Largely driven by text-based ads, mobile advertising awareness grew 33% in nine months against a backdrop of six percent growth in cell phone usage, suggesting an increased allocation of advertising dollars to mobile formats through the first three quarters of the year, according to the Q3 US Mobile Advertising Report from Limbo and GfK Technology.
The report found that the number of Americans viewing mobile ads also passed a landmark threshold: Nearly four out of 10 (39%) of those with a cell phone (104 million) recall seeing advertising on their device between July and September 2008. This is the first time the number of US consumers aware of mobile advertising has exceeded 100 million in a three-month period.
The most commonly viewed ads were in text messages – 60 million consumers recalled seeing text message-based ads – an increase of 42% in nine months. Mobile web advertising also grew strongly, with 31 million people recalling seeing ads in this format.
Specifics about respondents who recalled seeing mobile advertising:
- 57% are male, 43% are female.
- 52% are between ages 35 and 64.
- 28% are age 50 and above and 43% are under age 34
- Their ethnic profile is similar to the US population – 68% are Caucasian, 20% are African American and 12% are Hispanic.
“In economic slowdowns, advertisers typically divert budgets from branding media to direct marketing channels and it appears that mobile media is benefiting from this in 2008,” said Limbo CEO Jonathon Linner. “Mobile offers advertisers a way to reach their core audience in an interactive and cost-effective medium. We anticipate these numbers will continue to grow as more and more advertisers experience firsthand the benefits of mobile advertising.”
“The US is the world’s dominant advertising market but has traditionally been behind Asian and European markets in terms of consumer use of mobile devices,” said Colin Strong, head of mobile communications Research at GfK Technology. “The latest Mobile Advertising Report shows that US consumers are accelerating their use of the mobile device and advertisers are hot on their tails.”
About the report: The quarterly Limbo-GfK Technology Mobile Advertising Report is designed to help marketers and their agencies understand the mobile advertising medium. The Q3 2008 report is based on a survey of 1,000 representative American adults and 1,000 UK adults who were interviewed by telephone.
