We can tell a lot about a person based just on cell phone use. In many ways, the mobile phone and the way it is used can provide powerful demographic and psy-chographic signals about the owner. People choose different carriers, handsets, or phone features because of their social and utilitarian needs. As marketers, we should use this information to present our audience with the most compelling marketing possible.
We can learn a lot about people from the handset they purchase. Businesspeople frequently choose devices that offer the best corporate email solution and allow simple computing, perhaps BlackBerrys or Treos. The more mod subscribers in the crowd will choose phones that focus more on applications and aesthetics, such as the iPhone or the HTC Dream. Teenagers and the younger crowd will choose phones such as the SideKick, to allow them to stay connected to their friends through text messaging, gaming, instant messaging (IM), and social networks.
Similarly, we can sometimes glean demographic and psychographic information about our audience based on the carrier for their mobile service. Although AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon do not target unique demographic profiles, smaller carriers and service resellers, called MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) do cater to specific audiences. For instance:
• People who get service from Boost Mobile or Helio tend to be young and male.
• Virgin Mobile users also tend to be young but are more evenly split between the genders.
• People with service through Cricket, Blyk, or MOSH Mobile tend to be thrifty or have a lower income.
• People with service from BeyondMobile tend to be businesspeople.
Savvy marketers should have a good understanding of the demographic and psy-chographic indicators of their target market, as well as the top visitors to their website.
