Android is from Mars, iPhone is from Venus?
While electronic gadget may seem inherently androgynous, it seems that popular technology devices tend to have a gender as women gravitate toward the Kindle and iPhone and men favor the iPad and Droid, according to Jenna Goudreau’s December 7, 2010, Forbes.com blog, “Is The iPhone For Girls?”
Marketing research group Women at NBCU monthly tracks the top 500 brands that are most important to women by following what they search for and talk about online, and Apple’s iPhone has consistently been at the top of the top-500 brands, reaching the No. 8 spot in October 2010 (up 14 spots from August 2010). Separately, research from Nielsen finds that women show a greater preference for the iPhone while men show a stronger interest in Motorola’s Droid. The majority of women (31 percent) preferred Apple’s operating system, but the majority of men (33 percent) preferred Android.
Why the split? According to mobile technology analyst Sascha Segan, a columnist at PC Magazine, it all comes down to marketing. “They have been advertising Android phones with these aggressive, violent ads,” said Segan. “They’ve made the Droid persona a threatening robot with a red eye. It’s an ad campaign that is targeting men.”
If a battle of the sexes is playing out between phone brands, what about other devices? Amazon seems to be after women to purchase its Kindle, as one commercial features a woman and man lounging by the pool. As the man struggles to read an iPad in the sunlight, he asks how she is able to read from her device. The woman explains that it’s a Kindle and that she paid more for her sunglasses. It seems to be effective pandering as the Kindle is winning the female vote. On NBCU’s brand index, the Kindle jumped up 200 spots in its importance to women, from No. 386 in September 2010 to No. 170 in October 2010. According to data from the Pew Research Center, more men than women own tablet computers (like the iPad) while more women than men own e-book readers (like the Kindle).
Be accessible, honest, friendly - the rules of engagement for brands on Facebook
Many have lauded social media as a way for brands to form a personality and connect with consumers beyond the obvious corporate information and occasional coupons. What many didn’t expect is that failing to give your brand a more human face in social media could make you seem even more foreign and inaccessible, according to a study from Firefly Millward Brown, a Westport, Conn., research company. This only further proves the point that social networking for social networking’s sake can be disastrous and that brands need to have a mission when they tweet or post to Facebook.
Research indicated that although most organizations recognize the potential and importance of social media, they are confused about the rules of engagement and lack organizational support and confidence. To help companies and brands secure their footing in this uncharted terrain, here are 10 rules for engaging with social media for corporations.
1. Don’t recreate your homepage. Consumers want to see something new, fresh or different.
2. Listen first, then talk. Consumers want a conversation where brands listen to what they have to say.
3. Build trust by being open and honest. Transparency is key for brands in social media and is the most critical factor in building trust.
4. Give your brand a face. Brands often suffer in social media because they don’t have anyone who answers to the consumer, a face for the brand.
5. Offer something of value. Consumers are more likely to respond to brands that offer them something real and tangible, preferably without wanting something in return. While discounts and coupons are in vogue for brands in social media, they can create distrust. Exclusive content, deals or inside information on new products and services are valued by consumers.
6. Be relevant.
7. Talk like a friend, not a corporate entity.
8. Give consumers some control. Brands that embrace consumer input and promote it will be more effective in managing the conversation.
9. Let consumers come to you. Consumers do not want to feel that brands are shouting messages at them.
10. Let consumers talk for you. Brands achieve more kudos when consumers take the initiative and advocate them. The 2010 Toyota campaign where real people talked about their stories on Facebook and were then featured in a television ad is a great example of how a brand can build relationships by encouraging customers to participate in conversations, rather than by overt sales efforts.
What it takes for an app to succeed: free, fun, functional
For an app just to gain adoption it takes tremendous functionality, usability, media and a bit of luck. Free helps, too. Some 44 percent of app users said that all or nearly all of their apps were free, according to a study commissioned by promotion agency Moosylvania and conducted by Great Questions LLC and First Choice Facilities Research.
The study also found that the majority (80 percent) of smartphone users surveyed used apps, but apps aren’t as dominant as marketing might have you believe. They may be a much-hyped promotional tool but almost half of respondents indicated they used the Internet more often than apps on their mobile devices. In fact, while they reported owning as many as 30 apps, most mobile users (85 percent men and 75 percent women) actually use only about 10 on a regular basis.
Among male respondents, the top 10 apps cited were Google Maps (14 percent), Facebook (13 percent), Pandora (6 percent), Weather (3.2 percent), ESPN (3.1 percent), Angry Birds (2 percent), Words With Friends (1.4 percent), Shazam (1.3 percent) and Yahoo (0.9 percent). Twitter and Yelp! tied for 10th place (0.8 percent each).
The top 10 picks for females were Facebook (27 percent), Google Maps (7 percent), Weather (5 percent). Pandora (4.5 percent), Twitter (2.9 percent), Google (2.5 percent), Words With Friends (2.4 percent), Shazam (1.4 percent) and Solitaire (1.1 percent). Bank of America and Calendar tied for 10th place (0.9 percent each).
“Brand-sponsored mobile apps should overcompensate on what consumers need - and not be too self-serving,” said Norty Cohen, CEO of Moosylvania. “You don’t necessarily need to be in the top 30 to be successful. Marketers need to understand that just having an app isn’t the total answer - they’ll need to combine it with other branding, promotion and experiential efforts to make it successful. It is a highly-targeted, long-term strategy. It is definitely growing in popularity, but this doesn’t necessarily translate into a huge audience for every app.”