Mandy Albers' posts

AOL recently teamed up with BBDO on a mobile research study, to discover not just what people are doing with their smartphones, but to really understand the reasons why people do what they do on smartphones. We found that 68% of consumer mobile phone use actually occurs in the home, something that may come as a surprise to most. In fact, several insights were uncovered that run counter to the traditional view of how smartphones are used, which shows that there is an untapped value for brands who advertise on mobile devices.

The study, conducted by research firm InsightsNow, took a unique three-phase approach that looked at consumer usage of mobile from a qualitative, quantitative and ethnographic perspective. The study involved smartphone users completing a seven-day diary, making video recordings throughout the day as they used their phones, in-depth interviews, and a survey conducted among 1,000 smartphone users from June to August, 2012.

Arbitron Mobile Trends Panels™ service was then used to track a mobile panel for 30 days to track user behavior and clickstreams in the US, across mobile web, apps and other mobile services. This resulted in a database of other 3,000 mobile interactions or moments which were then segmented according to the needs and motivations of the participants. All of these research methods made it possible to uncover which user needs are fulfilled by a wide variety of mobile interactions.

KEY FINDINGS

Mobile isn't always on the go. In fact, well over half of all mobile interactions measured in the research occur in the home, challenging conventional wisdom.

People use mobile devices for seven main reasons:

• To Accomplish - managing activities and lifestyle to gain a sense of accomplishment
• To socialize - active interaction with other people
• To prepare - active planning in order to be prepared for upcoming activities
• For Me Time - seeking relaxation and entertainment in order to indulge oneself or pass the time
• To Discover - seeking news and information
• To Shop - focusing on finding a product or service
• To Express Oneself -participating in passions and interests

Me Time is by far the biggest "Mobile Motivation" and accounts for almost half (46%) of all smartphone app and website motivation, averaging 864 minutes per month per user, per Arbitron Mobile.

Mobile advertising performs poorly in Me Time because the vast majority of messages are not relevant to the use at that time, are easy to ignore, or get in the way.

Based on these findings, AOL and BBDO have identified the following recommended actions to help marketers, agencies and brands improve their executions on smartphones:

• Think about mobile as part of something bigger. Move beyond the conventional surface view of mobile behaviors to align your messaging with the underlying motivators that propel mobile interactions.
• Focus on "Me Time." Think about ways you can redirect mobile communications to help users indulge and enjoy themselves.
• Recognize there are other mobile motivations. Targeting communications to capitalize on these motivators can increase engagement.

The research will be revealed today, October 3, at the Mobile Marketing Association's "Smarter Mobile Marketing" Conference which is part of Advertising Week 2012 in New York City.

Le Huffington Post Québec launched a new vertical today: Art de Vivre. This new lifestyle section covers topics such as food, health, fashion, beauty and relationships. It will reflect the unique lifestyleand culture of Quebec while leveraging The Huffington Post's powerful engagement and blogging platform. The site will encourage conversations around key lifestyle topics,includingthe need to unplug from work and technology andways to improve quality of life.

Editor Myreille Simard will lead the team under the direction of the managing editor of Le Huffington Post Québec, Patrick White. Simard has a wealth of experience in creating lifestyle content for digital brands and comes to HuffPost most recently from Mlle.ca, where she was editor-in-chief. Prior to that she was editor-in-chief of Clindoeil.ca and editor of Canoe's lifestyle section for Quebec.

Launch week will include a special feature asking Quebecers to share stories through social media on their favorite ways to disconnect, relax and combat stress, complete with expert interviews. Bloggers for Le Huffington Post Art de Vivre include Carrie Macpherson, sharing content from the popular lifestyle site Zurbaines; Line Atallah, founder and CEO at TELEGRAPHE; wine expert Yves Mailloux; well-being blogger Catherine Lefebvre; shopping, fashion and restaurant blogger Catherine Martel; etiquette expert Julie Blais-Comeau and many more.

Le Huffington Post Québec launched in February 2012 as the first regional edition of The Huffington Post Canada.

Learn more about the launch by reading the press release here.

HuffPost Canada Music launched today, joining AOL Canada's family of music properties which includes AOL Music Canada, Spinner.ca, The Boot, The Boombox, Noisecreep and AOL Radio. The site combines The Huffington Post's powerful engagement and blogging platform with groundbreaking music content, original one-on-one interviews, exclusive videos, performances and more.

To celebrate the launch, HuffPost Canada Music has teamed up with Universal Music Canada to offer the chance to win a trip for two to New York City to see The Smashing Pumpkins live in concert. The contest invites visitors to test their Smashing Pumpkins knowledge with a unique trivia quiz and then gives them a chance to enter to win.

Launch partners also include Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. and their media agency, PHD. Ads for their Back-to-School campaign are running across all AOL music properties, including HuffPost Canada Music.

The Huffington Post Canada launched in May 2011 as the first international edition of The Huffington Post, and now reaches 3.4 million online Canadians through its various Canadian channels and sites. It has an ever-growing social following, boasting more than 51,000 Facebook fans, more than 36,000 Twitter followers and receiving more than 14,000 comments per week.

Find out the latest music news in Canada now.

*Source: comScore, Inc., Total Canada, Home & Work, June 2012. 3 month average from [M] AOL Music. The Huffington Post data from [E] Huffington Post Global.

To encourage positive change in communities across Canada, AOL Canada and the Huffington Post Media Group launched HuffPost Canada Impact today. The site, part of Huffington Post Canada, will focus on poverty, homelessness, immigration, citizenship and aboriginal news and serve as a platform for readers to take action on these issues.

HuffPost Canada Impact will feature contributions from Huffington Post editors, bloggers, and community leaders as well as regular content from non-profit partner organizations including include Free The Children, an international children's charity; Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, a Canadian charity working for a swimmable, drinkable, fishable world, and Habitat for Humanity Canada, which builds affordable housing and promotes home ownership to break the cycle of poverty.

Launch week will include features such as "Greatest Person," stories of great Canadians inspiring others to make a difference, and "If I could #Change Canada," a collection of stories, videos, tweets and more on what readers would do to make the country better.

"Impact is a key part of HuffPost's DNA -- not only telling stories but starting conversations around our shared passions and inviting our readers to connect, engage, and make a difference in the lives of others," said Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, in a blog post today.

Rashida Jeeva, general manager of the Huffington Post Canada, which launched a year ago, said, "We are very excited to leverage the Huffington Post model, which at its core is all about participation, to bring Canadians HuffPost Canada Impact, a unique destination that helps people take action on issues that matter most in their daily lives."

Check out HuffPost Canada Impact to join the conversation and make a difference today.

Our friends on the AOL Mail team today unveiled the new AOL Mail. They've been working all year on this roll out, which provides a cleaner, more modern mail, SMS, and AIM experience, and as of this week, every AOL Mail user is now using the same great new mailbox. The team has posted a great article that will help new and old users find their way around the new look, sharing some tips and tricks to help users get the most from their mailbox.

.@AOLMail Gets a Fresh Look aol.it/Mo87yj

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) July 26, 2012