by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily
Source: www.mediapost.com, January 2021
Due to the pandemic’s stay-at-home dynamic, mobile has seen some of its thunder stolen this past year by other media — digital video/OTT and connected TV in particular.
Last year, 81% of media buyers, publishers and other digital experts surveyed by Integral Ad Science (IAS) for its annual Industry Pulse Report cited mobile (both web and app-based) as a high priority for their organizations, making it the most-cited among seven possible media choices.
This year, 48% of the 230 experts surveyed cited mobile (again, both web and app) as a high priority.
Still, that was about on par with social media (cited by 47%), although somewhat lower than CTV (54%) and digital video/OTT (57%).
Given that mobile ad spend is expected to reach $117.35 billion in 2021, to account for 68.5% of total U.S. digital ad spend, according to eMarketer, it certainly deserves high-priority attention.
Further, the digital pros confirm that they see unprecedented new mobile marketing opportunities ahead this year.
Nearly three quarters (72%) said that increasing mobile video consumption will be a key opportunity for ad buyers and sellers.
Two-thirds (66%) said that sophisticated tools to assess the content within apps will drive innovation in contextual mobile advertising.
And 58% said that expanding 5G adoption will improve the mobile gaming experience, opening new advertising opportunities.
“While mobile has been a widely adopted device for years, increased video consumption, paired with new technologies solidify its value,” notes IAS’ researchers. “Specifically, evolving technologies in contextual advertising and expanding 5G adoption create new opportunities on this near-universal device.”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges, of course.
In fact, nearly two thirds (65%) of the experts said they believe ad fraud will be a greater concern across mobile environments in the next 12 months.
In addition, 59% said that the blurring line between mobile web and in-app experiences will add complexity to cross-device attribution.
The online survey was fielded between September and October 2020. Media agencies and publishers represented 38% and 24% of the sample, respectively.
