BIA/Kelsey’s US Local Mobile Forecast recently projected US mobile local advertising revenues will grow from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $9.1 billion in 2017. This jump represents a compound annual growth rate of 49.3%.
The US Local Mobile Forecast includes projections for mobile advertising via search, display, video, and commercial SMS. Of these, mobile search is projected to be the premier ad format. Mobile search is expected to grow from $704 million in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2017. As a portion of all local media ad revenues, mobile US advertising is expected to increase from 0.9% in 2012 to 6.1% in 2017.
Mobile local ad revenues are just a portion of the growth expected in the mobile ad spending category. Total US mobile ad spending is expected to increase from $3.2 billion in 2012 to $16.8 billion in 2017. In 2012, locally targeted mobile ads accounted for just 38% of all mobile advertising. By 2017, that percentage is expected to rise to 54%.
Overall, mobile search advertising accounts for the largest share of mobile local media spending with display and SMS following. The breakdown of mobile local ad spending is as follows:
- Search ads should increase from $704 million in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2017.
- Display ads are projected to grow from $379 million in 2012 to $2.7 billion in 2017.
- Expected growth in commercial SMS messaging is from $101 million in 2012 to $162 million in 2017.
- Video ads should see growth from $38 million in 2012 to $515 million in 2017.
These increases in mobile ad spending are expected to be driven by several factors including:
- Large brand advertisers will begin shifting campaign objectives to include mobile and to take advantage of the effective and undervalued mobile local ad inventory.
- The SMB segment is expected to embrace mobile advertising via self-serve tools and local media direct sales channels.
- Innovation among ad networks and ad tech providers are expected to encourage the utilization of this segment.
- Premiums developed for location-targeted ads will compound ad volume growth.
Is your business embracing local mobile advertising? Find out how Qiigo can help you utilize this exciting new marketing channel. Call our office today at (404) 496-6841.
