Vuclip, the world’s largest independent mobile video service has unveiled the findings of its mobile survey on the preferred handset brands in India and globally at ad:tech New Delhi 2012. As per the findings, price was the leading priority in mobile handset purchase decisions for 36{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of the Indian respondents, while 26{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} respondents looked for features above anything else. In contrast, globally, features were the prime decision-influencer for 33{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of all respondents, while price was the second most important criteria.
Among brands, Nokia emerged as the undisputed leader in the “Most Desired Handset Brand” & “Current Handset Brand” categories. However, while 50{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of the respondents in India currently owned a Nokia, only 40{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} respondents cited Nokia as their desired handset brand. In contrast, Apple, which held a 23{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} market share among Vuclip’s respondents in India, seemed to garner heightened interest with 31{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} respondents preferring an Apple phone as their desired handset brand. Samsung came at #3 as the current handset for 18{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of the respondents, and was the desired brand for an almost equal share of people (17{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3}). The report revealed that, besides Apple, BlackBerry could be another major gainer in new handset purchases – while only 2{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of the Indian respondents currently owned a BlackBerry, as many as 8{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} wanted to switch to the RIM handset in future.
The survey took into account close to 1.45 lakh respondents from India with a whopping 88{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} respondents being males. The majority of votes came from 18-25 year age bracket (44{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3}), followed by teenagers less than 18 years of age (28{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3}) and another 18{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} votes contributed by respondents in the age group 26-35, highlighting the fact that Nokia is a favorite brand among the youngsters in the country. Globally, close to 5.6 lakh people participated in the survey from more than 20 countries including US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Russia, Pakistan, Malaysia & Indonesia. The survey was delivered through Vuclip’s mobile site, m.vuclip.com. The survey could be readily filled out from a mobile device; allowed users to opt out and did not request the users to provide the identification information.
Vuclip revealed these survey findings at a workshop during the ad:tech New Delhi 2012 conference titled“Revealing Today’s Mobile Consumer”. The workshop analyzed how massive mobile video consumption is changing consumers’ interaction with brands. Mobile videos form a part of the larger ecosystem and the new avenues that the digital world promises for the advertisers, broadcasters, publishers, content aggregators, and telecom and internet companies alike.
Commenting on the survey findings, Ashwin Puri, Global Head of Advertising, Vuclip, said “The findings of our survey reveal major indicators on mobile phones purchase decisions in India. With more than half the number of respondents planning to change their handset within the next one year, manufacturers have a huge opportunity to benefit from the shifting brand preferences if they can align their product launches to the preferences of the consumers. As many as 36{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of all respondents are likely to change their handset within this quarter, while another 9{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} want to replace it within 6 months.”
Analyzing emerging usage patterns for mobile phones in India, Ashwin noted, “Over a quarter of all respondents today look for features in their handset. Screen-size now matters for another 17{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3} of Indians. These findings highlight that more and more Indians today want to have a richer multimedia experience, and mobile videos are sure to gain more traction in the future.”
