By Mark Walsh, Jul 9, 2013, 11:34 AM, MediaPost
Mobile ad revenue worldwide increased sharply last year, rising 82.8% to $8.9 billion last year from $5.3 billion in 2011. Growth was highest in North America, at 111%, followed by Western Europe (91%), Latin America (71%), Central Europe (69%), the Middle East and Africa (68%), and Asia-Pacific (60%).
The findings come from a new report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB Europe and global consulting firm IHS.
Among the regions, North America is now nearly even with Asia-Pacific in share of mobile ad sales, at 39.8% ($3.52 billion) to 40.2% ($3.55 billion). Western Europe represents 16.9% ($1.5 billion), with another steep drop-off to Central Europe at 1.3% ($112 million). The IAB earlier this year said U.S. mobile ad revenue in 2012 more than doubled to $3.4 billion.
North America has benefited from factors including a mature digital ecosystem, the presence of large mobile ad players, and having a large addressable market, noted Daniel Knapp, director advertising research at IHS, and author of the research.
