Western Europe, primarily comprising, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, is on the way to lead Mobile Advertising revenues, especially when compared with the US. In 2008, it gave US a tough competition by marginally exceeding revenues generated from Mobile ads. However, recent data shows that by 2013 WE would be way ahead of the US in monetizing Mobile as a marketing medium.
According to The Kelsey Group, a division of BIA Advisory Services, Mobile Advertising in Western Europe (WE) is expected to outpace its counterpart growth in the US. While Mobile Search Advertising (MSA) in WE is expected to witness a monumental growth from € 39 million in 2008 to € 2.3 billion in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 125.4%, US will see a rise from US$39 million (€ 27 million) in 2008 to US$2.3 billion (€ 1.6 billion) in 2013.
WE MSA growth would largely be lead by the local segment of mobile search that is expected to rise from € 18 million in 2008 to €1.4 billion in 2013, a 139.3% CAGR. Also, Mobile display ad revenues for the region will grow at a CAGR of 138.3% rising from € 14 million in 2008 to €1.1 billion in 2013.
On the other hand, U.S. mobile local search ad revenues are expected to increase from US$20 million (€14 million) in 2008 to US$1.3 billion (€915 million) in 2013. U.S. mobile display ad revenues will grow from US$21 million (€15 million) in 2008 to US$567 million (€399 million) in 2013.
Reasons for WE outpacing US growth
Higher monetization of Mobile Advertising in WE, is largely the result of the expanding mobile subscriber base, lead by the accelerated spread of the smart phones in this region. Data indicates that the penetration of smart phones in WE is expected to rise at a CAGR of 35.7%, increasing from 32 million in 2008 to 149 million in 2013.
Secondly, Mobile operators are devising new and better techniques to harness the potential of mobile advertising, to optimize the opportunities for Mobile marketers. On July 23, 2009, Orange announced its plans to offer students a range of promotions, such as make-up, tickets and possibly free calls, in return for receiving adverts on their mobile phones. Students could also be offered free music as Orange tries to exploit the key 16-to-24-year-old market under a deal with pioneering advertising start-up Blyk.
Online marketers are increasingly exploring the opportunities of Mobile Advertising as a large percentage of their target audience becomes mobile savvy and Mobile Carriers define newer monetization methods. Given the way that the media is fragmenting, becoming increasingly personal and interactive, mobile provides the perfect channel for them and the publishers to directly interact and communicate with their user base. The number of German mobile advertising campaigns has grown by more than 600 percent between 2007 and 2008 to 489, according to a survey by the Mobile Advertising Circle (MAC) of the German digital economy federation BVDW. The survey also showed that more than 88 percent of companies using mobile ad campaigns in 2007 did so again in 2008.
