Mobile usage is growing like gangbusters, according to a new report from Smaato.
Smaato, a leading global real-time advertising platform for mobile publishers and app developers, recently released “Global Trends in Mobile Programmatic.” The report, compiled from data from billions of mobile ad impressions served on its exchange during the first half of 2015, is revealing.
“While apps still command the market for overall ad spending on mobile, spending on the mobile web increased by 100 percent over the past year,” the Smaato team says.
What’s driving a lot of the increase? Social sites and their social apps — like Facebook and Twitter — which keep people “checking in” at least once a day and often several times each day.
“The shift to mobile began with the mobile web — and then apps took over,” said Ragnar Kruse, CEO of Smaato. “Although we can’t say for sure whether we’re looking at a huge comeback of the medium, the fact remains that publishers and advertisers can’t afford to ignore the mobile web.”
That means companies need to make sure they’re where the users are going.
“Mobile ad strategies – whether it be the size of ads or the use of rich media – must be created with both app and mobile web usage in mind,” Kruse advised.
Smaato’s report also discovered “advertisers are doubling down on targeting families and parents on mobile.” Because this demographic has grown significantly, ad spending to reach it has increased by more than 300 percent in the past year.
“We may be reaching the last frontier of mobile, where brands and advertisers no longer exclusively see mobile users as young and tech-savvy,” notes the report.
In addition, larger ad sizes are surging in popularity, especially in developing markets. (Note Instagram’s recent decision to increase its ad sizes, for instance).
Rich media is growing, too. Publishers and developers who make room for rich media in their apps and on their websites are making 83 percent more money than those who don’t, according to Smaato’s findings.
