Zenith: Mobile Ad Spend Growing At 7X Desktop Ads

Investments in mobile advertising continue to accelerate, but the growth rate could ease off next year, according to a new report from Publicis Groupe’s ad agency ZenithOptimedia.

Global mobile advertising, which includes all online ads delivered to smartphones and tablets, whether display, classified or search, is growing seven times faster than desktop ads. ZenithOptimedia predicts mobile advertising will grow by 77% this year, followed by 56% growth in 2014 and 48% in 2015, based on the adoption of smartphones and tablets. In contrast, the agency forecasts ads on the desktop will grow at an average of 10% a year.

“After years of hype, mobile advertising has finally arrived. Its importance will only grow over the next few years as advertisers and agencies get to grips with the opportunities it offers, and improve its ability to measure and deliver return on investment,” said ZenithOptimedia North America CEO Tim Jones in a statement.

Mobile ad spend on a global basis reached $8.3 billion last year, representing 9.5% of internet expenditures and 1.7% of advertising across all media. By 2015, ZenithOptimedia predicts total mobile ad spend will rise to $33.1 billion — 25.2% of internet expenditures and 6.0% of all expenditures.

Internet advertising grew 16.4% last year, and is expected to grow 16% annually from 2013 to 2015. Display is the fastest-growing sub-category, with 20% annual growth, which the report attributes to the rapid rise of online video and social media advertising, which are growing at 25% and 33% a year respectively. Between 2012 and 2015, ads on the internet will account for 66% of the growth in total ad expenditure.. The next biggest medium is television, which is forecast to contribute 36% of growth. Overall, Zenith estimates global ad spend will reach $503 billion this year — a 3.5% increase from 2012

The US continues to pump more new ad dollars into the global market than any other country, contributing an estimated 28% of the $74 billion that will be added to global ad spend between 2012 and 2015. China comes second, accounting for 18% of additional ad dollars over this period, followed by Argentina (6%), Indonesia (6%) and Russia (5%).

ZenithOptimedia is also optimistic that we will see greater growth in global ad spend as Europe catches up after exiting its 18-month recession. The agency forecasts 5.1% global ad growth in 2014 and 5.9% growth in 2015.

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