Rating: Sector took off faster than Gartner had anticipated
The overall view of the global mobile advertising market taken by respected IT research company, Gartner, isn’t exactly shared by everyone from within the mobile industry itself. The company has recently released a report entitled, ‘Forecast: Mobile Advertising, Worldwide, 2009-2016′. [More information here.] As Gartner was forced to admit in the comments accompanying this report, “The mobile advertising market took off even faster than we expected due to an increased uptake in smartphones and tablets, as well as the merger of consumer behaviors on computers and mobile devices.”
So maybe its findings this time could be questioned. Both TapSense, a leading app acquisition platform and InMobi, the largest independent mobile advertising ad network, appear to disagree with Gartner in certain areas.
For example, on the thorny question of mobile user acquisition costs, Gregory Kennedy, a vp for marketing with TapSense says, “We believe Gartner’s findings on mobile ad unit price softening are purely transitory, and costs will go up significantly next year.”
Kennedy therefore suggests that now is actually a great time to increase mobile user acquisition spending.
He continued,” With this new report, it’s clear that user acquisition costs will remain relatively low when compared to PC web channels.”
“We estimate that mobile user acquisition costs are still one fifth of what they are on the PC.”
As Shrikant Latkar, a vp for global marketing with InMobi, explained, “Organisations who don’t invest in mobile advertising will be missing out on an essential channel for engaging and communicating with consumers.
He also warns that brands, “risk being seen as old-fashioned or out-of-touch by the increasing mobile-first generation.”
“The Gartner report makes it clear that companies should be spending more on mobile advertising campaigns,” Latkar observed.
“We have already seen numbers double over the past year and expect this to continue over the next four years.”
Everyone seems to agree, however, that for high end consumers, mobile devices are clearly the first screen for shopping, news, communications and entertainment.
“Consumers are turning to their mobile devices before turning on the television or browsing the PC web-to ignore this highly engaging channel would be foolish,” Latkar added.
With Gartner predicting that global mobile advertising revenue will reach $11.4 billion in 2013 and global mobile advertising revenues will grow by 400 per cent between 2011 and 2016, the fast growing importance of the mobile advertising sector is finally being recognised.
