The launch of the Droid by Motorola–which runs Google’s Android 2.0 operating system–is the latest smartphone to be tagged “game changing iPhone killer.”  We prefer to view it as simply a quality choice in a growing line of smartphones rather than something that will stifle the competition. With only 10,000 applications available in the Android market and more than 100,000 available for the iPhone, the Droid–or any Android phone–won’t be killing the iPhone anytime soon. What the Droid will do is advance the use and adoption of web content to a connected device. Android’s integration with popular and widespread Google applications such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Voice is a big help as is its ability to run multiple applications (up to six on the Droid). Most users do this on their computers so being able to listen to music while browsing the web and sending email makes a multi-tasking smartphone an appealing option.

The Competition to The Competition

The mobile marketplace is not just a faceoff between the iPhone and Droid; over the next few months, there are at least six new devices on deck that will have large screens like the Droid, keyboards (the Droid has both a virtual and physical keyboard), and an ever-increasing number of applications.

Nielsen’s data from Q3 2009 suggests that if you buy an Android phone, you’ll likely use more of the data features more often than if using any other smartphone.

Also, for the first time in Q3, Nielsen saw more users accessing the Internet on smartphone than that of feature phone users. If this trend continues, we’ll see more than 80% of the devices accessing the Internet being these advanced phones.

The Mobile Universe is Expanding

In Q3 2009, historically the slowest phone sales quarter, more than 25% of all phones sold were smartphones. Expect Q4 to have more than 40% of the new phones sold be smart devices. This is important to watch as smartphones are on track to be the majority of phones in the U.S. by 2011. Projecting Nielsen data out through 2010, we see smartphones crossing 50% of the market by the middle of 2011, roughly equal to 150 million users. This shift could happen much faster with the right conditions such as continued competitive price points on devices, lower “all you can eat” data packages and the increasing consumer need to be connected anytime, anywhere.

By mid-2011, the U.S. should be just over 300 million mobile subscribers. If we assume that we will have over 150 millions uses of smartphones (based on our projections) and that 80% of these users will access the Internet and 60% will access video (given the current data trend these assumptions may actually be low), this means that over 120 million mobile users will be on the Internet and 90 million will be watching video. What we have typically called the “third screen” is quickly becoming an extension of the first and second screens (TV and desktop viewing) especially in some key demographics. Note how Hispanics and African-Americans over-index on Mobile Video and Internet Usage.

Overall, we see mobile media growth accelerating over the next year with more users paying for video and premium content. Remember,  the mobile phone is the one media device that is always within reach. The trend in the U.S. is more interaction, more consumption, and more connected devices. While not a competition killer, the Droid is the next logical step in a market with a wide array of rich media devices. As that trend continues, the battle for better smartphones with better access to content will wind up seeing the consumer as the clear winner.

“As with other forms of Internet technology, more men were early-adopters of the mobile Web and still make up a slightly larger presence today,” commented Chris Quick, client services manager, mobile media. “Now that the technology is more mainstream, women are quickly embracing the benefits as ‘connected consumers,’ tapping the convenience of Web access on mobile phones to network, browse the latest shopping deals and get ideas for dinner, all while on the go.”

Mobile and gender

From celebrity news to shopping, mobile Web usage by women traversed a variety of subjects and actions in July, including online shopping and social networking. Women were 1.4 times more likely to visit People.com and use AT&T search via a mobile Web device in July.

In July, men’s mobile Web interests centered on news, sports and online games. Men were 1.8 times more likely to visit Gizmodo – the technology news site – via a mobile phone, making it the No. 1 Web site visited by men on their mobile devices in July in terms of unique audience composition.

Teen take

Teen usage of mobile phones focuses heavily on texting, both sending and receiving. In Q2 2009, the top-ranked mobile activity for teens was messaging, with 84 percent of teens sending a text message and 55 percent of teens sending a picture message.

