In a
new forecast, Gartner projects mobile advertising revenue will more than double in 2011 to $701 million in North America and $3.3
billion worldwide. Those figures will reach $5.8 billion and $20 billion by 2015. The research firm expects mobile search and mapping will generate the highest revenue, while video/audio ads will see
the fastest growth in the next five years.
The opportunity to reach consumers in a targeted, contextual way via mobile devices will help push mobile from 0.5% of total advertising budgets in
2010 to more than 4% in 2015. The adoption of smartphones and tablets will also expand the audience and make it easier to segment and target over time.
Mobile budgets will grow fastest in
North America and Western Europe, representing 28% and 25% of the global market, respectively, by 2015. Asia/Pacific and Japan, which will drive 49% of mobile advertising this year, will account for
33.6% of the market in 2015.