Programmatic, video dominate mobile ad spend, finds new IAB report

Programmatic advertising across mobile channels has hit the mainstream, with two in three marketers already using it and another quarter planning to do so in the next 12 months.

According to the Third Annual IAB Mobile Landscape Study, mobile advertising is now well entrenched in a digital marketer’s budget, with 41 per cent of respondents using mobile advertising as a core component in their marketing campaigns. On average, 49 per cent of campaigns this year have a mobile component, up from 44 per cent year-on-year.

The report also found mobile advertising will represent 33 per cent of total ad dollars spent on digital this year, up from 31 per cent in 2014, and is expected to rise to 43 per cent in 2016.

The results also made it apparent that marketers are widening the types of advertising they’re using on mobile from banner style and social mobile advertising to mobile video, native and in-app advertising. For example, 43 per cent expected to use mobile video in their campaigns in the next year.

Programmatic also shone through as a growing area of investment. Sixty six per cent said they had used mobile programmatic in the last 12 months, and a further 23 per cent plan to do so in the next year.

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In addition, 93 per cent of marketers were satisfied with the results of their mobile advertising activities to date, and eight out of 10 agreed the importance of the mobile screen is rising.

Marketers still reported a number of issues around mobile advertising, albeit in smaller numbers, IAB said. The top challenge for is measurement at 37 per cent of marketers, down from 54 per cent year-on-year. Thirty-five per cent of respondents said client understanding of mobile advertising remains a barrier, while 14 per cent of buyers said viewability remained a concern.

Creative was also highlighted as an issue, notably creating cross-platform creative that incorporate mobile collateral.

Core measures being used to gauge mobile advertising performance are engagement (58 per cent), interactions (54 per cent) and clickthrough rates (51 per cent).

“The Australian mobile advertising market has matured in the last 12 months, with marketers embracing the medium for more strategic brand focused activities,” IAB Australia CEO, Alice Manners, said.

“With eight out of 10 respondents in the survey agreeing that the importance of the mobile screen is rising, the next phase of development will come as marketers leverage location-specific targeting and when success metrics are standardised.”

The Mobile Landscape study was based on a survey of 350 marketers and media professionals across Australia and was conducted by Hoop Group.

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