YuMe, which provides digital video advertising solutions, in conjunction with Decipher, a digital media research and consulting firm, has released the results of a UK-focused quantitative and qualitative research study of 1,500 respondents, examining consumer behaviour and reaction to advertising and content on mobile devices.

The study reveals that advertising on mobile devices is playing a larger role amongst consumers, expanding to encompass brand experience, as well as its traditional role as a direct response platform.

The study found that consumers are increasingly screen-agnostic when it comes to consuming content. 38 per cent of respondents accessed entertainment content on their smartphone; 34 per cent on their laptop, and 28 per cent on their tablets.
It also revealed that consumers prefer to consume content in the comfort of their homes, where they are also much more receptive to advertising. Even on smartphones, there is an almost even split in media consumption between at home (31 per cent); out and about (24 per cent); travelling (24 per cent) and work (21 per cent).

Video advertising was found to deliver on advertising engagement effectively on any device, particularly in the home environment. Pre-roll brand recall is 3.5 times higher than banner recall across all screens.

Tablets are not bigger smartphones, the study concludes. They have emerged as a particularly key device in the home, akin to laptops, in which entertainment is being consumed, and advertising effectively delivered.

Finally, the study found that, mobile delivers both as a branding experience and direct response platform. While smartphones have traditionally been thought of primarily as a direct response platform, the study shows that advertising also works on smartphones for branding.  However, the effect is often to inform later decision-making, rather than immediate purchase.

“Our advice to advertisers is to throw away your screen-by-screen media planning rule books,” said Owen Hanks, general manager mobile, Europe, at YuMe. “Our survey began with the assumption that the tablet is the ultimate media-consuming device. But what the research has shown is that media opportunities on mobile are not simply a matter of screen size; they are multi-modal functions of environment, content, and screen. For advertisers, this means that the most effective advertising is a multi-screen campaign, whilst publishers need to ensure their content is available across all screens.”

Decipher managing director, Nigel Walley, said the results of the survey had: “led us to challenge our perceptions of mobile advertising, and to debunk the myth that it is size that matters.”

You can access a copy of the report here. And YuMe and Decipher will be presenting the full report at 12 noon at todays Guardian Changing Media Summit.