Mobile device use in a Geico ad

The expression “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is as true for our relationships with mobile phones as it is with each other. That was clearly evident based on recent research conducted by MediaVest and presented at the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Mobile Marketing conference on Tuesday in New York. MediaVest’s Richard Hartell, EVP, and David Shiffman, SVP, discussed the findings.

A deprivation exercise was part of MediaVest’s research approach. They took participants’ cell phones away for a day and noted their reactions. It wasn’t pretty. They reported feeling “lost”, “bored”, “impatient,” and “disconnected.”

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With the buzz surrounding word-of-mouth marketing on the rise, there has been a greater effort to track and analyze this phenomenon. At the ARF/Advertising Research Foundation’s Measurement 6.0 conference in New York on Monday, word-of-mouth research was high on the agenda.

Evaluating and quantifying the dynamics of consumer conversations was the topic of a joint study conducted and presented by Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group and Emily Vanides, VP connections research and analytics at MediaVest.

Their research was based on Keller Fay’s TalkTrack methodology that measures conversations online and offline. Using a diary-based survey program, respondents kept track of their conversations and later reported them in an online survey. Some of the findings were quite surprising.

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Even though there are some pretty cool looking magazine apps on the iPad, a study by MediaVest shows that people aren’t very interested in them.

The online poll of 1,500 18- to 34-year olds shows that accessing the Internet, managing personal calendars, watching video, and reading books are some of the preferred activities. However, David Shiffman, an SVP of research at MediaVest, says there’s still plenty of hope.

“Keep in mind that these apps are still being developed and introduced to consumers. We absolutely believe those are all going to rise in importance,” he told Ad Age.

Left to right: Pat Mitchell, President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media; Debora Spar, President, Barnard College; Tina Brown, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Beast; Lauren Zalaznick, President, NBCU Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks; Mark Addicks, Chief Marketing Officer, General Mills; Kim Brink, Executive Director, Advertising and Sales Promotion, Cadillac; Donna Speciale, President of Investment and Activation, MediaVest USA.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker (who just confirmed that he will be leaving the company) kicked off this morning’s Women@NBCU annual Power of the Purse breakfast with a brief chat about the purchasing power of women and the increased effort marketers should be making to reach them.

“The power of the purse is so self-evident,” she said. However, to get women to purchase your products, you need to communicate with them.

“PR has always been two-way,” she continued. All relationships are doomed “when one side doesn’t feel they’re being communicated with.”

The conversation was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Pat Mitchell, president of the Paley Center for Media.  She was joined on stage by a panel that included Tina Brown, founder and editor-in-chief at The Daily Beast; Donna Speciale, president of investment and activation at Mediavest; and Mark Addicks, CMO of General Mills. Additional comments and video after the jump. Read more