AFRICACOM, South Africa, November 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) (http://www.gemalto.com), the world leader in digital security, is releasing the results of a new survey conducted by Ifop in South Africa and Nigeria on consumers’ perceptions of mobile marketing. The findings reveal that although 80% of respondents feel annoyed when receiving unsolicited messages, the same proportion could be won back by operators and brands if they implemented best practices to improve customer engagement.
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The survey clearly highlights that consumers in South Africa and in Nigeria share the same desire to be in control of the mobile marketing campaigns they receive: 83% of respondents consider that mobile marketing should be permission-based and 90% want to be able to easily identify the sender. They also want messages to be relevant to them and there is room for improvement in this respect as nearly 70% said they received promotional messages not in line with their interests. Consumers also want tangible benefits: 53% of South Africans expect, in order of preference, immediate discounts, loyalty benefits, and the possibility to collect points and gifts.
In conclusion, the survey indicates that there is a clear and strong potential for mobile marketing in Africa, provided mobile operators and marketers implement the golden rules: right person, right message, and right moment. If the end user is given control to opt in, optout and select the frequency; and if messages are relevant and provide value, then 80% of those surveyed in both countries would become “connected ad lovers”.
On the South African market, mobile end users can be won back by adopting best practices which are more respectful of their wishes. As for Nigeria, where mobile marketing is still in its infancy, those golden rules can be implemented right from the outset.
“In a continent where the mobile phone is the most widespread screen, mobile marketing has tremendous potential for operators and brands to engage better with their audiences,” said Nadia Gonzalez, Vice President of Mobile Marketing at Gemalto. “Mobile operators have key assets for improving end-users’ experience of mobile marketing. Starting with a respect for consumer privacy, their ability to segment campaigns by end-users’ profiles, location and interests puts them in the driving seat in helping brands apply these golden rules.“
Methodology
French research firm Ifop, on behalf of Gemalto, conducted face-to-face interviews with 800 adult (18 years of age and older) owners of a mobile phone in Nigeria and South Africa, to understand consumer perceptions regarding mobile marketing and to identify blockers and drivers for mobile marketing in each region. The survey was fielded in July 2014 and included 400 respondents from South Africa and 400 respondents from Nigeria.
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Gemalto.
Gemalto Media Contacts:
Kristel Teyras
Middle East & Africa
+33 6 43 81 93 61
kristel.teyras@gemalto.com
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) (http://www.gemalto.com) is the world leader in digital security (http://www.gemalto.com/companyinfo/digital_security.html) with 2013 annual revenues of €2.4 billion and more than 12,000 employees operating out of 85 offices and 25 research and software development centers, located in 44 countries.
We are at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work – anytime, everywhere – in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. We develop secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.
Our innovations enable our clients to offer trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals. Gemalto thrives with the growing number of people using its solutions to interact with the digital and wireless world.
For more information visit www.gemalto.com, www.justaskgemalto.com, blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.
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