You’ve heard it before with shoes, cars, friends: Show me your _____ and I’ll tell you who you are. The CEFRIO’s latest NETendances report shows that Quebec is definitely going mobile. A recent survey of 162 000 of the province’s residents shows that while the number of cellphone users remains stable at 55%, the proportion of those with a smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry) grew by 65%, or from 8% to 13% between 2008 and 2009. The launch of new models like the Motorola Android phones should further stimulate that trend. *

Unsurprisingly, the CEFRIO study also shows that Quebec’s 472 000 ‘mobinautes’ (mobile + internautes .. or internet users) are prone to browsing the web through their mobile phones: 38% connect several times a day while 31% connect regularly.

What’s a company meant to do with these findings? Start to think mobility, for one thing. While a broader spectrum of Quebec’s marketing and PR departments is just starting to experiment with social media, those who have been ahead of the wave are starting to turn their attention to their mobile clientele.

One excellent example of a small company thinking ahead is PointG, a boutique in Montreal’s trendy Plateau neighbourhood specialising in ‘macarons‘, those tasty french pastries that are reminiscent of a cookie but are so much more. Boutique owners Thierry Andrieu and Julien Reignier, who have done a good job of applying blogging, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to their marketing strategy, also thought mobility when they signed up PointG to Foursquare. Special offers when you check into PointG through Foursquare? At your first check-in, you’ll receive a free macaron of your choosing. The Mayor gets a free box of 6 macarons every Wednesday. I can only imagine that the competition must get a little fierce sometimes.

Show me your iPhone and I’ll tell you who you are. As I peruse the apps I’ve downloaded on mine, I can confirm that I’m a very information-centric, social media hungry mobinaute with a penchant for travel, a weakness for good wine, a desperate need to find some way to stay organized and a preoccupation with … well … to find out what, you’ll have to ask to see my iPhone.

Wonder when the PointG app will launch? 😉

* Declaration: Motorola is a Hill & Knowlton client. HKDP handles media relations in Quebec.

** Image: courtesy of SkinToo.com where you too can purchase a macaron-inspired iPhone skin