UK mobile advertising spend continues to surge ahead

2011 IAB figures show 157% growth

The UK continues to cement its position as one of the most exciting markets for mobile advertising. Figures recently released by the IAB show a 157% growth in mobile advertising when comparing 2011 with 2010. This has taken the total value of the market up from £83 million in 2010, to £203.2 million in 2011.

This is genuinely exciting stuff, but what is even more exciting is how small this figure might one day seem to be in comparison with the overall potential for the market. According to the same IAB report, mobile advertising might now be a market worth just over £203 million. However, during the same period UK internet advertising was worth over £4.5 billion. This means that mobile advertising has generated just under 5% of the total UK internet advertising revenue. Even UK direct mail was worth about £1.73 billion or just under 6 times the entire worth of the mobile advertising market.

Mobile phones are among the most personal of personal possessions, allowing users to interact with them with much more engagement than with other mediums such as direct mail or television. No other medium offers a way in which to reach a potential audience in such an intimate fashion. At least not yet!

So while these recent figures may look impressive, if viewed 3 years from now, we might then see these figures as a small fraction of what the market as actually achieved.