Last month, IAB released its worldwide study of smartphone owners (“Always On – A Global Perspective of Mobile Consumer Experience”), which found that 1 in 5 smartphone owners worldwide use their device every 5 minutes, and nearly half of all users are motivated to react to ads after seeing them on mobile.
Today, IAB, IAB Europe, and IHS Markit are jointly releasing research that shows that the powerful relationship consumers worldwide have with their mobile devices is translating into mobile’s continued growth as a profoundly important marketing platform as well.
This new research found that global mobile advertising revenue surged to $83bn (€63bn) in 2016. This marks an uptick of 60.5 percent from $52bn (€39bn) in 2015.
From a format perspective, the study found that:
- Mobile display both saw the highest growth rate, at 64.3 percent, as well as drove both the most investment (at at €34bn ($45bn) globally, a 54 percent share of total mobile spend globally).
- Mobile search was a close second, both in terms of growth (up 61.1 percent), as well as in spend (at €27bn ($36bn) globally, a 42.8 share of total global mobile spend).
- Messaging (SMS/MMS) grew by 11.2 percent, as users migrated from operator-owned messaging services to app-based messaging platforms, though it remains a smaller format in absolute currency terms, generating €1.9bn ($2.6bn) and representing 3.1 percent share of total mobile spend globally.
These global figures reflect brands’ recognition that mobile is critical in reaching today’s consumers around the world. Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe, observes that these data “confirm that we are now in a mobile-first media consumption and advertising environment. Mobile continues to be at the forefront of digital advertising growth in Europe highlighting it as a priority for advertisers, agencies, and publishers.”
Qingzhen Chen, Senior Analyst, Technology, Media and Telecom, IHS Markit adds that “the global mobile ad market has not only benefitted from the rapid smartphone adoption in emerging markets but also better ad targeting capabilities in mature markets. An influx of investments and partnerships for premium content and data collaboration between broadcasters and leading online platforms were the key drivers for the strong mobile growth. The Western markets were driven by several key markets but dominated by global players, whereas in APAC local players accounted for most of the growth.”
It’s important to note that a unique, global-specific methodology was used to conduct this research (please see here for details, page 14), which make this data set distinct from other country or region-specific estimates.
Nonetheless, this research reinforces the importance of mobile as a global force for both consumers and marketers in the 21st Century.