Tap into Tech-Savvy Female Market for Mobile Content

The tech-savvy female market offers a source of new revenue opportunities for mobile operators worldwide, according to independent research commissioned by LogicaCMG. The survey shows that the percentage of female mobile users expecting to download mobile content is set to triple from 18% to 58% over the next 10 months. However, it also revealed that women globally are 50% less likely than men to be aware of the level and diversity of content and services available through their mobile phones, suggesting that operators could benefit from reaching this market more effectively. Without a targeted approach, the research found that women are significantly more likely than men to be turned off accessing and downloading premium mobile content by this time next year.

The extensive research data compiled from LogicaCMG's global survey revealed that women are 33% per cent more likely than men to restrict purchases to downloading basic content such as ring tones and multimedia images. In contrast, men are 16% more likely to download mobile games and more than twice as likely to subscribe to premium sports-related content, such as premiership football goals and cricket result bulletins.

Lisa Modisette, Head of the Women in Mobile Data Association (WiMD), which promotes the development of mobile content and applications for women and underserved markets, believes that the female demographic is key to mobile operators' growing revenues from mobile content delivery.

Commenting on LogicaCMG's survey findings, Lisa Modisette said: "The mobile content environment is heavily orientated towards the young male audience. Whilst this group tends to be the early adopter market, operators and content providers should look to expand and tailor their content to also reach the female audience if they are planning to maximise revenue potential. Women today are very tech-savvy and typically a high-spending consumer segment that operators would benefit from targeting with relevant content offerings."

The research also discovered that different aspects such as cost control affect women's demand for mobile content. Women appear to prioritise control of spending, with facilities such as immediate deduction from prepaid accounts being 14% more popular with women than their male counterparts. Basic content services such as ring tones and wallpaper downloads appeal to women for their one-off payments, whereas subscription services are typically a turn-off as women feel less in control of how much they are spending. Promotions available on mobile content also support this reluctance to commit to ongoing services, with about a quarter (24 per cent) of women preferring to receive money off calls and texts rather than discounts on future content downloads.

Jayne Chace, senior vice president marketing at LogicaCMG global telecoms, said: "Operators recognising the differences in habits, requirements and preferences between male and female mobile users can reap significant rewards. These survey results show that both are potentially rich market segments for mobile content but clever targeting and personalisation is increasingly the key to maximising these revenues. By creating awareness of the vast range of content available and focusing on providing payments and promotional offerings that appeal to a female audience, operators have an unmissable opportunity to open doors to a significant new marketplace."

Posted to the site on 4th October 2005