Mobile to boost US digital ad market
The US digital advertising and publishing market is poised for growth, supported by new mobile devices and advances in applications and technology, according to a new survey.
The survey from the US Audit Bureau of Circulations reveals that print publishers are focusing on the market as a prime opportunity to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue while offering advertisers the chance to reach locally targeted, engaged audiences.
A study from GroupM released yesterday predicted that global mobile advertising will grow 19% to $3.3 billion in 2010, giving it a 6% share of total global advertising spend.
Michael Lavery, ABC president and managing director, said: “The results of ABC’s survey demonstrate that publishers recognize the growing importance of mobile devices in consumers’ daily lives and are actively embracing mobile as a new way to extend their brands.
“We continue to hear from newspapers and magazines as they integrate mobile into their digital publishing plans. And interest in ABC’s multimedia reporting options is very high, with mobile poised to be one of the next distribution channels included on those reports.”
The survey also found:
- More than 80% of newspaper and magazine respondents believe people will rely more heavily on mobile devices as a primary information source in the next three years.
- Nearly 70% of respondents agree that mobile is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last. More than a third believe their publication already has a well-developed plan for attacking and conquering the mobile market.
- Forty-four percent of respondents who track mobile’s impact on their website traffic said the devices increased visits by up to 10% today. Half believe mobile traffic to their websites will increase by 5% to 25% in the next two years.
- Among senior executive respondents, 56% said their publication has plans to develop a smartphone application in the next 24 months, in addition to the 17% of respondents who already have an app in production.
- Regardless of mobile’s anticipated rise, ABC publisher members do not plan to abandon their print publications in favour of a digital-only product in the near term. While 55% believe that digital delivery of their publication is important to their strategic future, three-fourths believe that their publication will be available in a print form five years from now.
- More than half of the survey respondents believe that the future business model of mobile content will be supported by both advertising and subscriptions.
- Nearly a third believe that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication’s revenue in just three years.
Edward Montes, executive vice president and managing director of Havas Digital North America, said: “Although the mobile market is in its early stages, it offers tremendous opportunities for marketers to reach and interact with audiences.
“With text and multimedia messaging, branded mobile apps, content sponsorships, display advertising, paid search, and location-based targeting, the platform becomes an integral component of the overall marketing strategy. It has enormous potential for clients, in my view, so it’s great to see newspapers and magazines embracing digital publishing.”
A recent report from Juniper Research forecast that adspend on the mobile internet will approach $500 million globally in 2009, rising to nearly $2 billion per annum by 2014.