Mobile marketing to grow by 40% a year

Analysts ABI Research are bullishly speculating that mobile marketing will increase by over 40% a year up to 2015.

ABI research says mobile marketing in 2009 was worth well under £350 million ($500 million), which by our rough calculations means that by 2015 mobile marketing will be hitting around £1.8 billion ($2.57 billion) a year.

ABI’s mobile marketing strategies practice director Neil Strother believes the factors behind the 40% growth will many. “Compared to campaigns in more traditional media, mobile marketing can be relatively inexpensive. Moreover, ads can be highly targeted and naturally paired with rich mobile content that growing numbers of consumers are accessing through smart mobile devices.”

Mobile applications are also “eyeball magnets” that offer a fast-track to potential customers. More than three billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s store alone. While not all mobile apps are ad-supported, some are, and some brands are creating their own apps. Also, the advent of HTML 5 will enable brands to offer Web-based apps and services aimed at wider mobile audiences.

Strother cautions that there are some potential factors that could limit the growth, “Mobile is still fragmented by the lack of standardised device platforms, networks, and web browsers, and the need for different campaign formats for different kinds of messages. Other inhibitors include ‘reluctant’ (mobile ad-resistant) users, limited mobile ad budgets, and a lack of experience with this emerging medium.”

Strother recommends that anyone entering into the market should first establish their objectives, and understand their customers’ mobile behaviour, before devising a mobile marketing plan.