We have seen that the mobile industry is on a fast-track, with massive growth in mobile marketing, advertising and paid-content for users. But what is really leading this growth is the increase in quality devices and fast, affordable data. While smartphone ownership was once just a business tool, more consumers than ever are using smartphones in their everyday lives. In the past year alone, the total number of smartphone subscribers increased 72% quarter-over-quarter, growing from 15 million subscribers in Q2 2008 to 26 million in Q2 2009. While the penetration level of smartphone users is still fairly low – nearly 17% in Q2 2009 – they make up half of the mobile Web audience.

Italy Leads in Smartphone Adoption

Despite America’s reputation as a nation of big talkers — the U.S. is not setting the pace in smartphone adoption — ranking third when ranked by penetration. Italy has the largest percentage of smartphone owners at 28%, while Spain is not far behind with 23%. France has the most room to grow, with an 11% penetration level.

Smartphone Gender Gap Continues

With the continued expansion of smartphone ownership in the U.S. and the availability of more affordable devices, the market is opening up to a wider range of consumers. However, we continue to see similar demographic profiles for smartphone owners as we did a year ago. While smartphone usage is shifting from purely business use to both personal and business use, owners are still more than two times as likely to own a smartphone for business usage only. Smartphone owners continue to be predominantly male, are 65% more likely than the average mobile subscriber to be between the ages of 25 and 34, and nearly two times as likely to make more than $100,000 a year.

What’s Next?

So while more people are buying smartphones and penetration levels are increasing, the demographics are not significantly changing yet. There is a lot of untapped potential available to marketers to reach a whole new generation of smartphone users. Is your mobile marketing strategy as smart as your phone?

Nic Covey, Director of Insights, The Nielsen Company

SUMMARY: It’s easy to get caught up in the hype around teenagers. The notion that teens are too busy texting and Twittering to be engaged with traditional media is exciting, but false. To develop the best strategy around teens and media, start by challenging popular assumptions about teens. Don’t focus on the outliers, but on the macro-level trends of media and preferences for the segment. The averages will show you that teens can often be reached by the same means as their parents.

In the recent report, How Teens Use Media, Nielsen debunks many of the myths around teen media consumption. This article excerpts some of the most important findings of that study:

Myth: Teens are abandoning TV for new media

Reality: Television still accounts for most of a teen’s media clock
In fact, they’ve been watching more TV than ever—up 6% over the past five years in the U.S. Nielsen’s A2M2 Three Screen Report showed that the typical teen television viewer watched 104:24 (hh:mm) of television per month in the first quarter of 2009. While less than the average for all television viewers (153:27), it tops teen Internet

use over the course of a month considerably (11:32).

Compared to teens in other markets where TV viewing is measured electronically by Nielsen, U.S. teens actually watch less television per day than most. In South Africa, teens averaged more than five hours per day of TV viewing. In Taiwan, teens averaged just 2 hours and 47 minutes.

Online video is becoming an important part of the overall teen viewing experience. Twelve million U.S. teens—about two-thirds of those online—watched online video in May 2009.  Year-over-year, the audience grew 10% and the average number of minutes increased a stunning 79% to 3 hours and 6 minutes per month among viewers. Torrid growth, yes, but surprisingly, the average teen still lags behind viewing of adults 18-24, adults 25-32 and adults 35-44.

As mobile network speeds and device capabilities improve, more teens are looking to their phones for video as well. In the first quarter of 2009, 18% of U.S. teens 13–17 with mobile phones watched some form of video content on their phone. The experience has been much more popular with teen males, who make up 73% of the teen mobile audience. Teens who watch mobile video do so much more than the average mobile video user—watching 6 hours and 30 minutes a month compared to just 3 hours and 37 minutes.

Myth: Teens are the biggest users of the Internet

Reality: With fewer hours at a connected desk, teens actually use the Internet less than most
Many consider teens of today to be the Internet generation: Born roughly between 1990 and 1996, today’s teens grew up with a mouse in their hands. They are portrayed as Digital Natives, perpetually connected, guided by both the opportunities and constraints of worldwide connectivity. Indeed, some 90% of U.S. teens have access to the Internet at home, and 73% have access on a school PC. Among teens with Internet access at home, 55% say they have a wireless connection at home.

