New research carried out by PML Group in conjunction with Ipsos MRBI indicates that over 80% of Dubliners are aware of the recent eircom and upc rebrands that occurred in 2015.
The research piece covers the entire telecoms sector (bundles, TV, broadband and mobile) and was carried out in November of last year among 300 16-54 year olds in the capital. It is the latest in the Focus research series undertaken by the Out of Home advertising specialist company.
The report’s findings revealed that 81% of Dubliners knew that eircom had changed its brand name to eir, while 83% we aware that upc had rebranded to Virgin Media.
Looking at telecom bundles, PML’s report highlights that 67% of respondents use one company as their provider for all services. When asked what was the most important element of a bundle package, 62% of Dubliners ranked broadband services at the most important; telephone landline was ranked the least important.
PML Group’s study showed that Virgin Media has a substantial share of the broadband market in Dublin, with 58% of Dubliners currently using it as their broadband provider. This is followed by eir at 12%; 10% use Vodafone and 9% of respondents are with Sky.
Focusing on TV, 52% of Dubliners currently use Virgin Media as their main TV provider, with 23% using Sky. 30% of respondents said that they were either likely or very likely to switch TV providers in the next six months, with 37% saying they would most likely switch to Sky – 30% also said that they did not know which provider they would switch to.
The report also shows the increase in recording of live television and the use of online subscription based TV services such as Netflix. 47% of respondents have a subscription to Netflix or a similar service, with a significantly larger percentage of 16-24 year olds subscribing to the service. When asked approximately how much TV do they record in a week, 50% of respondents record at least 20% of all TV for viewing at another time.
With the increased popularity of social media, the report also highlights interesting changes in how people use their phones. 27% of 16-24 year olds chose ‘using social media’ as the activity they do most often on mobile phones and only 7% chose ‘making a phone call’. In comparison, older age groups still use mobiles in a more traditional way, with 58% of 45-54 year olds selecting phone calls as what they use mobile phones for the most.
Commenting on the findings, Amy Burke, marketing executive at PML Group said, “our research into the telecoms sector has highlighted the continued changes within the market. It’s very interesting to note the increasing popularity of online TV services such as Netflix, as well as the way smartphones are continuing to alter the way people use their mobile phones, particularly amongst younger people. Dubliners were also very aware of the rebranding of eir and Virgin Media in 2015 and the strong promotional campaigns run by each company undoubtedly contributed to people’s awareness of their rebrands.”
