Buongiorno research on MoCoNews

New Research Identifies Three “Tribes” of Mobile Users

• Posted by Peggy Anne Salz
• Wed 03 Jan 2007 02:42 PM PST

Mobile content distributor Buongiorno has published new research into how people view non-voice mobile services. The results (part of the company’s third edition of VASland 2006 report which surveyed a sample of 5,000 users from 10 countries between the ages of 14 and 44) show increased usage of non-voice services, and the growing perception of the mobile device as much more than just a phone. Indeed, respondents consider devices to be a Swiss army knife combination of “a camera, a games console, a music player, a pocket TV, a restaurant finder, an e-mail interface and a personal organizer,” the report said. “Consumers are also becoming more sophisticated and demanding, developing a tight relationship with their mobile: It is perceived as an umbilical cord connecting the user to the world, a second skin, some consumers say that there is all their life in it as a secret diary, others feel lonely when nobody calls.”

The highlight of Buongiorno’s research: Three new and colourful terms the mobile industry can use to segment the great mass of users. Roughly 48 percent of users are Symbiotics, a group characterized by an extremely close relationship with their mobile phones. In a nutshell, these users are linked to mobile devices as if by an umbilical cord. They are deeply into phone personalization and their favorite services are top 10 ringtones, and wallpapers. Rationals, a group that represent 25 percent of users, appreciate the phone’s usefulness and functional value, but have problems with an always-on lifestyle. They like services aimed at increasing phone functionality and prefer infotainment services. Fashionistas, 27 percent of the sample, are mostly young adults. They like to show off with their phones and view them as a status symbol.

The research also sheds light on user behavior in each country surveyed. (Predictably, German users appreciate handset functionality, while users in the U.K. and U.S. like time-killer applications, such as games and mobile TV.) Polyphonic ringtones are still the most popular downloaded content, appealing to more than 40 percent of users. What mobile content offers would users like? The majority (70 percent) like the idea of listening to interactive radio stations on their mobile phones while they “pick and purchase” ringtones and full track downloads; 63 percent would participate in a mobile TV program. Release.