China perception study reveals motivations behind branded app usage

Mediacom's China Apps Study, an ethnographic research project conducted in conjunction with specialist research agency China Youthology, identified three consumer need states that drive different marketing goals, which are crucial for brands that want to drive downloads and regular usage.

The results are based on detailed conversations with 14 smartphone users aged 18 to 35 in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as three industry experts.

Apps are becoming a key battleground for brands as research shows usage is up 28 per cent year-on-year among the 2,300 brand apps already available in China. Users install 41 apps on average each year.

Nearly 80 per cent of youths download apps and 45 per cent spend more than an hour on them each day. Seven per cent are engaged for more than five hours every day.

The three need states the study identified are:

• Play: These apps appeal when the target group is not concentrating on a specific task, and when they are looking for something to make a less-than-ideal situation, such as travelling to work, more engaging. These apps should include exploration, customisation and sharing features to make killing time a rewarding experience. The study states that such apps are ideal for brands looking to raise awareness.
• Planned: These apps help the target market undertake a specific task, such as getting fit or buying clothes, and reach their goals. In this need state, consumers tend to develop regular habits around their apps. These apps should include features of convenience, structure and support to help consumers complete personal projects with ease. Such apps are ideal for brands looking to provide consumers with information about a product or service.
• Problem: Users need these apps when they face a barrier to a solution. Although these consumers are less likely to become regular users, they feel brand warmth using apps in this scenario. These apps should provide alternate choices, and are ideal for the buying stages of the consumer purchase journey.

Apart from the above three need states, brands also have to understand the very different motivations and involvments of three core consumer segments: "Specialised", "dominant" and "laggard", according to the study:

• Specialised users are rational about their choice of apps; they will search for apps for specific tasks and retain only the best one for those tasks. Once they have selected an app, they will become long-term users of it.
• Dominant users are more emotional in their choices and look for apps to improve their daily lives. They rely on people around them in their selection of apps, mainly a social decision. Long-term usage, however, depends on regular app updates.
• Laggards generally consider apps to add little value to real life. They have little interest in technology but will use what friends introduce them to or apps that are being talked about. They rarely talk about their own downloaded apps and are more likely to use pre-installed apps.