Mobile ad budgets rose 56% to £1.7bn in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period in 2015. This means 36p in every £1 spent on internet advertising now goes on smartphones, up from 4p just five years ago, according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK / PwC Digital Adspend report.
People’s increasing dependence on smartphones is shown by 82% of owners checking them within an hour of waking up, while 86% of 18-34s do so within 30 minutes, according to an online YouGov survey. Smartphones are now the primary source of news for 30% of owners, rising to 42% among 25-34 year olds.
UKOM, the official body that measures online behaviour, shows that in June, UK adults spent 46% of their internet time on a mobile compared to 41% on a desktop or laptop. However, women are likely to devote more of their internet time to mobiles – spending over half (52%) their internet time on them – as are 16-24 year olds who devote 61% of their internet time to mobiles.
“People use their mobiles today more like a computer than a phone, being increasingly dependent on them as the hub for information, entertainment and communications,” said the IAB UK’s Chief Strategy Officer, Tim Elkington. “The wider range of activities and longer time people spend on them is why companies are raising mobile budgets. It’s also a more effective way for advertisers to deliver more relevant and immediate offers such as those related to certain locations or time of day.”
People’s rising reliance on smartphones for entertainment and information is shown by video advertising on mobiles being the fastest growing ad format – spend rose 129% to £298 million.
Social media is also a key driving force behind rising mobile budgets: 93% of smartphone owners check their phones soon after waking up and for 1 in 5 of these, checking social media is the first thing they do, rising to 29% of 18-34s.
Advertisers spent an extra 64% marketing their products and services on mobile social media websites and apps in the first half of this year. This means 80% of social media advertising is now allocated to mobile, with just 20% going to computer and tablet campaigns.
The IAB / PwC study shows that in the first half of 2016 companies spent a record £4.78 billion to serve ads to people whilst they went online across mobile, desktops and tablets, a 16.4% annual rise.
Outside video and social media, the fastest growing online ad format was Content & Native. Companies increased spend on these ads – designed to look like content, such as ‘advertorials’ and ads in social media news feeds – by 29% to £451 million.
