33% Increase in the use of mobile

Recent research from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), shows that 98% of UK agencies include mobile advertising in their portfolios, and the demand for mobile campaigns is still growing.

Figures show that there has been a 33% growth in the use of mobile, compared to last year and, at present, mobile is a regular service proposed to clients for more than one quarter of the agencies. However, almost three-quarters of the polled agencies believe that the main obstacle to delivering more mobile advertising is the lack of understanding and awareness from clients.

Overall, almost all of the polled agencies spend money on mobile and 94% invest in tablet advertising, with well over half of the respondents saying that mobile is cost effective and provides better value for money in comparison to other channels.

Whereas 50% of the quizzed agency workers claim they have a good understanding of mobile advertising, just over 10% consider themselves prepared to deal with near field communication (NFC). By contrast, almost 75% of consumers would like to see NFC services provided, so the survey suggests that agencies need to focus on developing this area of advertising.

This is the fourth year in a row when the IAB prepares its annual report on the state of the mobile industry from the agencies’ perspective. This year’s survey, which was carried out in October, interviewed more than 400 employees from 23 agencies across the UK, making it the largest study on the industry so far.