While Android captured a majority (63 percent) of mobile ad traffic in Q4 of 2014, Apple held onto its lead in revenue generation.
That’s the bottom line, according to a new “State of Mobile Advertising” report from Opera Mediaworks.
“Apple’s favorable position in Western markets, such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, helped it retain the lead,” noted the report summary. “The report, which lays out quarterly trends and insights from the company’s mobile ad platform, notes that, in these markets, high-value rich-media and video-advertising campaigns are more common. Since iOS dominates in these markets, monetization levels are highest, with over 51 percent of revenue.”
Best monetization potential? Most likely the iPad, which accounted for about 13 percent of revenue on a mere 5 percent of impressions.
“The high volume of mobile app usage vs. mobile browsing in Western markets also drives a healthy user-acquisition market,” according Digital Journal. “To acquire more users, publishers and app developers use direct response, or performance, mobile ads to drive app downloads.”
The report also shows that the games category surged ahead in both traffic and revenue in the past year.
“The Games category … was the big success story of the year,” it noted. “In 2013, it represented just 5 percent of impressions, but in Q4 2014 it captured a 14 percent traffic share. Revenue numbers were even more impressive, as the category grew year-over-year from 3 percent of revenue to 21.4 percent of revenue in Q4 2014.”
To see the full report, click here.
