Mobile ad spend rose by a third in 2009

NMA 9 April 2010

Mobile ad spend rose 32% between 2008 and 2009, with brands from the entertainment, media and telecoms sectors spending the largest amounts on the medium, according to the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Figures showed mobile ad spend in the UK rose to £36.7m despite a contraction in the wider advertising market. The total spent on mobile advertising in the previous year was £28.6m. Mobile ad spend also grew consistently throughout 2009.

Entertainment and media companies contributed 61.5% of all mobile ad revenues and traditional telecoms companies contributed 14.7% in 2009.

Search accounted for 54% (£20.2m) of all mobile ad spend after a 41% annual rise. Mobile display advertising peaked at £5.5m in the final quarter of 2009, representing a 28% quarterly rise and totaling £17.4m for the year.

Jon Mew, head of mobile at the IAB, said the growth in mobile advertising in the context of the downturn in the wider advertising market was unexpected. “The growth was better than we had hoped for. The first thing you expect to be cut from ad budgets [during an economic downturn] are experimental things such as mobile,” he said.

Alex Rahaman, head of mobile at ad sales house Unanimis, said media and entertainment companies contributed so much to the overall figure because the definition included a broader number of companies, such as ringtone providers, mobile video providers and games. “I think mobile gaming would have driven that a lot,” he said.

Paul Constantine, MD of media agency Zed Group, said the growth in mobile advertising was to be expected but the figures were growing from a low base. “I thought it would have been a bit higher,” he said.

The burgeoning mobile ad market has been under increased focus in recent months following significant moves by major companies including Google and Apple.

Google is hoping to ramp up its mobile ad offering through the $750m (£467m) purchase of mobile ad network AdMob, subject to a possible anti-trust challenge from the US government, while Apple launched its own mobile ad platform, iAd, earlier this month.

NMA 9 April 2010.

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