Mobile marketing ready to roll

Johannesburg - Cellphone penetration of the South African market is 100% - and yet the market is still growing, according to World Wide Worx's annual mobility study. How is this possible? Multiple usage.

On average, the countrys 34 million cellphone users have almost 1.5 active cellphone accounts (SIM connections) each. They're using them for increasingly complex transactions, and the stage is set for mobile marketing to become a significant part of the marketing mix.

"It's become clear that many pre-paid users have a SIM card for each major network, to avoid incurring the interconnection fee charged for calls between networks. The low cost of new SIM cards (as little as 50c for a starter pack) also gives anyone the ability to have more than one number."

The interconnect fee adds R1.25 to the cost of every call and has prompted new approaches to cellphone usage.

The implications for marketers are significant. It's widely assumed that the cellphone will be the main point of access to the internet in many emerging economies, but cellphone marketing is still in its infancy.

However, World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck reckons the market is still small. "Only about 10% of cellphone users can access internet applications," he says.

"There are a lot of companies that are fairly cutting edge in the use of this medium. Quite a strong mobile advertising industry is emerging. But the population capable of receiving those ads is still relatively small."

Nevertheless it is growing, says Deon Liebenberg, regional director of Research In Motion, the developer of the BlackBerry solution: "Our experience reflects that it is not only the number of cellular connections that is growing, but also the applications for which subscribers are using their smartphones.

"Mobility is changing people's personal and business lives by allowing them to stay in touch with information, applications and other people wherever they are."

According to Len Pienaar, CEO of First National Bank's Mobile and Transact Solutions, "cellphone functionality has progressively grown beyond the traditional voice and SMS.

"With the growing trend towards cellphone banking, mobile media, mobile marketing and mobile internet access, in-depth understanding of consumer perceptions and trends are crucial in addressing the needs of the marketplace."

The number of SIM connections per user has grown from 1.2 in 2003 to 1.47 by the end of 2008. Last year the number of users grew by 12%, and the number of connections grew by the same amount. There are 34 million users, with 50 million active cellphone accounts.

- Fin24.com