• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 13, 2015

Worldwide, mobile ad revenue swelled 64.8% from $19.3 billion in 2013 to $31.9 billion in 2014, according to fresh findings from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

The IAB attributed the robust growth to continued shifts in consumer usage patterns and industry innovations.

“Mobile devices are at the center of consumers’ lives across the globe and these numbers reflect brands’ increasing recognition that this medium holds great power,” said Anna Bager, SVP at the IAB, in the new report.

Showing stronger growth than any other region, North America saw a 76.8% increase in mobile ad spending during the period.

Overtaking search as the dominant segment, mobile display advertising showed the highest growth at 88.1% during the period. Overall, display represented 47.4% of the total global mobile advertising revenue in 2014 at just over $15 billion.

Still up a healthy 55.2%, mobile search followed with a 46.1% share -- or $14.7 billion.

Messaging grew 13% during the period, as users continued to migrate from operator-owned messaging services to app-based messaging platforms. As such, messaging took a 6.6% share -- or $2.1 billion.

Following North America, the Mideast and African region saw growth of 68.5% during the period.

Latin America came in third (66.1%), followed by Europe (58.6%), and the Asian-Pacific region (54.5%).