The report, Financial Services & Insurance: 2015 Mobile Advertising Performance Report, addresses how consumers are increasingly searching for insurance and financial services products from their smartphones. A key finding was that millennials are the most likely age group to respond to a mobile click-to-call ad 

"All brands are trying to find effective ways to reach and connect with millennials,? said Poom Poochaiyanont, analytics manager at Marchex Institute and co-author of the report. ?Our evidence clearly shows that not only is mobile a clear way to reach millennials, but mobile advertising is influencing young consumers to take the next step on mobile and calling a financial services or insurance company to become a customer."

 

?When we evaluated four different mobile advertising channels - search, display, voice and directories - we found each to have tremendous potential for Fortune 500 financial services and insurance brands,? he said. ?To me, this should change the prevailing wisdom that traditional mobile search is the only vehicle for mobile performance advertising."

The report is based on a survey of more than 1 million phone calls from consumers who conducted a mobile search or clicked on a mobile ad for a bank, lender, auto insurer or life insurer in 2014. 

The report found that 69 percent of mobile consumers click on an ad for an insurance or financial services company from an iPhone. 

Additionally, the survey found that Spanish-speaking consumers have longer average sales conversations than English speaking consumers, indicating strong purchase intent. 

In addition to mobile search, consumers will place a phone call from a variety of mobile publishers such Yelp or WhitePages and from mobile display ads. 

Overall, more than 31 percent of phone calls were from potential customers with purchase intent. 

From mobile display ads, 37 percent of calls were from prospects, 30 percent were short or repeat calls, 23 percent were SPAM or misdials and 10 percent were from existing customers. 

From search, 48 percent were from existing customers, 32 percent were from prospects, 12 percent SPAM and 8 percent were short calls. 

From voice search, 35 percent were from prospects, 26 percent SPAM, 23 percent existing customers and 16 percent short calls. 

From directories, 50 percent of calls were SPAM or misdials 20 percent were from existing customers, 19 percent short calls and 11 percent prospects. 

 

A key takeaway from the report is that 56 percent of callers who make at least a two-minute call are new customers. 

The report also predicts that mobile-influenced offline purchases will be the biggest portion of consumer spending from mobile ad twenty times larger than mcommerce and that the media conversion rate for large-scale click-to-call campaigns in insurance and financial services is 9.6 percent. 

"A key takeaway for marketers is that they should be making click-to-call a point of emphasis in mobile advertising - it's the most common way millennials are taking purchase-oriented action with financial services and insurance brands,? Mr. Poochaiyanont said.