By Lori Robinson
Senior Vice President and New York Director, Marketing Communications
Hill & Knowlton US

Consumer technology is embedded in our lives. It captures our imaginations and provides endless hours of entertainment. It minds our schedules and our children.

Products are status, cross-cultural and cross-generational and they are easily attainable at many price points. Even those who are reluctant to succumb to the tech pressure are being dragged into the culture or truly left behind. Consider that 63 percent of women say they can’t imagine life today without portable devices and 56 percent of men agree with that statement. That’s not all 22 percent of people actually sleep with their mobile phones.

We are so steeped in technology that 59 percent of us are confident enough in our tech capabilities that we believe we’re our own best tech support (71 percent of men report that they provide their own tech support). In addition, half of the people surveyed feel more informed than retail sales staff when purchasing items at a gadget or tech store.

Hundreds of avid fans live in tents for days at local retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy to be one of the lucky handful who get to buy the newest and greatest of whatever game console or portable toy is hottest at the moment.

We’ve followed with interest Gartner’s declaration about the “consumerization of IT” and how consumers are driving technology today – from the most complex to the simplest products – from catering to those who need phones that double as mini computers to those baby boomers who wish for the absolute simplest in a handset. The company that understands the social trends and how these are shaping technology trends is the company that will engage and win the loyalty and dollars of consumers.

To get a sense of how consumers feel about technology and how it is incorporated into their lives, we collaborated with Penn Schoen & Berland to get a snapshot of what’s happening. Not surprising was the finding that technology definitely plays a role in daily life and it has changed the way we live and communicate. That said, the affinity for consumer gadgets does not overshadow the need for traditional household items such as refrigerators or cars.

One of the key platforms we looked at was the digital home. For years, companies have explored various ways to get devices to talk to each other and the debate continues whether the television or computer will be the central access point. While companies are saying the digital home is here today, consumers beg to differ – or perhaps they just don’t get it. Our results suggested that most consumers can’t define “digital home.”

When we supplied consumers with an explanation of the digital home, it loomed as an overwhelming concept, with most people (90 percent) citing it was too expensive and two thirds (66 percent) believing it was too hard to set up. However, consumers did show a definite interest in the individual digital home offerings with more than 63 percent wanting technology to control various devices in their homes, both while they are at home and when they are away.

This shows that companies must simplify product or service messages, demonstrate functions and speak the targeted consumer segment’s language. Despite today’s technology advancements, the two potential drivers of the digital home – the television and the computer – aren’t being used to full potential.

When we asked consumers how they are currently using their television and what other purposes they would like it to serve, people reported that their highest usage was watching broadcast programs and DVDs. As for future use, 35 percent of people wanted to use the television to serve as the interface for the home entertainment system, for accessing the Internet (29 percent), for viewing photos (28 percent), and as a computer screen (28 percent).

Regarding computer usage, the response was similar. People generally use computers for emails, Internet, viewing photos/images, playing games, creating/editing documents and watching DVDs/CDs. Those surveyed expressed interest in activities for which they do not currently use their computers, although some of these are features or functionalities that already exist in the PC platform. The top rankings were: watching streaming television shows (44 percent), creating/editing video or audio (41 percent), watching or recording programs directly from cable or satellite (38 percent) and controlling the home entertainment system (25 percent).

While consumers are avid users of technology devices and fairly satisfied with the devices they already own, companies have room to grow in marketshare and overall market penetration. The lesson here? The company that wins over the hearts and the pocketbooks of consumers is the one that figures out how to talk directly to those consumers – not over their heads.

For complete survey results please visit: http://www.hillandknowlton.com/us/consumertechstudy

The survey was conducted online by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates with 1,000 adults consumers polled. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.