http://www.mobileyouth.org/report

1. MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001
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New Research: Youth / Mobile / Facebook
Will Facebook’s Network Effect catch the Mobile Industry out?
Facebook will win the mobile battle with operators and
handset manufacturers by building a beachhead in the $400
billion youth segment.

2. MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001
Is Facebook’s Free Voice Calls the Beginning of the End?
New analysis from The 2013 Mobile Youth Report shows that Facebook
may disrupt the business models of handset manufacturers and mobile
operators by implementing change through the backdoor.
Mark Zuckerberg has gone on record saying that the Facebook of the
future will be a “mobile business” but their manner of entry has been left
to speculation.
This week, Facebook announced it will provide free mobile voice calls
across its messenger app on the iPhone signaling its intent to disrupt
the mobile industry from the bottom up. Rather than revolutionize
telecoms through the high end executive road warriors, Facebook will
win the mobile battle with operators and handset manufacturers by
building a beachhead in the $400 billion youth segment.
Will Facebook finish off the job Apple started and change the mobile
industry? In the 2013 Mobile Youth report, Facebook is singled out as
one of the key 15 brands that will redefine the mobile industry. Here’s
why:
Economic downturn, Apple’s slowing sales and the growth of both wifi
and Facebook messenger provide a perfect storm for change. The
world’s 2 billion mobile phone owners under 30 years old have become
a critical battleground for deciding Facebook’s mobile fortunes and
driving change.
By developing a separate messenger app, Facebook is able to mainline
its youth market product development. The app not only provides free
voice calls but also a platform to evolve new applications and serve
them direct to the market’s most influential mobile owners - those aged
under 30. 65% of youth buy their handsets based on what their peers
(not what ad agencies) said. Applications are becoming increasingly
critical in defining the handset experience. The 2013 Mobile Youth
Report found that handset purchase decisions are heavily influenced by
the availability (or lack of availability) of favored applications.

3. MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001
Facebook’s plans to build on its mobile messenger application present a
significant challenge to the existing industry status quo. By developing a
pipeline to the youth market, Facebook can introduce social search and
other applications, effectively bypassing existing arrangements and
charging models.
One key piece of data from the 2013 Mobile Youth Report favors
Facebook’s mobile strategy: contrary to expectations, youth prefer
diverged not converged applications. The Report found that in many
cases the mobile phone operated as up to 7 social tools for teens. That
means there is always room for one more application that fulfills existing
social behaviors but understanding what “social behaviors” are couldn’t
be gleaned from social media studies but more in-depth analysis of the
emotional and psychological drivers behind behavior.
Unlike the mobile operators and handset manufacturers, Facebook has
a distinct advantage in measuring these youth social behaviors enabling
it to co-create the right services based on feedback from the frontline.
Change may well catch the mobile industry by surprise: some handset
manufacturers and operators have built their experience around
converged or unified applications (e.g. SMS or BBM). The Report
advises handset manufacturers and operators to get passionate about
ethnographic research if they want to defend the youth market and,
therefore, their future customer base.

4. MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001
About The 2013 Mobile Youth Report
If you want to know about youth mobile culture in 2013 and beyond, The
Mobile Youth Report written by mobileYouth.org is the complete works.
We’ve been writing the Report since 2003 and bring over 10 years
experience of youth and mobile across 65 markets.
To find out more about the Report
http://www.mobileyouth.org/report