Despite being a small percentage of global digital advertising revenue, mobile advertising is growing at an exponential rate.
According to a new report by IAB, IAB Europe and IHS, revenues from mobile ads reached $19.3 billion in 2013, a 92% increase over the previous year. Much of that surge was driven by a 123.4% growth in mobile display ads, followed by 92.1% increase in mobile search ads. Ad revenues from messaging increased only by 19.4%. On the whole, search advertising still made up the biggest chunk of mobile ad revenues (48.9%) while the share from messaging shrunk to 9.6%, compared to 15.5% last year.
Mobile marketing is now an essential part of the media mix, becoming a necessary, rather than optional channel for advertisers. With an increase in mobile marketing platforms and programmatic buying, it’s become easier to plan and run ad campaigns on mobile. In addition, marketers are coming up with creative ways to engage consumers through the device, including rewards, games and interactive video.
“This year’s global mobile revenue sizing reveals that growth is driven by a diverse array of developments in the mobile advertising ecosystem,” said Daniel Knapp, director of advertising research, IHS, and author of the report. “Improvements in marketing technology have enhanced targeting and measurement of mobile advertising, while consolidation among market participants simplifies the process of reaching large audiences.”
IAB’s study also revealed some interesting insights about how mobile devices were used around the world:
– North America is now the leading market for mobile advertising, overtaking Asia-Pacific in 2013.
– However, Asia-Pacific still spent (marginally) more on display ads than North America.
– While both North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific spend significantly on display and search ads, in the Middle East and Latin America, it’s still all about messaging.
To view and download the entire report from IAB, click here.
