'Mobile Outperforms the Early Days of Online Advertising'

Mobile ad spending in the US is projected to reach $10.83bn in 2016, according to eMarketer. At yesterday's Mobile Media Summit West, a group of executives from mobile data firms presented an array of other hard numbers and trends to highlight that growth. The fastest growing formats in mobile advertising — video, rich media banners and search — present mobile marketers with new opportunities to reach consumers with more rich and engaging ad experiences.

While the automotive and entertainment industry were out in front on mobile early, healthcare and other verticals are coming on strong, says Christy Cole, senior director for mobile at comScore. More than half of the US population uses mobile media today and the segment has grown 26 per cent in the past year, she adds. comScore has tracked a 22 per cent year-over-year increase in the number of ads seen by mobile media users. As of today, more than 70 per cent of the market has seen at least one ad on mobile.

"We talk about the numbers of smartphones, but it really isn't about the number of smartphones. It's about the people and what they're doing with smartphones," says Jennifer Okula, vice president at Dynamic Logic.

"Measuring on mobile, although can be challenging from a technology standpoint, the results we see from brand engagement are greater" than what Dynamic Logic and others see online, Okula adds. "When we compare to data from early 2000s of online advertising, we're still seeing that mobile outperforms the early days of online advertising, even the early days of online video advertising."

Jack Hallahan, vice president of mobile innovation at Mojiva, says he initially thought brand awareness on mobile was going to be greater due to the novelty factor, but that has largely worn off and marketers are taking notice. Mobile media users are also increasingly receptive to advertising so long as it's clear what they are receiving in return.

When Dynamic Logic survey wireless subscribers to see if they would prefer to pay for an app or see advertising in a free app, nearly two-thirds said they are fine with ads that enable them to receive free content.

"Once you ask somebody to reach into their pocket to not see advertising, the dynamic changes quickly," concludes Hallahan.