Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Cable and Other Subscription Programming.

If there’s one complaint consumers have about their mobile phones, it’s poor reception, especially indoors. Many consumers believe there’s little they can do about this and the situation may explain why only about 23% of households have dropped their landlines completely. Of course, the majority of consumers who live in mobile-only households exhibit behavior linked to age or household income demographics.

By any measure, telecommunications is a heavyweight industry with respect to marketing and should remain so for the foreseeable future. As in any young successful industry, rapid growth and competition are the orders of the day. The mobile phone industry’s future is further complicated by the shifting functionality of its devices. Phones that were traditionally used for voice communications are becoming the new personal computer.

The current generation of college students has no shortage of technical gadgets. Most of today’s students arrive on campus fully loaded with laptops, digital cameras, and possibly even smart phones. These connected consumers are always looking to purchase new high-tech toys. Which marketing factors make the most difference in the decision-making process of college students?

Amazon might have been the first to launch an e-reader device that captured the attention of a significant number of consumers but its dominant position faces some serious threats. The 2007 introduction of its Kindle generated plenty of buzz and competitors. The book industry in general has suffered declines in recent years but Forrester Research sees the e-book and e-reader device market as a bright sector andexpects it to grow. The research concern predicts about 1 million devices will be sold during the current holiday season and perhaps another 6 million will sell in 2010.

Until recently, smartphones had been viewed as the tech toys belonging to those consumers lucky enough to work for generous employers. The recession has definitely taken its toll on the growth rate of smartphone sales. However, Infonetics Research predicts that the number of units sold in 2009 will increase, worldwide, by 14.5% over 2008 levels. In addition, Infonetics Research analyst Richard Webb notes that “smartphone sales will easily outstrip the combined revenue of standard mobile phones by 2012.”