Western Europe mobile local search ad revenues are forecast to reach €1.4 billion by 2013, according to BIA’s Kelsey Group.
It predicts that mobile search advertising revenues in Western Europe will grow from €39 million in 2008 to €2.3 billion in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 125.4%.
Revenues for the local segment of mobile search are predicted to grow from €18 million in 2008 to €1.4 billion in 2013, a 139.3% CAGR.
Mobile display ad revenues, meanwhile, are forecast to hit €1.1 billion in 2013, up from €14 million last year.
Western Europe leads the US in adoption and monetisation of mobile local media, primarily due to the greater number of mobile handsets in the region – 499 million in 2008, compared with 266 million in the United States.
Michael Boland, program director for Kelsey’s mobile local media practice, said: “In addition to the higher number of mobile subscribers in the region, rapid proliferation of smartphones is helping drive the growth in mobile advertising.
“Our forecast indicates the number of smartphones in Western Europe will grow at a 35.7% CAGR during the forecast period, from 32 million in 2008 to 149 million in 2013.”
In May, Magna forecast that US mobile advertising will grow by 36% this year, rising from $169 million in 2008 to $229 million (see Mobile ad revenues in US and Canada to hit $1.5bn by 2013).
The Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers also published a report in May which revealed that mobile adspend in the UK was up 99.2% year on year in 2008, hitting £28.6 million (see IAB: UK mobile adspend hits £28.6m in 2008).
