Online chatting is the most preferred way of communication: Bobble AI-Nielsen study

Bobble AI – the Conversation Media Marketing (CMM) platform making everyday smartphone conversations expressive, smart, and personalized, today released the findings of its study, conducted by Nielsen, that attempts to analyze how millennials and GenZ in the country converse in the post COVID world.

The Bobble AI study conducted by Nielsen involved smartphone users both males and females, divided in two categories: 18-30 and 31-40 years conducted over a fortnight: 2^nd March to 16^th March 2021. The respondents for this survey are spread across 5 Metros across Zones (62%) including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad and non-metro cities (38%) including Patna, Lucknow, Indore, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur. The fieldwork was done in an unbiased manner without intervention from Bobble AI and the quality control procedures were also followed very strictly.

Key highlights of the ‘Conversation media’ focused survey report:

1. Chatting is a daily activity which most of the people (94%) engage in EVERYDAY! Chatting has surpassed audio calling and video calling as the most common way of communication (by a significant margin – 13 percentage points over audio calling). Almost 7 in 10 respondents say that their chatting activity has increased in the last 6 months and 67% of those say that it shall remain the same or increase further in the next 6 months, establishing that chatting is here to stay as the most heavily used communication medium.
2. The awareness and adoption of conversation media formats including emojis, stickers, GIFs across different demographies is very high - 95% users are aware of emojis in NCCS A and 93% in NCCS B and 91% users are using emojis in NCCS A and 84% in NCCS B. Similar pattern is observed for stickers - 92% users are aware of stickers in NCCS A and 85% in NCCS B and 81% users are showing preference for usage of stickers in NCCS A and 71% in NCCS B.
3. Primary reasons for increasing popularity of chatting formats are that 'its fun to use' and 'It helps in expressing oneself better'. The older age group score significantly higher for ‘makes messages easier to understand’.
4. Awareness of re-sharing is similar across different chatting formats, however, the likelihood of re-sharing Emojis are significantly higher than stickers and GIFs.
5. Emojis, Stickers & GIFs make the conversations real and personal as it allows people to express accurately and in a fun way. 80% of users believe that chatting formats make their message easier to understand.
6. Emojis were ranked first as the most preferred chatting format, followed by stickers and GIFs. Moreover, Emojis are more likely to be used for 'expressing an emotion' and talk about various daily activities, whereas people prefer to use stickers to send best wishes on birthdays and festivals.
1. 96% of users claim to use emojis, stickers, gifs to express an emotion (happiness, anger, or sadness to name a few)
2. 85% of users claim to use these formats to wish on birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, etc.
3. 81% of users claim to use chatting formats to express or tell something about an activity (eating, running, cooking, etc.)
4. 70% of users claim to use these chatting formats to talk about trending topics, situations IPL, etc.
7. When given a choice between a branded sticker & an unbranded sticker for specific situations, around 3 in 4 among the surveyed respondents claimed that they are likely to use a branded sticker vis-a-vis an unbranded sticker. Given that chatting is one of the main sources of communication these days and majority of respondents prefer branded stickers, it gives a powerful platform to the brands to advertise themselves and be a part of everyday conversations.

Millennials and Gen-Z chats across platforms are evolving from just plain text to stickers, GIFs and emojis. Various keyboard and messaging platforms now understand what youngsters want and are investing to expand their content offerings in these areas. This, in turn, provides opportunity to brands to explore these unique chatting formats and connect with the intended audience most effectively.

Bobble AI, being a conversation media platform, recommends relevant content such as GIFs, stickers and emojis during users' conversations in real time across applications and allows brands to cross path with the consumers by being part of their daily conversations.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Ankit Prasad, Founder and CEO, Bobble AI said, “The key findings validate the growing relevance of Conversation Media among GenZies and Millennials in the country and the rising inclination for chatting over any other means of communication. With more and more people working and living remotely and being compelled to multi-task, they are looking for new and innovative ways to express themselves better. Conversation Media like emojis, stickers, GIFs are a fun, engaging way for brands to break the clutter and connect with their audiences.  COVID-19 pandemic has caused gloom and Conversation Media Marketing serves as an opportunity for brands to drive positive impact and influence in the minds of consumers.