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| Lindsey Morrison |
Media planners at Starcom GM always have their eye on what is going to be the next big advertisement medium. With the explosion of the iPad in the past year, it is clear tablets are the next big thing in the media world. My assignment this summer was to take an in-depth look at the tablet’s consumers, industry, marketplace, and media presence. My research provided my Chevrolet team with important knowledge as they begin building media plans that will include tablets as a space to advertise.
Gender, household income, age, and children are all indicators of tablet ownership, with household income as the most significant. Households with an income of at least $100k are more likely to own a tablet than households with lower incomes. Having children also affects ownership. Of all households with tablets, 87% have at least one child in the home. Of all tablet owners 57% are male and only 1-5% of people over the age of 45 own a tablet. From these statistics, we see the best group to target for advertising is young, wealthy family men.
With the tablet industry on the rise, sales are expected to reach between 30-35 million unit sales by the end of 2011 and 81-million sales by 2012. Tablet sales will begin to plateau in 2015 as more devices enter the market and more consumers are able to purchase. The next groups of consumers to show intrest in the tablet are younger and middle-income consumers. 52% are interested in purchasing a tablet in the next 6 months and 42% of households with an income between $50k and $79.4k are also interested in purchasing a tablet in the next 6 months. However, huge growth in the tablet market does come with some risks. Another economic downturn, devices failing to live up to consumer expectations, and over-saturation of the market could all lead to a significant decrease in tablet popularity.
Apple currently dominates the tablet marketplace because its April 2010 iPad launch brought tablets mainstream. The success of the iPad comes from the 350,000 in the Apple app store. Possible competitors to the iPad are Android, BlackBerry and Windows 7. Tablets featuring the Android platform are the most likely to rival the iPad because of the strong Android app store. BlackBerry and Microsoft both have considerably weaker app stores and do not offer tablets with much lower price points than the iPad. Although other manufacturers are producing tablets, there is a chance the tablet sector could be another “one hit wonder” like the mp3 player market. Apple still holds a 70% share of the mp3 market at 82% of consumers said they would buy an iPad over other tablets. The best opportunity for competitors is to offer tablets with lower price points that deliver a similar or better experience than the iPad.
Advertising on tablets is a new game for media marketers. Tablets are still so new that there are not yet any advertisement standards. Ad sizes and executions depend on the capabilities of vendors, and ad space on tablets is sold on a flat buy instead of by providing audience numbers. The lack of consistency makes it difficult to audit or report the success metrics of an ad campaign.
Consumers hold tablet advertisements to a different standard than typical digital ads. Tablet ads needs to be attention grabbing and accessible with clear guidance, have easy entry points, and be fast. The best executions for ads include interactive video, animation, media galleries, 360 photos, and virtual tours. Consumers expect the ads to be as innovative and interactive as tablets themselves.
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