Canada’s Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) released the third annual KPMG Consumer & Convergence Study as part of its latest Mobile Thought Leadership Series in Toronto last night, where senior executives discussed the business models that will drive revenue in the Canadian market.
The study, which investigates new convergence models and the role of consumers, was conducted to determine trends in the use of mobile technology and spanned over 4,000 people in 19 countries worldwide.
The KPMG report found rising privacy and security concerns among mobile consumers surveyed, with Canada leading the global concern level (reported at 60%) in terms of security at 68%, and privacy concerns at 64%.
Top security and privacy concerns for consumers include unauthorized access to ‘personally identifiable information,’ with 79% of respondents in Canada citing it as a top concern. The report also found Canadians highly reluctant to allow tracking of online personal usage/personal profile information in exchange for lower costs, with half of all respondents indicating that they are ‘not at all’ willing.
However, when it comes to mobile rev models with music, the survey indicated that 24% of Canadian mobile phone users are willing to accept advertising on their mobiles in exchange for free music downloads, and 22% percent said they will view ads to access instant messaging.
In a recent release about the report, KPMG partner Chris Van Staveren says the findings ‘send a very clear message to suppliers of the urgent need to address these issues if they want to attract and retain customers in the future,’ adding that ‘suppliers who demonstrate they have listened to consumers’ concerns by addressing the security and privacy issues will maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.’
Speaking as part of last night’s panel ‘The Mobile Consumer has Arrived: So What’s The Business Model?’, Henderson Bas CEO/president Dawna Henderson said there’s a number of issues that present themselves for marketers in Canada like its population size and cooperation with carriers. Most of all however, she noted, ‘we’re still struggling to get clients to understand the value of the data they collect (from mobile programs); at the end of the day, the value – the gold – that you collect is in the data of these apps and programs. Programs come and go – it’s what you do with the data afterwards. The reality is you’ve got to make the client understand that right now for us, it’s really about test and learn. We have to take baby steps but testing is a really big part of it because it’s really the way to get people into the market.’
Speaking later to MiC, panelist Ryan Wolman, CD at Henderson Bas, added that ‘because of business pressures here in Canada, Canadian marketers are forced to be more accountable for their actions than ever before and I think the industry’s moving to a very campaign-centric model [utilizing all media elements and capabilities]. Things are definitely changing and moving to a more diverse integrative model with an interactive stronghold key within that model.’
Wolman tells MiC the revenue model is also changing for broadcasters. ‘They’re trying to find a way to do less [expensive] pilots and are turning to the web to see what’s bubbling up out there. I think broadcasters are definitely open to working with advertisers, but marketers are still trying to sell products first and foremost, and really not try to get in the entertainment business, especially not in Canada.’
