Orange sponsored research sees the mobile medium establish itself firmly in the marketing channel

Orange announces key findings from its independent research into consumer mobile media habits across the UK – Exposure 2

• 81% of mobile media* users access mobile media once a week with strong usage in the home, as well as on public transport and around town
• Mobile media users are very much open to mobile marketing with 70% of participants attracted by interactive marketing formats
• The most popular forms of mobile marketing currently are click-through advertisements and voucher redemption codes
• Mobile is viewed as the most innovative and personal media channel compared to all other traditional and digital channels

Orange this week launches Exposure 2, the second Exposure research survey commissioned to reveal the role of mobile media usage within the broader media landscape. Exposure 2 consists of independent qualitative and quantitative research, following a survey of more than 2,000 mobile media users from across all UK mobile networks. The survey focuses on consumer consumption of mobile media, and attitudes towards it when used as a marketing channel - particularly in comparison to other traditional and digital media.

Steve Heald, Director of Partner Channels at Orange UK, said: “Exposure 2 shows that mobile media is now very much part of the mainstream for consumers. The public’s openness to marketing through mobile media highlights that there is a huge opportunity for marketers to engage consumers with clever executions. I hope the findings will prove to be a catalyst for a wave of inspiring and creative marketing campaigns that capitalise on mobile’s unique properties as the most personal and innovative of channels.”

Key Findings

Mobile Media Consumption: Mobile media usage patterns differ greatly depending on a consumers location, with the strongest usage of mobile media being in the home: 67% of participants who used their mobile for email did so in their home and 56% for mobile internet browsing. Downloading, mobile content was also revealed as significantly more likely to be performed at home, with speed, convenience and alleviating boredom, cited as the key reasons for usage.

Meanwhile, high use of mobile media on public transport centred around entertainment services, such as TV, music and games, whereas services used most when out and about, such as local information and internet search, tend to facilitate movement.

Other key findings on mobile media usage included:

• The average age for mobile media users is 36, and 81% use mobile media more than once a week with 46% using it daily
• Men generally use mobile media more, although women are much more likely to use picture messaging
• The mobile internet pages viewed most often are search engines, email, news, music and film although, interestingly, a high proportion (55%) of people browse the mobile internet with no specific agenda, providing an opportunity for marketers to attract their attention

Attitudes to Mobile Media as a Marketing Channel

Research participants were asked to rate traditional and digital broadcast and print media on a number of attributes. Mobile media was overwhelmingly viewed as the most personal and innovative media, providing it with a unique place in the marketing mix.

The research revealed that people are very much open to mobile marketing and contained some important insights for brands looking to engage with consumers using the media:

• Short SMS codes remain a popular marketing mechanic, having been used by two-thirds of participants
• 70% of participants are attracted more by interactive marketing formats, such as sponsorship, coupons or picture messaging mechanics
• In general, consumers viewed marketing formats with perceived value as the most appealing, such as coupons offering discounts and sponsored games available for free download
• When clicking on adverts on the mobile internet, the next stages which are most popular are: adverts which click straight through to the brand’s website (favoured by 47%); voucher code or coupon (43%); click through to another area of the site (36%); entered in a competition (34%)
• Icons letting users know what to expect from mobile advertising were received positively by 76% of participants
• 82% of respondents have the operator’s portal as their mobile internet home page, making this page an extremely valuable piece of marketing estate

Steve Heald said: “Exposure 2 provides some terrific insights into how exactly brands can go about engaging consumers through mobile. The public is looking for campaigns that reflect their perceptions of mobile as unique and innovative and that entices and excites them with clever interaction. There’s also a clear signal that brands need to be clear on what consumers can expect from mobile campaigns.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

A mobile media user for the Exposure2 study is anyone who has used their mobile handset to do one of the following:

Watch Mobile TV Use the mobile internet Use Bluetooth Send & receive mobile videos / MMS Send & receive pictures / MMS Send & receive emails Search the internet Play games Listen to the radio Listen to music Find local information Download wallpapers/pictures Download screen logos Download ringtones Download music Download games

Research conducted by research house: Basis

There are 15,375,945 mobile media users in the UK. (3 month average to Jan 09 – Source M Metrics)

The Orange Advertising Network • Orange UK's ad sales team have adopted the new 'Orange Advertising Network' name in line with Orange in France, Poland and Spain • Orange UK partner list includes ViaMichelin, MyVillage and Femalefirst

The Orange Advertising Network offers advertisers the ability to communicate across three screens: PC, TV (where available) and mobile. In Europe, Orange has attracted advertisers such as Danone, Fox, Adidas, Nike, Gucci, ING Direct, eBay, McDonalds and Walt Disney Pictures More information on the Orange Advertising Network can be found here. Orange Digital Media Index On December 22nd, 2008, Orange unveiled its fourth Digital Media Index, a detailed report offering an insight into customer consumption of digital media. Headline findings included: • Mobile search increases by 30% - while local search increases by 100% • Social networking takes off - with over 166 million page impressions on average per month • Music downloads increase by 10% - with September specifically seeing a record 300,000 full tracks downloaded

The press release and full report can be downloaded here.

For more information contact:
Orange UK Press Office t: 0870 373 1500 e: orangepr@golinharris.com

About Orange

Orange is a key brand of the France Telecom Group, providing mobile, broadband, fixed, business and entertainment services across Europe. It is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with more than 182 million customers on five continents.

In June, 2006, Orange became the single brand for mobile, broadband and multi-play offers. In addition, Orange Business Services became the new banner for business communications solutions. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries with network reach in 220.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population. At the end of December 2008, Orange had about 17 million customers in the UK – 15.9 million active mobile customers and over one million fixed broadband customers.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited.

Further information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at http://www.orange.co.uk or the France Telecom group international website at http://www.orange.com and http://www.francetelecom.com

For further information, call the Orange press office on 0870 373 1500 or email: Orangepr@golinharris.com