Australian advertisers invested $653m in mobile advertising in the first quarter of 2017, up 29% year-on-year. The figures, from the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia’s IAB PwC Online Advertising Expenditure Report, reveal mobile ad spend now represents more than half (53.5%) of the display advertising market – a significant increase from the 21.5% share it held three years ago. The increase in ad spend reflects the maturing mobile advertising market as well as changing consumption habits in Australia, where 63% of people’s digital time is now spent on smartphones. The findings also support the recent Mary Meeker report, which highlighted the growth of mobile and the and opportunities for advertisers. Vijay Solanki, CEO of IAB Australia, said, “Mobile continues on its steep growth trajectory, further increasing its share of general display advertising both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. This speaks to both the ubiquity of smart phones within Australia and improved mobile advertising technology and creative as brands better understand the challenges and opportunities the platform offers.” Video advertising investment is also on the rise, with ad spend surging 50% year-on-year to total $232m for Q1. The video category is led by FMCG and retail advertisers, which account for 30% of the total spend. The report revealed total online advertising spend in Australia for Q1 2017 was $1.86 million, a 7.2% increase year-on-year. All categories recorded year-on-year growth led by classifieds, which grew 15.9%, display advertising up 4.5% and search, which increased by 6% over the first quarter of 2016. “The online advertising marketing continues to surpass historical year-on-year figures across all categories,” said Solanki.
Mobile ad spend makes up more than half of the Australian display advertising market, as advertisers spent $653m during Q1 2017, a 29% YoY increase, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia’s IAB PwC Online Advertising Expenditure Report. It also announced that total online ad spend in Australia rose 50% YoY to $1.86m in the period. Video advertising was one of the driving factors behind the increase, with the category's ad spend skyrocketing 7.2% YoY for the quarter to $232m.