UK firms will spend twice as much on mobile advertising this year than they did in the past twelve months, according to new data on digital advertising spending put out by eMarketer. Mobile advertising inventory has grown dramatically due to the increase in smartphone adoption, making it a key target for UK-based companies.
Online advertising, both on mobile phones and traditional computers, has grown in leaps and bounds over the past five years as firms increasingly look at measurable, scalable online advertising methods. Online advertising can be tracked to a degree that traditional methods such as radio, television, and print media ads cannot.
This has made it an attractive option for businesses struggling with decreased ad budgets and reduced consumer demand due to the economic recession. As online ads, particularly mobile ads, can be tracked to an extreme extent, they’re far easier for large businesses with established sales funnels to enhance and optimise.
The data, released by eMarketer on Tuesday, suggests that online advertising spend on mobile devices will increase by 90 percent each year as advertising adapt to the incredible increase in smartphone usage. Leading mobile advertising platforms for UK-based businesses include Google-owned AdMob and Facebook Ads.
Mobile advertising inventory has grown hugely as users switch their traditional cell phones for smartphones, making rich media advertising options possible for many of the nation’s top businesses. Many advertising networks are branching out to take advantage of the mobile ad market, including Google with its Adwords service.
The report predicts that the UK digital advertising market will grow to £8 billion in value by 2016, up from the £6.1 billion current average annual spend. The increase in spending will be fuelled by mobile advertising budgets and increased corporate dependence on search and online display advertising solutions.
