The latest research, this time from mobile marketing provider Upstream, has revealed that Apple is the most liked brand in the developing world, even though Android phones are more accessible to use.
The research, compiled in the report ‘The Next Mobile Frontier’, polled over 4500 consumers in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam – three BRIC countries and one MINT country – and found that 32% of respondents wanted iDevices most, followed by Samsung (29%) and Nokia (13%).
Comparative research from 2013 showed Samsung as the most desirable brand, yet while Apple remains the dream Android phones are more regularly used – 296,493 active Android devices in these regions compared to 90,184 iOS smartphones.
Marco Veremis, CEO of Upstream, told MarketingTech at Mobile World Congress that Apple has “done well in some markets” but they’re “not winning the war.”
“Apple has improved its position in the last year because it has honed its emerging market strategy a little bit better,” Veremis said. “But in reality it’s more to do with perception [and] brand awareness rather than sales.”
Veremis explains how the priorities are different for those in emerging markets.
“Some of the companies that have lost the battle in the West are still there in those multi markets, on account of things that Westerners don’t think about much, like battery power,” he said.
“In Nigeria you don’t have a way to recharge your phone for maybe five to six days in a row. There’s no electricity, so a phone that can have a seven day life is really important. They’ll go for a Nokia feature phone,” he adds.
The research also touched upon the reasons why consumers in emerging markets would use app stores. The overwhelming tenet emphasised the trust consumers in developing nations placed in their mobile network operators, with more than one in four (26%) accessing content directly from the operator.
Google Play was the clear leader due to what Veremis described as a “virtual monopoly”, yet the operators’ success came down to two factors. As many consumers in emerging markets don’t have credit or debit cards, payment through Google Play is not an option.
The operators also have the advantage in terms of personalisation, Veremis argues.
“They know a lot about their consumers, which means that they can make some personalised suggestions,” Veremis said. “Leveraging data in order to become more targeted is super important for carriers.”
Upstream’s mobile marketing solution acts as a provider of this personalisation. Yet this wasn’t the only angle which forced emerging markets away from the popular app stores. The most popular grievance was users having difficulty in finding apps they want to download.
“Imagine a situation where you’re used to your stuff in London, and you come to Barcelona and go on the Google App Store,” Veremis explained. “By the time you work out all of the equivalent apps, it’s very difficult to do.
“The app store works quite well for a Westerner – it doesn’t work that well for a lot of those other countries.”
What do you make of the survey results?
