In 2010, not quite $2 billion was spent on mobile
advertising. In 2012, the size of mobile advertising will be more than $7
billion. And by 2016, $24 billion will be spent on mobile advertising as is
currently spent on all online advertising put together, according to ABI
Research.

 

ABI Research’s forecasts clearly indicate a major boom
in mobile advertising is on the way,” said Neil Strother, practice director,
ABI Research.

 

The pieces are falling into place: the technology; the
behavior; and the funding (advertisers’ spending) is following. Today it’s
still just a drop in the bucket by online standards – often just 2% or 3
percent of an organization’s overall advertising budget – but spending on
mobile ads is, in my view, ready to boom over the next few years,” Strother
added.

 

Two related developments have changed the market. The
first is the explosion in use of smartphones and other smart” devices such as
media tablets. The second is the proliferation of mobile applications
that can include or drive mobile ads.

 

These applications can be related to a wide variety of
activities including media content and games, but also services accessed
through the mobile web browser. The result is that the population of people who
access content or media or services that are ad-supported is now big enough to
create a critical mass.

 

This story has concentrated on the higher end of mobile
advertising; lower-tech forms such as text message-based advertising are still
viable and useful, but publishing outlets can charge more for display,
interactive or rich media ads, and they will provide the force to drive this
market.

 

By TelecomLead.com Team
[email protected]