According to Thiago Moreira, director of Telecom for Nielsen in Brazil, the purpose of the research was to determine how much advertising agencies in these three important Latin American markets knew about mobile marketing and what kinds of campaigns they typically undertook.  “What we learned is that while mobile marketing is just emerging as a marketing discipline in all three countries, it is taking on very different characteristics in each of these markets, with Brazilian agencies being the most active in mobile marketing.”

Brazil

• 83 percent of agencies in Brazil believe that mobile marketing is a channel that can be better exploited.
• 62 percent of the agencies surveyed in Brazil launched mobile marketing campaigns in 2010, a figure that is expected to increase to 87 percent in 2011.
• Most mobile marketing initiatives in Brazil use multimedia with games and music and video downloads, and for 2011, 50 percent of campaigns will reach iPhones users alone.

Argentina

• 65 percent of agencies in Argentina believe that mobile marketing is a channel that can be better exploited.
• 43 percent of Argentinean agencies will develop mobile marketing campaigns in 2011 aimed at iPhone users
• The most used content within mobile campaigns: Product information and alerts, sales and offers (30%), games (26%) and music and video downloads (21%).

Mexico

• 59 percent of agencies in Mexico believe that mobile marketing is a channel that can be better exploited.
• 41 percent of agencies in Mexico are expected to direct their mobile campaigns to iPhone users
• The most-used content within mobile campaigns: Product information, alerts, sales and offers (32%), music and video downloads (27%) and games (20%).

• As of April 2009, Nielsen estimates that there are 6.4 million active iPhone users in the U.S., up from 2.1 million a year prior. The most impactful iPhone announcement this week may be the price reduction of $99 for the 8 GB version: cost has been one factor (in addition to AT&T exclusivity) that’s kept the overall iPhone audience modestly sized.
• 37% watch video on their phone (6x as likely as the typical subscriber)
• The iPhone audience is age-diverse: a device this powerful isn’t just for kids. There are roughly as many iPhone users 55 and older as there are 13-24.

• iPhone users look good to mobile marketers. Forty-percent have household incomes of $100K or more – twice the ratio among all subscribers (19%). That income may also be helpful for current iPhone owners who want to upgrade: in-contract iPhone owners may have to pay an additional $200 to upgrade before their contract expires.

• It’s not just for looks. 98% of iPhone users use the data features of their phone, services that should improve with the enhanced speed promised by the iPhone 3G S.

• 88% use the Internet (making them 4x as likely as the typical subscriber)

• 75% download apps (5x as likely as the typical subscriber)

• 72% used location based services (7x as likely as the typical subscriber)

Apple’s announcement came on the heels of the release of the latest so-called “iPhone killer” the Palm Pre smartphone. However, iPhone buzz continues to dominate the blogosphere.

In contrast, John McCain’s campaign has largely eschewed mobile marketing.  But that may just be the right strategy, according to Nielsen Mobile, which reported Monday that mobile advertising is a more efficient way to reach Democrats, rather than Republicans.

As of the second quarter of 2008, mobile media of all types were slightly more popular among Democrats, who were more likely than their Republican counterparts to use data services on their mobile phones, send text messages, or use mobile Internet, according to Nielsen.

View the full media alert.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in MediaPost, Wireless and Mobile News, and Fierce Mobile Content.