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Reaction as mobile advertising spend reaches £1bn in UK: Maxus, Starcom Mediavest, Ebuzzing, VivaKi, Theorem, BlisMedia, Maxifier

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By Stephen Lepitak, -

June 25, 2013 | 6 min read

Mobile advertising spend in the UK has reached nearly £1bn this year, an increase of around 90 per cent according to eMarketer. So as the growth in mobile usage continues to escalate and brands more and more turn to it as a platform for marketing, we get some reaction from those working in the space.

Richard Hocking EMEA director of performance marketing & mobile development, Starcom MediaVest

These figures are an indication that mobile is coming of age although they certainly don't surprise me. I actually think their forecast for next year is rather conservative versus our own SMG spend projections which are expected to double again. With the viability of mobile video due to faster connection speeds such as 4G, and the increase in mobile search driven by recent Google changes you can start to understand why only 23 per cent growth next year is playing it a little safe.I think the challenge and opportunity for mobile over the next year is closing the delta that exists between %age of time consumers are spending on their mobile vs percentage of advertising spend – the widest of any media channel.

Rebecca Mahony, VP of global marketing, Ebuzzing

It is no surprise that mobile advertising spend in the UK is due to grow 90 per cent in 2013 especially when we see that, according to eMarketer, 31 per cent of the UK population are estimated to own a tablet. And we know that wherever there are eyeballs, advertisers spend marketing dollars to get their products and services in front of their audiences.But perhaps the even more dramatic shift within mobile advertising will be the move away from static, one dimensional advertising to fully-immersive, branded video experiences which is now ubiquitous with high speed wifi internet connections and 4G. Part of this key change will be how adeptly advertisers switch from traditional 30 second video advertising to a shorter form, impactful brand experience which we believe will become a fundamental part of the media mix within the coming years.

Marco Bertozzi, executive managing director/ EVP, EMEA, VivaKi

Programmatic buying will be a big driver for this marketplace which is currently full of many contenders and technologies and programmatic will drive efficiency, better targeting and create a truly addressable channel for advertisers. The growth we are seeing in this space is significant as advertisers come to understand the opportunity.First party data will be at the heart of this with the operators and publishers leading the charge here. Our approach is to work closely with the major publishers to give advertisers reassurance they are working with quality inventory and not just endless long tail of app inventory.

Stuart Colman, managing director, EMEA, Maxifier

Spend on mobile advertising reaching £500m last year was a watershed moment, and predictions that it will be close to £1bn by the end of this year shows serious money is now going here. Not surprisingly, it is search that is dominating – as everyone is comfortable with this – but display is growing too. In this multi-channel world, we are already seeing a number of our clients implementing campaign optimisation, not purely across online display, but now introducing it to deliver recommendations to optimise their mobile campaigns as well.

Nick Baughan, managing director, Maxus

Mobile is a really exciting space for us at the moment, and it comes as no surprise that ad spend is rocketing alongside smartphone usage. We’re at a turning point right now for mobile advertising as it’s no longer seen as optional add-on but as an integral part of the mix. As the market matures and brands and agencies understand mobile as a sales channel as well as a media channel, we’re going to see big developments; audience targeting technology will continue to evolve, creative quality will improve and the migration of investment from desktop to mobile will only escalate.

Marcus Harding, MD Europe, Theorem

The rise in spend in mobile identified by eMarketer comes as no surprise to us. At Theorem we have seen a huge increase in the work that we are doing for clients with mobile rich media platforms.Globally we continue to see a huge rise in the ownership and ubiquity of smart phones and advertisers are seeing mobile as a key medium with which to reach consumers.Within the industry it has become a lot easier to access and work with mobile rich media platforms and there has been a huge expansion in the amount of mobile related companies, with mobile ad networks, mobile agencies and tech companies entering the space. Ironically spend on mobile, though dramatically increasing isn’t enough to support all of these companies.Specialists companies focussing on their core activities, will be ones best positioned to thrive as mobile advertising comes to the fore.

Paul Thompson, MD for BlisMedia

The fact mobile advertising spend is set to double in 2013 comes as no real surprise to people in the advertising industry. The ability to target and segment audiences on the move, using the location where they are to define them and shape the messaging adds another exciting dimension to the existing marketing tool kit. The converging of several factors will continue to drive growth for the next few years to come. These being the ever increasing sophistication and processing power of devices that are mobile, from laptops, tablets to mobile handsets. The shift in commercial strategies of online companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter putting mobile revenues first. And a mobile consumer experience at the heart of their offerings and finally the proven power to marketers of mcommerce and the necessity to have a strongly defined offering to cash in.

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