2009 was a bad year for the "traditional" advertising industry with a significant drop in advertising revenues recorded in TV, radio and the print media. However, in one specific area, mobile advertising, revenues grew by 32 per cent - once again proving that it's an ill wind that blows nobody good. Martyn Warwick reports.
A new survey undertaken by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers also shows that a sea change is underway. The entertainment and media sectors accounted for 61 per cent of the spend on mobile advertising recorded last year. By comparison, advertising in the 'traditional' telecoms sector accounted for a mere 14.7 per cent of revenue.
So, last year the UK mobile advertising market was worth £37.6 million. And, it seems, the sky's the limit - at present the mobile advertising sector accounts for just a single percentage point of the total spent digital advertising so there's plenty of potential for future growth.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers spokesperson, Eva Berg-Winters commented, "Lat year there were two distinct approaches from advertisers and publishers. They either cut spend or continued to invest and develop their use of mobile – with a view to come out on top following the downturn."
Thus, at the height of the recession some organisations pared their mobile advertising to the bone to save cash on hand whilst others continued to invest in the hope and expectation of being better placed for the expected economic upswing as soon as it arrives.
The Internet Advertising Bureau splits the mobile advertising market into two parts: mobile search and mobile display.
» This story continues on page 2. Please click here to read
please sign in to rate this article
46239
NewsDesk: Mobile Ads-U-Like