Apple's iOS makes an impression

Apple's iOS is the most effective platform for mobile advertising, according to the inaugural 'State of Mobile Advertising' report by Opera Software for the second quarter of 2012.

Known for its browser software, Opera is also one of the world's top mobile ad platforms, with a global network of more than 35 billion ad impressions and driving more than $240 million in revenue to mobile publishers.

The iPhone takes the top spot for average eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) at $2.85. Android comes in second at $2.10, with Windows Phone trailing far behind at $0.20 eCPM. The eCPM is calculated by dividing total earnings by the number of impressions in thousands.

Apple's iOS also took 46.53% of all mobile traffic in Opera's ad network, accounting for 61.41% of revenue. Android accounted for 24.43% of traffic and 26.56% of revenue. BlackBerry accounted for 6.32% of mobile traffic on the network, and 1.79% of revenue (with an eCPM of $0.64).

“This indicates that devices with better usability (ie, larger screen size, touch-screen) and those with features that allow more interaction between the advertisement and the device's functionality (eg, click to call, expand, play video) have better monetisation potential than less capable and less user-friendly devices,” says Opera.

The business and finance sector was found to generate the most revenue per impression, with double the profits of the next most advertised category - news and information. “We see this trend continuing in the near term, while remaining optimistic about social networking as a revenue driver over the long term,” says Opera.

According to Opera's findings, the iPad delivers an average eCPM of $3.96 on the Opera mobile ad platform. Opera says the higher eCPM can be attributed to the iPad's large screen, user-friendly interface and touch-screen interactivity.

“The iPad is also achieving significant user adoption in user groups that are highly desirable to advertisers. For example, 40% of physicians own or plan to own an iPad or tablet by the end of 2012, according to Nielsen projections,” says Opera.

Opera adds that the demand for tablet ad executions is also up 140% from 2011, meaning that tablets will become an increasingly important part of advertisers' strategies in the next six months.

The report also confirmed that rich media adverts, especially those that leverage the capabilities of modern smartphones, result in much higher click-through rates. “So far, in 2012, Apple iOS has delivered a clear majority of rich media ad impressions compared to Android devices,” says Opera, adding that regardless of the OS, rich media has always driven better customer engagement.

“In fact, leveraging the native functions of mobile devices - such as sophisticated HTML and camera interfaces - has been shown to have a direct correlation to time spent interacting with the ad unit.”

According to the report, 66% of users that click through to a video will complete the interaction. “Photo-taking capabilities warrant an even higher dwell time (one minute, 25 seconds), and about half of customers will continue to interact with the ad post-click,” says Opera.

The report also notes that from January to June 2012, the number of standard and expandable banner ads dropped, while HTML5 rich media and video increased.

One of the advertiser insights highlighted by the report was that the need for a mobile landing page is diminishing. The report quotes Point Reach MD Andrew Nevils: “Mobile advertising is at the forefront of mobile technology, as opposed to mobile sites which often follow a one-size-fits-all model supporting the lowest common denominator of feature phones.

“With mobile rich media ads, you can now create self-contained 'microsites as ad units' - immersive experiences that can double as or even mitigate the need for a mobile destination, reducing costs and minimising the steps to conversion.”