YOUNG ADULTS DRIVE MOBILE INTERNET & MESSAGING GROWTH IN ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS
San Francisco, CA, October 21, 2008 – Against a backdrop of increasing mobile phone penetration, the level of mobile Internet and messaging usage among young adults in the Asia-Pacific region is also on the rise, presenting a huge opportunity for marketers who are looking at new channels to reach their target customers, research from The Nielsen Company suggests.
Nielsen recently examined mobile Internet usage in seven Asian markets and found that young people under the age of 25 are more than twice as likely to have accessed the mobile Internet than those older than 25. New Zealand leads the way with 42 percent of the under-25 population accessing the mobile Internet.
Mobile Internet Penetration – Asia-Pacific |
|
Population, Under 25 |
Population, Over 25 |
Australia |
11.1% |
5.4% |
Indonesia |
1.3% |
0.6% |
Philippines |
3% |
3.3% |
New Zealand |
42.3% |
23.9% |
Singapore |
5.6% |
2.4% |
Taiwan |
3.2% |
1.6% |
Thailand |
17.0% |
7.5% |
Source: Nielsen Media Index and Nielsen Panorama
"With social networking taking off among young adults, and with more and more people on the go and away from their computers, a mobile device allows them to keep in touch or informed via the mobile Internet," said Jesse Goranson, SVP of mobile media at Nielsen.
Across the nine Asia-Pacific markets where Nielsen studied multi-media messaging services (MMS) usage, young people in three markets are again more than twice as likely to have used MMS services when compared to those over age 25. MMS penetration is highest in Singapore and Thailand, where more than a third of young adults under 25 use the service; while penetration is the lowest in New Zealand and Indonesia, where less than four percent use the service.
MMS Penetration – Asia-Pacific |
|
Population, Under 25 |
Population, Over 25 |
Australia |
24.1% |
13.0% |
Hong Kong |
24.6% |
13.8% |
Indonesia |
3.5% |
1.9% |
Malaysia |
12.9% |
4.8% |
New Zealand |
3.1% |
1.4% |
Philippines |
16% |
19.6% |
Singapore |
36.2% |
17.2% |
Taiwan |
7.2% |
3.0% |
Thailand |
35.1% |
20.9% |
Source: Nielsen Media Index, Nielsen Panorama
While MMS has made strides with young adults, penetration levels still trail those of SMS by 35–75 percent across the region. SMS penetration among the under-25 population is highest in Australia and Singapore, where more than nine in 10 sent an SMS, and lowest in Indonesia, where nearly 40 percent sent an SMS. “Communicating via SMS is a low-cost alternative, and handheld phones these days are more user-friendly for people to text each other,” said Goranson.
SMS Penetration-Asia Pacific |
|
Population, Under 25 |
Population, Over 25 |
Australia |
92.0% |
76.7% |
Hong Kong |
63.3% |
44.4% |
Indonesia |
38.6% |
30.0% |
Malaysia |
70.8% |
47.0% |
Philippines |
47% |
49.8% |
New Zealand |
74.6% |
73% |
Singapore |
92.8% |
65.6% |
Taiwan |
83.1% |
42.7% |
Thailand |
86.4% |
73.3% |
Source: Nielsen Media Index and Nielsen
Panorama
The findings come from Nielsen Media Index and Panorama, which studies consumer media and product consumption across the Asia-Pacific region.
“Nielsen is committed to understanding the mobile medium, as the pervasiveness of mobile makes it not only a dominant communication tool but a major marketing and advertising vehicle,” said Goranson. “A number of new initiatives addressing the need for understanding the mobile channel as a marketing medium will be launched over the next several months to help mobile operators, device manufacturers and media firms realize the huge potential of mobile in the region.”
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a leading global information and media company providing essential integrated marketing and media measurement information and analytics and industry expertise to clients across the world. Nielsen maintains leading market positions in marketing and consumer information; television, online, mobile and other media intelligence; and trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). Nielsen is a privately held company and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
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Contact:
Paul M. Okimoto
415-228-8947