Teens spend 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online—far below the average of 29 hours and 15 minutes. As with other media, the gap between teen and adult time spent is less an indication of interest and more a function of access. Unlike adults, many of whom spend hours of the work day with a broadband Internet connection, much of a teen’s waking moments are spent in the classroom, at extracurricular activities, at a part-time job and moving about an otherwise hyper-social high school ecosystem.

Across the markets, teen Internet use mirrors the Internet use of adults in many ways. The most popular online categories for teens—general interest portals and search—are the same as for their elders. Member

communities (social networks and blogs) do have a unique place within the teen experience, though. In the U.S., nearly half of online teens 12–17 visited MySpace and Facebook in May 2009 (45% and 44%, respectively). Reach of these sites among teens is still slightly higher than among all U.S. Internet users, though the demographics of social networking are expanding (41% of U.S. Internet users visited Facebook and 33% visited MySpace in May 2009). Teens make slightly more prolific online publishers, too. Two-thirds (67%) of teen social networkers say they update their page at least once a week, compared to just half (53%) of all social networkers.

Myth: The only way to reach Teens over the phone is through texting

Reality: Teens are early adopters of ALL mobile media
Teens do text at phenomenal rates, but that’s not all they do on their phones. Increasingly, the mobile phone plays a critical role in the media lives of teens. In the U.S., 77% of teens have their own mobile phone and another 11% say they regularly borrow one.

Of all the mobile behaviors of teens, texting is most talked about. Fingers flying and phone cameras flashing, 83% of U.S. mobile teens use text-messaging and 56% use MMS/picture messaging. The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month compared to 191 calls. The average number of texts has gone up 566% in just two years, far surpassing the average number of calls, which has stayed nearly steady.

Still, texting isn’t the only means of communicating with teens over the mobile phone. Teens are avid users of a wide variety of advanced mobile data features. More than one-third of teens download ringtones, instant message or use the mobile Web, while about one-quarter of U.S. teens download games and applications. To a lesser extent, teens are using video messaging (26%), watching mobile video (18%) and using location-based services on their phone (16%).

Myth: All gamers are teens and all teens do is game

Reality: Teens account for just 23% of the console audience and less than 10% of PC gaming minutes
When we think of teen media use, gaming is often one of the first activities that come to mind. Over the course of the past 20 years, though, the gaming audience has broadened. New devices and games have extended gaming beyond boys to girls, young adults, and with the introduction of Nintendo’s Wii, people on the younger and older sides of the demographic spectrum. In the fourth quarter of 2008, teens 12–17 made up 23% of the U.S. console gaming audience, over indexing for their overall audience composition, but still leaving three-quarters of console minutes for older and younger gamers. On the PC, teens account for fewer than 10% of all game minutes played in a typical month—a medium that has done a better job attracting females ages 25–54.

Though teens don’t make up the entirety of the video gaming audience, the medium does reach most of them in some way. Today, 83% of U.S. teens have at least one console in their home. Seventy-five percent of males 12–17 and 57% of females 12–17 used a console at least once during the fourth quarter of 2008 (compared to 36% of the total population, two and older). The typical teen averaged 25 minutes of console use per day last year—considerably less than they spent on TV, but comparable to their time spent online. The average time spent is significantly higher for teen boys (41 minutes) than teen girls (8 minutes).

The games they choose to play may surprise some, who think teens spend all of their time on shooter games. Of the top five most anticipated video games among teens since 2005, just two were rated “Mature” by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), two were rated “Teen” and one was rated “Everyone”. The most anticipated video game among gamers 13–17 since 2005 has been Halo 3, a first-person shooter game rated “Mature” by the ESRB. At its peak, 61% of active gamers said they had a definite interest in Halo 3. The other Mature-rated game in the top five was Grand Theft Auto IV, which—with a 37% “definite interest” among teens—tied Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (rated Teen) for the second most anticipated video game. Mario Party 7 (33%) and Guitar Hero: World Tour (32%) round out the list of the five most anticipated games. Play-along music and fantasy driving games, it turns out, are as relevant to the teen gaming experience as some more violent or mature ones.

