Mobile Ads are Just as They Sound — ON THE MOVE

 

Pew Research says 82% of us have a mobile device. No big surprise there. And 38% of mobile users access the web on said device. Also no real big surprise — especially if you’ve driven a car lately. Even in no-texting cities. Nope, that driver’s not drunk, he’s just updating his Facebook status on his phone while merging onto the freeway. At any rate, you get my point, as well as Pew’s statistically supported point that nearly 4 in 10 of us are shackled to our web-wise phones.

What does this mean to you? Mobile advertising is on the rise. Like it or not, ABI Research predicts that “mobile display advertising is poised to increase fourfold during the next 5 years.” It’s a growing market, and you should be aware of your competition — especially if clients are thinking of switching ad dollars from traditional to mobile marketing. Know the trends and be prepared for objections. Erik Sass reports, “In the U.S., ABI predicts that the mobile display ad market will increase from $313 million in 2010 to $1.2 billion in 2015. That makes it one of the stronger growth areas for mobile ad revenues, along with text messaging, search advertising, ads within apps and both streaming and on-demand video.”

As more and more smart phones hit the market — and more and more of us get addicted to them — the wealth of advertising opportunities can only grow. Right now, 28% of mobile subscribers access the Internet on a daily basis from their phones. And what, exactly, is everyone doing on the mobile web? (Besides driving, of course.) Well, Pew says 11% use it to buy stuff, 23% spend time on a social network, 20% watch videos, and (surprising to me) 11% make charitable donations on their phones.

[Source: Sass, Erik. "Mobile Display Ads to Hit $1.2 Billion by 2015." MediaPost's Media Daily News. July 12, 2010.]