Mobile Continuing to Take Digital Advertising Market Share (appia.com)

Digital advertising as a whole is continuing to see growth, but mobile advertising is taking more and more market share from other traditional marketing channels. Initially, the lack of information regarding consumer’s mobile behavior and the general mobile space was a bit of a deterrent for companies interested in mobile advertising; however, most companies have begun to think through their mobile presence as the market has matured.

According to eMarketer, “last year, global mobile ad spending increased 105% to total $17.96 billion. In 2014, mobile is on pace to rise another 75.1% to $31.45 billion, accounting for nearly one-quarter of total digital ad spending worldwide”.  These striking figures underscore that if you haven’t built a mobile strategy yet, you’re behind the curve. 

People spend massive amounts of time on their mobile devices, particularly smartphones, everyday – an estimated two hours and twenty one minutes a day for US adults, excluding actual talk time, according to the Wall Street Journal. If you’re an advertiser, capitalizing on this behavior can bring huge return on ad spend through the acquisition of high quality users. 

The United States has been the leader in mobile advertising thus far, but mobile’s market share growth is a global phenomenon. Mobile remains a relatively low-cost means of advertising compared to other digital media, and it is spreading rapidly.  According to Gartner research, areas of interest within the next two to three years are Asian/Pacific areas and developing economies. The emerging middle class in the Asia/Pacific, particularly in Japan, provides a premium audience for mobile ads. The use of mobile ads in areas with developing economies such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, will document the adaptation of technology to these areas and a relative stabilization of their economies according to Gartner.

It is evident that mobile advertising will continue to grow and gain market share as the ecosystem matures. Mobile’s growth over the last several years has been nothing short of incredible, and those of us in the space are excited to see what new heights mobile marketing can reach.