Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Institute of Media Environment 2014 Fixed-point Media Survey Results: Mobile Phone and Smartphone Contact Time Exceeds Computers

The Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Institute of Media Environment, located in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and headed by Masaki Mikami, has finished conducting its 2014 Fixed-point Media Survey. The survey is designed to study and analyze the status of sei-katsu-sha interaction with media touchpoints.

1. 1.    Most time spent interacting with TV followed by mobile phones and smartphones

According to a Tokyo-area survey, sei-katsu-sha spend 156.9 minutes watching television, 74.0 minutes using mobile phones and smartphones, and 69.1 minutes using computers each day. This is the first time that mobile and smartphone contact time has exceeded that for personal computers. Looking at the results by age and gender, we find that this pattern is now true not only among teenagers and women in their 20s, but also among men in their 20s and 30s and women in their 30s and 40s—indicating that significant mobile and smartphone contact times have spread to mid-range age groups.

1. 2.    Smartphone ownership at 59.1%, tablet ownership tops 20% for the first time

Smartphone ownership has hit 59.1%, up 14 percentage points from last year’s 45.0% result. There was a particular jump in ownership among teenage females (now at around 90%) and men aged 15–49 (now over 70%). Ownership among respondents in their 50s has not yet topped 50%, but jumps markedly with each younger decade. Tablet ownership also rose four points from 16.2% to 20.9%, topping one in five for the first time ever and pointing to more widespread smart device usage among sei-katsu-sha as a whole.

1. 3.    Females aged 15–19 now interact with social media while watching TV on a daily basis

The increasing popularity of smartphones has also begun changing TV viewing behaviors, with simultaneous use of mobile phones, smartphones, or tablets while watching TV topping 60%. Although just 20.6% of all respondents reported writing or reading posts on social media sites while watching TV programs, that number jumps to nearly seven in ten (66.1%) among females aged 15–19, indicating that social media usage has become a daily part of life. As smart devices continue to gain popularity, it will become increasingly critical to effectively link them to existing media channels.

The Fixed-Point Media Survey seeks to understand exactly how sei-katsu-sha interact with media as it becomes increasingly digital, with new forms of hardware and services continually appearing on the scene. It has been conducted each year since 2004 with the aim of discovering emerging trends in the structure of the advertising media market. The Institute of Media Environment will continue to research changes in media conditions in order to identify clues that anticipate next-generation advertising, striving to boost its communication planning abilities and generate positive media outcomes.