As consumers grow more attached to their mobile phones and devices, marketers keep the cash flowing into app advertising.
Mobile ad spending continued rising in 2014 and is expected to reach $28.7 billion this year, according to eMarketer's "State of U.S. Digital Advertising" report released this month. Desktop spending totaled $31.6 billion in 2014, down from $32.4 billion in 2013, and mobile ad spending totaled $19.2 billion in 2014, up from $10.7 billion in the previous year. The eMarketer report shows a continued decline in desktop ad spending for the next four years. Additionally, the report finds that mobile ad spending is expected to nearly double desktop ad spending by 2017, with an estimated $25 billion spent on desktop advertising and $49.8 billion spent on mobile advertising.
Consumer in-app mobile use has increased in the past two years, a trend that is expected to continue, said eMarketer senior mobile analyst Cathy Boyle, adding that features such as mobile search and location-specific tech drove the increase in mobile ad spending. Marketers favor location-specific app ads because they can gather information about consumers more efficiently than traditional mobile web advertising. Additionally, Ms. Boyle said apps offer a native, more polished environment for ads. Embedded video can be developed for a certain game, for example, offering a more controlled environment for marketers and a more natural experience for users.