In a word, teens are more “normal” than most think
It’s true: the media universe is expanding for teens. Social networks are playing an increasingly important role and many teens are accessing the Web over their phones. Teens are time-shifting video with DVRs and place-shifting on their video MP3 players. Yet teens are not unique in this media revolution. The media experience has evolved, and cross-platform engagement will be critical to reaching all consumers, not just teens. Media innovations have impacted everyone’s experience—not just the High School Musical set.

As the Nielsen report, How Teens Use Media, argues more fully, it isn’t necessary to reconfigure the playbook to reach this highly-buzzed about audience. Discard the assumption that, as a rule, teens are “alien” and plan for them as you would any demographic segment—with careful attention and calculus, not panic. Keep your eye on the averages, keep your head on your shoulders and before you rewire the system, remind yourself: Teens are people, too.

For additional insights on teen media use, including further detail on these categories plus theatrical activity, DVR and DVD use, newspaper readership, music consumption and advertising engagement, download a free copy of Nielsen’s full report, How Teens Use Media.

More highlights from Nielsen Online’s Q1 2009 Canadian Mobile Internet Report can be found in the complete media release.

By: Nic Covey, Director of Insights, Telecom Practice, The Nielsen Company

SUMMARY: Today, 10.3 million U.S. mobile subscribers use mobile video, which still leaves 214 million U.S. mobile subscribers who don’t. In the markets in which Nielsen tracks video over phones, the U.S. is tops in terms of penetration, but at 5%, the medium is far behind even other mobile media. Three key developments in the space could fuel considerable growth in the market.

An old idea, renewed
Back in 1966, Popular Mechanics reported that a portable television would be launched under a “famous maker’s label” by year’s end. Later that year, Motorola—a name not distant from the world of mobile video today—demonstrated to the world a remarkably small portable TV designed by their engineer De Loss Tanner. Tanner’s invention was claimed as the smallest TV in the world. The Columbus Dispatch, profiling the invention, called it a view to the future. Tanner, due to present the invention at a meeting of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, died six days before the conference.

It wasn’t until Sony’s launch of the “Watchman” in 1982, however, that a portable TV was introduced to the mass market. Surprisingly, after 42 years and several generations of portable televisions after Motorola’s Tiny TV, portable television has hardly become a mainstream medium. That, however, could change.

Small audience, big potential
In the U.S. today, 10.3 million mobile phone subscribers access video content on their phone each month — an increase of 14% from last year. Through websites such as YouTube, or subscriptions to clips delivered by the carrier, or through “live” broadcasted TV programming, millions of U.S. subscribers today consume video news and entertainment in the way De Loss Tanner and other engineers envisioned nearly half a century ago.

The most popular means of mobile video consumption over phones in the U.S. is mobile Web video, with 66% of mobile video users viewing video this way. Still, much of the mobile video audience pays for access to a service: 42% of mobile video users access their video through a mobile video subscription. U.S. subscriptions to mobile video have recently risen to 16.4 million in Q3 2008 from 13.2 million in Q3 2007, a 27% year-over-year growth bolstered by unlimited data packages such as Sprint’s “Simply Everything” plan, that allow access to mobile video.

Still, though the mobile video market saw reasonable growth in 2008, the overall use of mobile video in the U.S., at 5% of all subscribers, is low compared to other mobile media: Internet, ringtones and games, for example. U.S. subscribers are not unique in their low penetration of mobile video. In fact, of the 11 mobile video markets tracked by Nielsen, penetration of mobile video consumption is highest in the U.S., followed by France and Italy where 4% of mobile subscribers access mobile video each month. None of the markets Nielsen tracks have surpassed the 5% threshold of usage, but some estimates place penetration in Japan and South Korea—markets where Nielsen doesn’t yet measure mobile video consumption—at nearer to 50% of the mobile market.

