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Messaging Good Cheer Over the Festive Season and New Year
READING, England, Jan. 10, 2013, 2013 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --
Acision reveals spike in global multimedia messaging usage over the
seasonal holiday period
Acision, the global leader in mobile messaging, today announced spikes in MMS
traffic of up to 424%* over the winter holiday period - specifically on
24(th) December (Christmas Eve), 25(th) December (Christmas Day) and 31(st) December (New Year's Eve). Comparing data from different countries
across Europe, North America (NA), LATAM and APAC, Acision found a
significant increase in the usage of MMS across the globe, particularly
the sharing of video content. This demonstrates the enduring value of
rich mobile messaging in mature and developing markets, regardless of
access to mobile broadband and connectivity to social networks and
content sharing applications.
In today's socially savvy, connected world, growing numbers of mobile
users look to use visual content and pictures instantly to show what
they are experiencing, whether that be via picture and video
applications such as Instagram and YouTube, social networks,
communities or via other messaging services. This trend was reinforced
during the 2012 festive periods, where Acision witnessed surges in MMS
traffic during celebratory times.
Spain, for example, saw MMS usage increase by 384% on Christmas Eve,
when compared to the same day the previous week. This was surpassed on
New Year's Eve, when MMS traffic increased by 424%. A similar trend was
seen in Argentina, where Acision monitored a 146% increase on Christmas
Eve, and a 133% rise on New Year's Eve, with busiest hour of traffic -
midnight on New Year's Day - increasing by 377%. In the US, MMS traffic
increased by 78% on Christmas Day, when compared to the same day a week
earlier, and a 57% increase on New Year's Day.
Video clips proved to be the most popular form of multimedia content
shared, with video traffic increasing in Spain by an astounding 972% on
24(th) December 2012. This proves the huge popularity by mobile users who want
to share videos of festive activities and good fortune with friends and
family not able to be with them during the holiday period. Sharing
video via MMS was also popular in Argentina, where it rose by 475% on
Christmas Day. In the US, however, audio traffic saw the biggest
increase of 289% on Christmas Day, compared to the same day the
previous week, where users are most likely sending recorded messages to
loved ones and friends wishing them a Merry Christmas.
In India, Acision enabled the delivery of one million MMS messages for a
single operator in a 24-hour period, a 400% jump in traffic on an
average day. Almost identical MMS figures were seen in India during
Diwali, which highlights new consumer behaviour in developing regions,
where mobile users want to share experiences and celebrations but do
not necessarily have a broadband to do this via other networking
applications. Malaysia, a predominantly Islamic state, also saw an
increase in MMS traffic of 31% and 47% on New Year's Eve and New Year's
Day, but a smaller increase on December 25(th) of 11%.
"This increase in the use of mobile messaging during the winter holidays
is not entirely unexpected but it does confirm that MMS has shifted in
our consciousness as a reliable way to reach loved ones with rich
messages during this season," commented Jorgen Nilsson, Chief Executive at Acision."We put this surge down to consumers' increasingdesire to share rich
content and special moments, stimulated by the global phenomenon of
social networking, which has also been made easier by the growingpopularityofSmart devicesand access to networking applications."
MMS provides an enriched, thoughtful, personal and yet unobtrusiveway to let peopleknow they are being thought of, especially for thosewho have friends andfamily around the world who wereenjoying their seasonal gatherings or ushering in the NewYear indifferent timezones.Indeed, in both developed and developing regionsthepreference to use MMS to disseminate visual and audio content instantly
is underpinnedbythe reliability and guarantee that their message will be delivered.If packaged well, MMSpresents anenormous opportunity for operators tocapitalise on this trend as the serviceworks without a broadband connection and means consumers can sendrichcontentto anyone at any time," continued Nilsson.
SMS figures also rose during the festive season. Spain experienced a 40%
jump on both Christmas and New Year's Eve, while the US experienced a
more modest 27% rise on Christmas day. SMS traffic was also slightly
higher in Argentina, where there was an 11% rise on New Year's Day -
compared with 19% for the USA. Interestingly, the growth in MMS was
comparatively higher for Argentina than any other country monitored -
its growth in SMS during Christmas was only 15%, suggesting that more
users than ever are keen for richer experiences and turning to MMS.
Informa research from Maylast year found that over 387 billion MMS messages will be sent in 2016, representing about 1.7% of global
messaging traffic, and making MMS the second most-used messaging
application worldwide, after SMS. The spike in MMS during Christmas and
New Year shows its popularity as a way to share content, particularly
during seasonal holidays, festivities and events.
*Acision Data
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Acision
As the global leader in mobile messaging, Acision connects the world by
powering relevant, seamless messaging services, which enrich the mobile
communications experience and create new opportunities for carriers and
enterprises across the world. For more information, visit Acision at http://www.acision.com.
SOURCE: Acision
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2013/10/c4969.html
SOURCE: Acision
Maria Hudson, Acision, Tel: +44-118-930-8826, e-mail:maria.hudson@acision.com
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