Mobile Will Supply More Than A Third Of Ad Growth This Year

Mobile's time has arrived as a key driver of industry growth, according to the latest forecasts from ZenithOptimedia. The media forecaster says that despite its still small 2.8% of all ad spend worldwide, ads run on smartphones and tablets are growing “extremely rapidly” with 77% growth expected in 2013, 56% in 2014 and 38% in 2015. This will increase worldwide mobile spend from $14.3 billion this year to $33.1 billion by 2015, to account for 6% of total ad expenditure. Zenith says that mobile will account for 37% of all growth in ad spending this year.

The projections are part of the latest “Advertising Expenditure Forecasts,” which sees a modest expansion of 3.5% in global ad spend this year. Growth should escalate in coming years, up 5.1% in 2014 and 5.9% in 2015. Eurozone economic woes are weighing down growth in mature markets, the company says, while rising markets are not showing signs of an ad slowdown despite economic challenges. In the North American market, the forecaster expects growth of 3.4% in 2013, with stronger 4% growth in 2014 and 5% in 2015.

The mobile expansion is being driven by several key developments, ZenithOptimedia says. In addition to the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets globally, more and new ad formats specifically aimed at mobile have emerged, including geolocation targeting, click-to-call and mobile search results. As well, we have seen ad standardization improve along with better ad serving and measurement that allow easier calculation of mobile ROI.

Steve King, CEO ZenithOptimedia, says in the company announcement, “The stability of global ad spend growth this year – a year without big events like the Olympics and US elections – shows that the advertising recovery is on track, promising even stronger growth in 2014 and 2015. The increasing penetration of mobile handsets is playing a key role in driving advertising growth across the world.”  

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