Though the U.S. audience for mobile video is small today, key developments could fuel considerable growth in the market in 2009 and 2010—expanding not just the universe of existing mobile video users, but also the universe of untapped subscribers. First, let’s look more closely at mobile video use, today.

The audience today
In the U.S., the profile of mobile video users is broad enough that it cannot be classified as merely a young, affluent man’s medium. While the audience does skew young, the makeup for mobile video content spans across the demographic spectrum.

• As of Q3 2008, the mobile video audience is more male than female (60% male, while men make up just 48% of the total mobile population).
• Mobile video users are considerably more likely to be younger—65% of all mobile video users are under the age of 35, compared to just 35% of all subscribers.
• African Americans and Hispanics continue to be disproportionately represented in the mobile video audience when compared to the total subscriber base. As of Q3 2008, 14% of the mobile video audience was African American (non-Hispanic) and 24% of the audience was Hispanic (compared to just 9 and 13% of all subscribers, respectively).
• From an income perspective, the mobile video audience is perhaps more balanced than expected, considering surcharges and device needs. As of Q3 2008, mobile video users were just slightly more likely to have household incomes of $100K, compared to all mobile subscribers (28% compared to 22%).

Broad and varied use
Perhaps one of the more “expected” uses of mobile video is while waiting in lines. However, Nielsen data suggest that the occasion for mobile video consumption is really much broader than this narrow, and perhaps rarer than imagined, opportunity. Indeed, how many lines does one wait in during a typical day?

And while mobile video viewers do report that they consume video while waiting for people or things (59% say they do so), 37% of viewers say they tune in to their phone while at home, 35% watch from their bed and about one in four users say they occasionally view while they are exercising.

Considering the diversity of place in which mobile video is consumed, it is less surprising to consider that mobile video viewers are not necessarily watching for just short intervals. In Q3 2008, 54% of mobile video viewers reported average mobile video sessions of 15 minutes or longer. As reported in the Nielsen Three Screen Report, the typical mobile video viewer tunes into their phone for an average of 3 hours and 37 minutes per month—an increase of 11% since Q1 2008. This increase is fueled in part by content providers making full-length episodes of television content available over mobile phones.

Keep it light and funny
From a genre perspective, Comedy is the most popular mobile video content. Forty percent of mobile video viewers in Q3 2008 said they had watched comedy content, at an average of 10 minutes per session. Weather, Music and Sports are the next most popular genres of mobile video content, respectively. The appeal of a broad range of genres in mobile video is apparent: 17 of the mobile video genres tracked by Nielsen have attracted audiences of more than one million unique mobile video users, including even Adult content.

As for specific brands of content consumed over mobile video, many of the leading television brands today are also the most watched brands in mobile video. As of Q3 2008, NBC is the most-watched mobile video brand in the U.S. A total of 4.7 million mobile video users watched NBC-branded mobile video entertainment in the typical month—46% of the overall mobile video audience.

After NBC, FOX, MTV, The Weather Channel, Comedy Central, YouTube and ESPN were the next most popular mobile video brands (reaching between 28% and 42% of mobile video viewers).

YouTube’s position in that lineup is important, as mobile Web-based video is playing an increasingly important part in the growth of the mobile video audience. In Q3 2008, about three million U.S. mobile subscribers accessed YouTube—the leading Web video provider accessed over the phone—through their phone. YouTube’s mobile audience grew 277% between October 2007 and October 2008.

Future interests
Comedy is not just the most popular form of mobile video content today; it’s also what users want to see more of. Comedy is the top-aided category of interest among current users—though not by far. As of Q3 2008, 11% of mobile video users said they were interested in additional comedy programming, just ahead of music (10%) and full-length cinema released movies (9%), each of which may reflect the current youth skew of mobile video.

Satisfaction guaranteed
Although usage frequency among mobile video users is relatively low (17 videos per month median), overall satisfaction with the mobile video experience is high among current users.

As of Q3 2008, 71% of mobile video viewers said they were satisfied with the mobile video experience. That number is slightly higher among those who are paying for a subscription video service (77%) and lower among those who access mobile video by other means (67%). Mobile video users ages 18-24 also tend to be more satisfied with their experience than the typical user—76% say they are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their experience.

