Marketers around the world spent twice as much advertising on mobile in the first four months of 2014 than in the same period last year, according to new research.
The latest Advertising Intelligence report from Turn reveals a number of interesting trends for digital platforms between January – April 2014, not least a staggering rise in budgets for marketing across smartphones and tablets.
Figures from the data-driven marketing and analytics company show spend on the channel rising 109% compared to last year as mobile continues its upward trajectory.
Mature markets
European marketers seem to be among those leading the migration to mobile as professionals across the continent inspired what Turn describes as “dramatic increases” in spend.
Being another key driver of growth, video advertising budgets rose 65% between the first four months of 2014 and the same period in 2013.
Rather than subtracting from the money spent on some of the more traditional digital ad formats, like display, the figures show the hype around channels like video only carrying benefits for the wider industry.
According to Turn’s report, display is continuing to see a steady rise in spend as it shows clear signs of maturing. Static placements upped their contribution by 20% compared to figures from last year, with social media seeing the same increase.
Competition intensifies
As competition across social, mobile and video channels increases, so too does the amount marketers have to pay in order to get themselves heard.
With more brands than ever now using Twitter and Facebook for marketing, the effective cost-per-thousand impressions (eCPM) on social media has risen 64% year on year.
Pierre Naggar, managing director for Turn’s EMEA wing, says brands are attempting to get around this obstacle by using programmatic techniques to gain an edge on the competition.
Elsewhere display is costing 21% more in terms of eCPM, with mobile seeing an 8% rise.