Mobile ad spending to top $3.3b this year

Brands around the world are set to spend $3.3 billion (Dh12.1 billion) on advertising placed on mobile phones in 2011, with maps and ads shown in response to searches securing the highest revenue, research group Gartner predicted. The research group said the $3.3 billion forecast would be more than double that generated in 2010 as brands and advertisers seek to reach consumers who are constantly using their mobile phones. The explosion in popularity of smartphones and media tablets such as Apple's iPad has also boosted the market for mobile advertising, with North America and Western Europe leading the way. "Mobile advertising is now recognised 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 per cent of the total advertising budget in 2010 to over 4 per cent in 2015." Baghdassarian said mobile search, which would include paid positioning on maps informed by the user's location, would drive the spending on mobile. From / Gulf News