22 Eylül 2011 Perşembe

A few insights on mobile phone usage of Turkish teenagers and young adults

This is not an excerpt from a real interview, but my true and relevant answers to imaginary questions of an insight-seeking questionnaire.

Is there a segment of the market (i.e. gender, social class, age etc.) which uses mobile phones more frequently? Is there a particular type of phone these segments are attracted to?

Mobile phones surely play an important role in the daily life of Turkish teenagers and young adults. Real-time social interaction with friends and peers is their first motive to use mobile phones, while sending SMS text messages is a ubiquitous way of communication among these people, no matter what gender they are or what social class they belong to. These “heavy users” mostly own a traditional mobile phone. Relatively more expensive touch-screen smart phones can only be afforded by a small group of them. Among these young people, there is also a rising trend of staying online 7/24 via mobile internet. They love to surf popular social networking platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter etc.) via mobile phone, which is simply believed to be a prestigious experience. They also have an aspiration to owning a newer and fancier model of their phone (mostly staying loyal to their existing brand).

Does the frequency of mobile phone usage vary depending on income/social status or are mobile phones at everyone’s reach?

Turkey has 61.8 million GSM subscribers in total, an 83.5% penetration rate in 74 millions of national population. Monthly average minute of mobile phone usage (MoU) in Turkey is 218 minutes (third highest in Europe after France and Ireland). So, we can say that mobile phone usage is almost at everyone’s reach, but we also have to mention that Turkish people are highly price-sensitive. This is why the most frequent usage pattern is sending SMS messages rather than voice calls. What varies depending on income/social status is the quality and functionality range of the gadgets and the budgets for preferred data plans.

When comparing smart phones and traditional mobile phones, what are the trends in your market? Which are the most popular and why?

Majority of users own a traditional mobile phone, while owning a fancy touch-screen smart phone (either an original brand or a cheaper clone with an “original look”) is an “object of desire” for those price-sensitive people of lower income/social status. Owning such a fancy smart phone is believed to be a token of prestige and a strong way of “show-off” among friends and peers.

What are mobile phones mainly used for by users in your market? Which applications are the most popular?

SMS text messaging is surely the most frequently used application in mobile phones. In order of popularity, it is followed by voice calls, social networking (such as Facebook, Twitter etc.), instant messaging (MSN or GTalk) and e-mail applications. On the other hand, we need to mention the fact that “newer” applications such as camera, music etc. have also become ubiquitous. Up to five years ago, people were proud of the expensive look and prestigious design of their mobile phones. But things are changing very fast. The attitude of showing off the mobile phone itself has been substituted by showing off and sharing the content inside the mobile phone. (For instance, early owners of popular touch-screen smart phones used their gadget only as a “digital photo album” for a long time).

Many mobile phone advertisements are directed to a young audience, focusing on applications like the camera, music etc. as well as the social networking aspects of it. Is this the case in your market?

The same situation is applicable here as well. Even though the majority of Turkish young audience is highly price-sensitive, they believe that such a mobile phone with plenty of functionalities and applications is a strong signifier of social status. Showing it off to their friends and peers at any possible social venue for being the center of attention is a widespread attitude and highly relevant motive for purchase intention. So, many mobile phone advertisements directed to young audience tend to imply the message “show off and get noticed to be happy”.