Every morning I ride the NYC subway from my home to the CementBloc office in Manhattan. Needing things to do, I have taken to conducting an informal poll of everyone in the subway car. the poll is observational, and I am categorizing people based on how digital they are on their morning commute:
A) Digital: Using some sort of electronic device: smartphone, tablet, even an MP3 player with headphones
B) Analogue: Reading a newspaper or a book, or a magazine.
C) Totally disconnected: taking a nap, speaking with a neighbor, or thinking idly.
The typical results of my poll: Roughly, (A) is 50%, (B) is 25%, (C) is 25%
By the way, if you are like me, with the newspaper (Wall St Journal) and the smartphone (iPhone) checking email and music concurrently, ou get assigned to the Digital
In other words, the ratio is 2-1-1. Of course, this depends on the audience and the time of year. I find that around 7:30 am or 8:00 am the 2-1-1 holds due to students and business commuters that need to stay connected. In summertime or midday if I run late, a different demographic takes over and you can get more like a 1-1-1 or a 1-1-2.
What does this mean for advertisers who are seeking CRM acquisition prospects? You may have a captive audience if you can get mobile.
