The growth was predominantly driven by the significant increase in smartphone display revenue (114%), with tablet display advertising revenue growing by 47%.
According to the AOP & Deloitte Digital Publishers Revenue Index Report (DPRI), publishers saw a growth of 5.6% in overall advertising revenues, a slower growth rate than previous quarters. Online video remains a growing source of revenue, with digital publishers seeing over 17% growth compared to the same period last year.
Significantly, year-on-year desktop display advertising revenues shrunk by 6% in the first quarter of 2015, suggesting that some of the desktop display market has shifted towards mobile display advertising. With media consumption increasingly occurring through smartphones, online publishers are seeing the most revenue growth from mobile digital advertising, a trend that is currently showing no signs of stopping.
AOP Managing Director, Tim Cain, commented: “The shape of revenue continues to reflect the increasing consumption of media on mobile devices. We are beginning to see a change in digital advertising platforms and formats, which is shown in the figures. This is a trend that is likely to continue as consumers’ behaviour changes and new devices are released.”
Howard Davies, Deloitte media partner, said: “Publishers that have adapted to technological changes have been rewarded with strong first quarter revenue growth from mobile advertisements. From this research, it is clear that publishers must ensure they remain agile in the face of rapidly changing consumption habits in order to remain commercially successful.”
AOP Sentiment Index
The AOP DPRI is complemented by the AOP Sentiment Index Report, which questions AOP board members on how they anticipate the market to perform over the coming 12 months.
AOP members’ confidence in the financial prospects of the industry continued to increase, however, this quarterly optimism about their individual companies has fallen.
