Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Advertising Revenue Forecast to Reach $3.3 Billion in 2011

Asia/Pacific to Remain Leading Market Although Revenue in North America and Western Europe Is Strengthening

STAMFORD, Conn., June 16, 2011— 

Worldwide mobile advertising revenue is forecast to reach $3.3 billion in 2011, more than double the $1.6 billion generated in 2010, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide revenue will reach $20.6 billion by 2015, but not all types of mobile advertising will generate the same opportunity. Search and maps will deliver the highest revenue, while video/audio ads will see the fastest growth through 2015.

"Mobile advertising is now recognized as an opportunity for brands, advertisers and publishers to engage consumers in a targeted and contextual manner, improving returns," said Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner. "For that reason, mobile advertising budgets are set to increase tremendously across the various categories and regions, growing from 0.5 percent of the total advertising budget in 2010 to over 4 percent in 2015."

"As the adoption of smartphones and media tablets extends to more consumers, the audience for mobile advertising will increase and become easier to segment and target, driving the growth of mobile advertising spend for brands and advertisers," said Andrew Frank, research vice president at Gartner. "Brand marketers who want to include mobile in their advertising initiatives should not delay their trials, and should have their budgets in place now to take advantage of mass consumer adoption of smartphones and media tablets."

North America and Western Europe are the regions where mobile advertising budgets will grow most, representing 28 percent and 25 percent of the global market by 2015 (see Table 1). However, Asia/Pacific and Japan will remain the leading market throughout the forecast period. Asia/Pacific and Japan is forecast to account for 49.2 percent of mobile advertising in 2011, and 33.6 percent of the global market in 2015.

Table 1
MobileAdvertising Revenue by Region, Worldwide, 2008-2015 (Millions of Dollars)

	2010	2011	2015
North America	304.3	701.7	5,791.4
Western Europe	257.1	569.3	5,131.9
Asia/Pacific and Japan	868.8	1,628.5	6,925.0
Rest of the World	196.9	410.4	2,761.7
Total	1,627.1	3,309.9	20,610.0

Source: Gartner (June 2011)

Gartner analysts said various types of mobile advertising will behave differently.

"Mobile search, which includes paid positioning on maps and various forms of augmented reality, all of which can be informed by location, will spearhead mobile ad spending," Ms. Baghdassarian said. "Mobile display, which includes both standard Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) banner formats and nonstandard rich media and interactive formats, will continue to be closely divided between in-app and mobile Web (in-browser) placements, reflecting consumer usage."

For several years, mobile advertising has been scrutinized, and it is expected to take off, thanks to various players in the market, from communication service providers (CSPs) to ad networks.

"In 2011, we are finally seeing some important drivers fall into place, so that we can expect the market to more than double year-over-year in the coming two years," said Mr. Frank. "This doesn't mean, by any stretch, that the experience delivered by mobile advertising will reach its optimum point in that time frame. We expect that targeting and contextualization, especially in social sites and applications, will carry on improving throughout the forecast period and beyond."

Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Forecast: Mobile Advertising, Worldwide, 2008-2015." The report is available on Gartner's website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1598915.

Contacts:


Christy Pettey
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com

Holly Stevens
Gartner
+44 0 1784 267412
holly.stevens@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 11,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,400 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

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