Mobile

Every year, it seems, is crowned the “Year of Mobile.” In lieu of deeming it such, consider a few telling statistics.

eMarketer predicts that mobile advertising will be a key growth driver worldwide through 2018. In fact, the firm predicts that advertisers will spend $64.3B (USD) in 2015, up 60 percent from 2014. And by 2018, mobile ad spend will reach $159B (USD), or 63 percent of global digital ad spend. One of the key reasons for the massive rise in mobile ad spend is the rapidly growing smartphone penetration around Europe and the globe; as advertisers want to reach and engage consumers where they are. By all measures, from ownership to usage to time spent—consumers are embracing mobile faster than brands and agencies can react.

“By 2015, we project that 15 countries worldwide will have seen more than half their populations adopt smartphones,” said Monica Peart, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer. “The embrace of this technology among the approximately 500 million people in these countries who will be using smart devices by the end of next year will have a significant influence on media usage, ecommerce and marketing.”

Another fairly recent trend is evidenced by Facebook’s most recent earnings report. CNN reported “That growing mobile usage is also crucial for Facebook's business, as the number of people visiting Facebook from laptops and PCs declined last quarter. Mobile advertising made up 69% of the company's overall ad sales. Last year, mobile ads made up just over half of Facebook's advertising revenue.”

But it isn’t just Facebook—Twitter’s mobile ad business is growing rapidly, Instagram and Snapchat have launched ad products and judging from earning reports--buyers are rushing to buy mobile advertising in social properties.

Given the penetration and usage, what is holding advertisers back from embracing the medium as a key channel? Buyers typically point to form factor, lack of compelling creative capabilities and difficulty with measurement. But behind closed doors, many point to the lack of understanding about how to create, plan, or purchase mobile. In 2015, this is not something agency strategists want the world to know.

Although there are now hundreds of mobile ad networks, exchanges, DSPs, video networks, DMPs, etc, which may feel overwhelming for buyers; there is a bevvy of education and expertise in the market today that both agencies and brands can leverage.

Join us at Advertising Week Europe for the Mobile Track, presented by PubMatic, to see what today and the future holds — and if, in fact, we are truly in the “Year of Mobile.”