Overall, network quality, costs and battery life appear to be the biggest pain points on the mobile video experience. Thankfully, these challenges have foreseeable solutions. From a network standpoint, carriers have been rolling out 3G networks throughout the U.S. that offer data throughputs six times as fast as 2 and 2.5G networks. From a cost perspective, the average price paid for subscription-based mobile video has declined in recent quarters, and consumers are increasingly able to access professional video content through the mobile web, without additional fees on top of their data plan.

Battery life is perhaps the most fundamentally gating factor to mobile media consumption. Immediate solutions involve the creative introduction of devices such as battery-powered cell phone cases that double the life of phones (Incase has introduced such a case for the iPhone), and longer-term solutions to power limitations are being developed quickly. A group at Stanford says they’ve designed a battery that can extend the life of laptop and phone batteries tenfold.

Growing the mobile video pie
Satisfaction among current users is good, but for the overall mobile video market to grow, the whole pie will have to grow. Today, only 5% of U.S. mobile subscribers use mobile video, but as mentioned, there are opportunities for mobile video growth in 2009 and 2010.

Today there is still a large degree of carrier control over the mobile video experience—a level of control that may have to loosen for the overall market to grow. Furthermore, mobile video is still costly and, from some perspectives, lacks the breadth of content (national, local and user generated) that it could provide.

Solving for these gating factors, three avenues for growth of the overall mobile video audience include:

1. the expanded use of mobile Web and mobile Web video;
2. the rollout of mobile digital TV (mobile DTV);
3. an improved advertising subsidization of subscription-based streaming mobile video services.

The latter is the most unlikely of the three growth drivers, but all are possible, and a combination of some of these three would grow the mobile video audience considerably into 2009 and 2010. A detailed review of these growth drivers can be found in the Tuned into the Phone: Mobile Video Use in the U.S. and Abroad report.

The time has come
The 1966 Columbus Dispatch article quoted at the beginning of this article was mostly bullish about the significance of Motorola’s tiny mobile television. At the end of that article, though, the reporter writes, “Now that the company has the teeniest TV ever built, they’re a little at a loss as to what to do with it. It probably won’t make a consumer product for years to come.”

Has the time come for more ubiquitous use of mobile video? It has, but only if the market can cooperate to move beyond mobile video’s plateau and make the medium an affordable and engaging experience for a broader audience of viewers.

Based on an excerpt of “Tuned into the Phone: Mobile Video Use in the U.S. and Abroad”, a new white paper from Nielsen’s telecom practice. Download the full paper for free.

According to a report released Monday by Nielsen’s Telecom Practice, Americans should expect to see more text message marketing in the future.  Given the immense popularity of texting in the U.S. and abroad, it’s not surprising that marketers have ramped up their use of the medium to engage their customers — where there’s an audience, marketers are not far behind.

So far, Nielsen’s report notes, marketers have used short code marketing in a tight but creative range of ways: from simple information messaging, to rewards programming, to couponing, and even direct SMS purchasing.

Coca-Cola’s My Coke Rewards program, which had engaged 1.1 million AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers as of Q3 2008, according to Nielsen, is a notable example.  Subway, Arby’s, Jiffy Lube, BestBuy, Papa Johns, Village Inn, and other major brands have also provided special offers through text and multimedia messaging.

Short codes are also changing the way Americans engage with traditional media.  Participation TV falls into this realm — with “American Idol” being the most prominent example of viewers engaging with a TV program over text messaging.

Radio listeners are also increasingly being called to action via text message.  In Q2 2008, for example, Nielsen’s tracking of short codes showed more than a million transactions with the short code “A-L-I-C-E” (or 25423), a short code assigned to the station Alice 97.3 KLLC-FM in San Francisco.  Alice listeners are frequently invited to send text messages directly to the studio to make requests, win prizes, and enter polls. 

View Nielsen Telecom Practice’s full report.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Wireless and Mobile News.

