Limbo Reports Mobile Advertising Brand Recall Up 20 Percent in First Quarter of 2008

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Limbo, the world’s largest mobile entertainment community, today announced that brand recall for mobile advertising was up 20 percent in the first quarter of 2008. As reported in Limbo’s Mobile Advertising Report Q1 2008 edition, 41 percent of cell phone users who remembered seeing mobile advertising could remember at least one brand, which is up from 34 percent just three months earlier.

“The mobile advertising opportunity continues to grow for marketers as brand recall is at an all-time high in the mobile channel,” said Rob Lawson, chief marketing officer and cofounder of Limbo. “Additionally, we continue to see that while SMS penetration is highest among the 24-and-under age group, with 82 percent usage, SMS continues to transcend the generational divide, with 50 percent of SMS users aged 35 or over and 75 percent aged 25 or over. Therefore, SMS should not be pigeonholed exclusively as a youth medium.”

Key Findings

• Mobile Penetration: There are more than 255 million cell phone users in the U.S., up from 251 million in fourth quarter 2007.
• Mobile Usage: SMS continues to dominate, with more than 50 percent of cell phone users making use of the service. But WAP – with still only 50 percent of the reach of SMS – is the fastest-growing medium, with 69 million users.
• Mobile Advertising Recall: The number of people who recalled seeing advertising on their cell phones in the last three months has risen significantly, from 78 million to 82 million.
• Males Engaged: Men are 10 percent more likely than women to recall a brand they had seen advertised. Meanwhile, those aged 25 to 34 were the highest-performing age group.
• Income and Recall: There is a reverse correlation regarding income, with those earning the least much more likely to recall brands than those earning the most.
• Brands Making Waves: The most commonly recalled brands were the mobile operators themselves, most notably Verizon and AT&T, followed by mobile service providers (ringtones, games, music, dating) and handset manufacturers.

Limbo’s Mobile Advertising Report, produced in conjunction with GFK/NOP Research, is a tool used to help marketers and their agencies understand the fast-changing mobile advertising medium. The report is produced quarterly and is distributed free to marketers. The Q1 2008 report is based on a survey of 1,000 representative American adults interviewed by telephone.

To have a mobile advertising campaign measured in a future edition, send an email request to Limbo at measureme@limbo.com. And to receive a copy of the full report, as well as future editions, send your request to mar@limbo.com.

About Limbo

Limbo is the world’s largest mobile entertainment community. The company leverages its patent-pending platform – which includes SMS, mobile Web, mobile video, Web, and email – to seamlessly integrate brands throughout unique games, content, and community. The Limbo platform delivers more than 50 branded interactions per consumer, as well as provides unparalleled increases in purchase intent. The award-winning, privately held company, headquartered in Burlingame, Calif., is backed by three of the world’s top venture capital funds: Azure Capital Partners (www.azurecap.com), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (www.dfj.com), and New Enterprises Associates (www.nea.com).