The mobile marketing landscape continues to grow. It is a channel that marketers cannot ignore. While some past research has profiled mobile use in Canada, a recently released Quorum study is the first to feature the differences in mobile use across the country.

In addition to the Quorum study, comScore/PMB combined earlier this year to conduct mobile research without advertiser bias. The combined data of these studies provides marketers with a credible profile of mobile users in Canada. Empowered by hard data, marketers can begin to target their dollars.

The Quorum study indicates that 73% of smart phone users access the internet via their mobile phone. The mobile market in Canada, however, remains small. 23% of online adult Canadians (18+) own a true Smartphone, 33% own a web-enabled smart phone and 3% of Canadians own a tablet.

Consumers tend to use their mobile primarily for text, photo, or search oriented tasks. This trend is unsurprising given the age groups who have the highest mobile phone use rates. The key mobile demographic is between the ages of 18 and 24 years of age. 90% of 18-34 year olds send or receive text messages and 40% of this demographic use online search.

Canadians Who Accessed the Net on their Mobile Phone

What Do Consumers Use Their Mobile Device For?

Who Dominates Mobile Advertising?

Similar to its online search dominance, Google is the leader in mobile advertising. Google’s share of the mobile search market is 91.4 percent. For mobile internet display ads, Google is tied with Apple at 19% market share. When search and display advertising are combined, Google remains the major player with a market share of 60% followed by Apple with 8.4% and Millennial Media at 7% market share according to IDC.

Yet, there are other players in the market place such as the directory publisher, Yellow Pages Group. Yellow Pages in Canada has their own App which acts as a mobile yellow pages directory with opportunities to buy listings, guaranteed placement and display ads with extensions to mobile friendly landing pages. Their App has been downloaded 1,890,000 times.

Apps represent the mobilization of a known entity like a directory or newspaper/magazine or store. The Quorum study indicated that, on average, a Canadian smart phone user has 12 apps downloaded; but there was no indication of how frequently Apps are used. Downloading an App doesn’t necessarily guarantee use or subsequent traffic.

Should Mobile Be Added To Your Marketing Budget?

By sheer volume, the Canadian mobile market is small at 33%. As the cost declines and availability of technology continues to grow, mobile will grow. The research defines an affluent and inquiring consumer with an immediate desire for information. Every day, consumers are bombarded by thousands of ad messages and they have an ever decreasing attention span.

Mobile’s best advantage is that it supercharges other marketing channels by adding location, social sharing capabilities and interactivity. Common short code and keyword, QR code, or mobile display and paid search initiative can transform a campaign by offering the interconnectivity that consumers crave. Mobile can drive traffic into retail stores; geo-targeting or mobile coupons are proven ways to attract a crowd. As mobile continues to grow in Canada, there will be many new and creative ways that mobile is being added into the marketing mix to increase ROI or achieve strategic objectives.