How do consumers feel about talking to brands via texting — the same way they talk with their friends and family?  Read more on Nielsen Wire.

What’s driving the wild success of EA Sports’ star product? 

A marketing vision that combines a deep understanding of the game’s core fan base with an innovative, “three-screen” strategy that leverages TV, online, and mobile phone outlets for the game, Matt Foran of Nielsen Sports, writes in the November issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.

Thanks to websites like Xbox Live, “Madden” gamers can head online to play with friends and anonymous fans across the country — making the game a communal experience, Foran notes.

“Madden” is also one of the top ten mobile game downloads: 142,000 mobile users downloaded the game in July 2008, paying an average of $4.34 for the game, according to Nielsen’s latest Mobile Games Report. 

Not surprisingly, the mobile version of “Madden NFL 2008″ skews heavily male.  In Q2 2008, 78% of the game’s downloaders were male.  However, Foran notes, the game also skews more middle age than the overall mobile gaming population: 44% of “Madden NFL ‘08″ downloaders were between the ages of 45 and 64.  In comparison, just 21% of the overall mobile gaming audience falls within that age group.

And because video gamers are avid football fans (in 2008, NFL games have drawn 44% higher TV ratings among households with video game consoles than those without, according to Nielsen), EA Sports expanded the “Madden” franchise into TV. 

The company partnered with ESPN to create “Madden Nation,” a “Survivor”-esque reality show airing on ESPN2, Foran notes.  The show, which draws an average of 300,000 viewers each week, has come up with innovative ways to integrate cross promotions of NFL teams and sports apparel.

“Madden” has also found success with other ESPN programs, such as “Sunday Countdown” and “Monday Night Countdown,” Foran notes.  The programs regularly feature “EA Sports Virtual Playbook” segments, in which ESPN analysts diagram the plays using the “Madden” video game with super imposed graphics. 

The takeaway for marketers?

Follow the “Madden” marketing team’s lead: a strong presence across multiple media platforms and a commitment to authenticity are essential for reaching increasingly empowered 21st Century consumers.

Read the full article.

View the latest issue of “Consumer Insight.”

Both stories noted that 46% of U.S. tweens use cellphones, but only 26% own them, according to Nielsen Mobile.

Instead, tweens are more likely to borrow their parents’ phones — when they go out with friends or take short trips.  The borrowing typically starts at age eight-and-a-half; by age 10 or 11, many tweens have their own phones, according to Nielsen.

Nearly all parents (92%) say they restrict their tweens’ phone usage in some way, and 68% prohibit their tweens from downloading content that incurs charges, according to Nielsen.

Still, tweens manage to use their phone for more than just talking.  About 55% of tweens who own cell phones send text messages, and 21% download ringtones.

Those are exactly the kinds of trends that interest cell phone operators.

“Our clients want to understand tweens’ attitudes and mobile behavior in the context of their daily life and media consumption,” Richard Wood, vice president, Nielsen Mobile, told CNET.

Sports fans who watched both ESPN and used ESPN.com spent 27% more time watching ESPN TV than TV-only users — and 50% more time using ESPN.com than Internet-only viewers, according to a recent study of ESPN fans’ cross-platform media consumption habits by Nielsen Connections.

Pete Doe, Managing Director, Nielsen Connections, and Glenn Enoch, Vice President, Audience Research, ESPN, reported the findings of that research in the September issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.

Overall, 123 million people accessed ESPN on TV and another 21 million visited ESPN.com in March 2008, according to Nielsen.  Among households with either TV or Internet access, 84% of users who accessed ESPN content via TV, 10% used both Internet and TV, and 6% used ESPN.com exclusively, Nielsen found. 

Nielsen’s custom research for ESPN used TV/Internet data fusion techniques, paired with Nielsen’s single-source Convergence Panel, to track how ESPN fans access the network’s offerings via TV and the Web. 

Read the full article.

View the latest issue of “Consumer Insight.”

Learn more about how Nielsen tracks media consumption across the three screens: TV, Internet, and Mobile.