan Segal. "MobiLens provides valuable and actionable reporting capabilities, essential for establishing mobile as a legitimate advertising medium. Advertisers, publishers, advertising agencies, and mobile carriers alike can now gain visibility into Canada's mobile audience and optimise their sales and marketing strategies for this rapidly developing market."
Mobile subscribers in Canada exhibited strong usage of mobile media on their devices. In March 2011, 40.6% of mobile users in Canada used an application on their mobile device, while 32.7% used a mobile browser. Accessing of news/information was conducted by 35.2% of the mobile audience, while social networking sites or blogs were used by 25.4%. Sending text messages and taking photos with their phone were the top two activities, used by 64.5% and 48.9%, respectively. Accessing work or personal email represented 29.7% of the total mobile audience.
| Select Mobile Behaviours in Canada March 2011 Total Canada Mobile Audience Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | |
|---|---|
| Share of Mobile Subscribers | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers: 13+ yrs old | 100.0% |
| Sent text message | 64.5% |
| Took photos | 48.9% |
| Used application | 40.6% |
| Accessed news and information | 35.2% |
| Used browser | 32.7% |
| Used email (work or personal) | 29.7% |
| Played games | 27.3% |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 25.4% |
| Accessed weather | 22.9% |
| Used major instant messaging service | 21.1% |
| Accessed search | 21.1% |
| Captured video | 20.3% |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 19.0% |
| Accessed maps | 17.5% |
| Accessed sports information | 13.1% |
| Accessed entertainment news | 13.0% |
| Accessed movie information | 12.0% |
| Accessed bank accounts | 11.1% |
| Accessed restaurant information | 9.8% |
| Accessed financial news or stock quotes | 9.4% |
Smartphone adoption continues to spread across the globe at various rates. Canada's smartphone penetration reached 32.8% in March 2011, marginally higher than that of the US. The UK led all reportable markets in smartphone penetration at 40.8%, followed by Spain (40.2%) and Italy (38.3%).
| Smartphone Penetration Across Global Markets March 2011 Total Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | |
|---|---|
| Share of Mobile Subscribers | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% |
| United Kingdom | 40.8% |
| Spain | 40.2% |
| Italy | 38.3% |
| Canada | 32.8% |
| United States | 32.2% |
| France | 31.4% |
| Germany | 28.3% |
| Japan | 9.7% |
In March 2011, 6.6 million people in Canada owned smartphones, representing one-third of the total mobile audience. RIM was the leading mobile smartphone operating system with 42.0% share of Canadian smartphone subscribers. Apple ranked second with 31.0% share, followed by Google with 12.2%, Symbian with 6.4% share and Microsoft with 5.1% share.
| Top Smartphone Platforms March 2011 Total Canada Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | |
|---|---|
| Share of Smartphone Subscribers | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% |
| RIM | 42.0% |
| Apple | 31.0% |
| 12.2% | |
| Symbian | 6.4% |
| Microsoft | 5.1% |
"comScore has a heritage of commitment to the Canadian marketplace. With the growth of mobile from a consumer perspective, and an advertising platform, we are very excited to see the first ongoing syndicated measurement of the mobile market established," said Michael Becker, managing director of North America for the Mobile Marketing Association. "The availability of ongoing data should only help raise the profile and investment in this important and growing media"
"Consumption of mobile media is dramatically accelerating in the Canadian market," said Greg Banducci, head of mobile, Yahoo! Canada. "In order to continue leading and innovating, Yahoo! relies on a comprehensive data set to provide insight into consumers' mobile behaviours; our own methods and insights combine with products like MobiLens provide us with that advantage."
"Reliable data is an essential ingredient in delivering sound strategic planning and media buying solutions for our customers," said Robert Jenkyn, vice president of Digital Solutions at Media Experts. "We welcome the advent of a comprehensive and ongoing mobile measurement service in Canada. We are eager to derive actionable and verified mobile consumer behaviours as we continue to explore this rapidly evolving media."
For more information on comScore MobiLens, go to http://www.comscore.com/Products_Services/Product_Index/MobiLens.
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence.
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