Mobile Madness – A special edition of S.M.A.R.T.

For our April S.M.A.R.T.™ report, we decided to take a slightly different approach and focus on a single event last month that made a noticeable impact in mobile – the NCAA basketball tournament.

To do this, we partnered with the IAB to commission a Harris survey, and then married that with consumer data from our own platform.

According to the Harris survey, 79 percent of NCAA Tournament fans used their smartphones and tablets to follow the tournament, and for respondents between the ages of 18-24, an astounding 91 percent used their device to stay connected, play-by-play.

Here are some other highlights from the Mobile Madness data:

• On the first day of the NCAA Tournament, impressions on sports apps on the Millennial Media platform increased 31 percent week-over-week. From 5-7pm ET that day, impressions increased 158 percent.
• 16 percent of consumers used their smartphone as their primary device for following the NCAA tournament as compared to the 17 percent that claimed the PC as their primary device.
• 69 percent of consumers watching the NCAA tournament on TV used their mobile device while watching.

Stats on how consumers used mobile during the tournament:

• 48 percent – checking scores
• 25 percent – reading about teams/players
• 23 percent – checking brackets
• 20 percent – watching highlights

 

 

This was an interesting precursor to other upcoming events like the Olympics, and was a demonstration of the role that mobile now plays in important cultural moments.

Click here to download the free full report.

We also partnered with the IAB to create a NCAA Tournament infographic, and that can be downloaded here.

If you have any questions or suggestions for future reports, please send them our way.