Global mobile advertising revenue has grown 82.8% between 2011 and 2012, according to the latest research by global information company IHS.
This translates to a jump from $5.3 billion in 2011 to $8.9 billion in 2012.
According to IHS director of advertising research, Daniel Knapp, mobile ad revenue continues to be dominated by the search segment, which represented 52.8% of total global mobile advertising revenue. Display advertising accounted for 38.7% and messaging for 8.5%.
The significant increase in global mobile revenue can be attributed to a number of key factors, including increasing smartphone adoption, more time spent on mobile devices and technological innovation enabling advertisers to reach larger audiences, says Knapp.
Middle East and Africa are still lagging behind in the regional share of revenue accounting for 1.2%, just ahead of Latin America which accounts for 0.6%. The greatest share is held by Asia-Pacific (40.2%), followed by North America (39.8%), Western Europe (16.9%) and Central Europe (1.3%).
Rising trend
According to director of Bluegrass Digital, Nick Durrant, mobile advertising is a growing focus in digital advertising.
"In advertising spend, the numbers are not yet significant to get excited about; however, what is significant is that the trend is showing a sharp rise in this area, which will grow exponentially in the next few years," says Durrant. "Even social media platforms have seen this coming, ensuring their platforms support various options in mobile advertising."
He says mobile advertising is an even hotter topic when it comes to digital advertising in Africa and specifically SA. "Mobile is more commonly used in Africa and most people are connected via mobile."
Durrant notes while mobile advertising is a growing trend, brands and to some extent agencies are still learning about this space and how to make optimal use thereof to deliver digital advertising effectively.
"I've heard of business directors coming from overseas companies like eBay and Amazon and trying to implement strategies that worked overseas, and wonder why they don't work in SA and Africa. Africa is completely different to the rest of the world. Business trading is different, networking styles are different. In the same way you approach traditional advertising in different markets, you need to consider aspects like the audience, cultural circumstances and behaviour."
Mobile advertising will remain the main focus in digital advertising for years to come, says Durrant. "We [Bluegrass] create digital ads for brands in Nigeria and the focus is always on mobile. It is the main access point for Internet."
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