What is Driving Rapid Growth in the Australian Mobile Advertising Market?

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1 What is Driving Rapid Growth in the Australian Mobile Advertising Market? Author: Phil Harpur Published: 10 Dec 2013 Key Takeaway The Australian mobile advertising market grew very strongly during 2013 by fuelled by strong growth in consumer media consumption on both smartphones and tablets, and growing acceptance of the mobile channel by media agencies. For the 12 months to June 2013, expenditure grew by 180% to reach $130 million. Australia s mobile advertising market now ranks 4th in size by revenue, behind Japan, China and Korea within the Asia Pacific region. It is now increasingly being seen as an important part of the overall advertising strategy of both media agencies and brands. The Australian mobile advertising market is expected to grow strongly in Strong growth is predicted over the next five years with a CAGR between 2013 and 2018 of 39% and Australia is predicted to be a strong contributor to growth across the APAC region during that time. I. Australian Mobile Advertising Market Gains Strong Momentum in 2013 For the 12 months to June 2013, expenditure grew by 180% to reach $130 million. Expenditure on ads served on tablets accounted for just over half of this spend. Mobile search and online display both grew very strongly. Mobile search advertising continues to grow strongly, in line with growing use of mobile search which has increased substantially over the past few years. In particular, the mobile channel is being used more frequently by consumers for the initial investigation into a product, as it is readily accessible and thus often the first screen people turn to. Mobile advertising has grown consistently across a wider range of industry verticals. Growth has been consistently strong across both mature and less mature industries. The fastest adopting and most progressive industries over the last five years have included the Banking & Finance, Automotive, Entertainment and the Telco and IT OEM sectors including handset manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, and Sony. These industries have continued to lead the market over the past 12 months, and have doubled in mobile advertising usage. The Australian mobile advertising market is expected to grow strongly in 2014 and strong growth is predicted over the next five years for the Australian mobile advertising market, with expenditure forecast to reach $682 million by 2018, with a CAGR between 2013 and 2018 of 39%. By that time tablets are predicted to account for 70% of overall mobile advertising spend, whilst smartphones are predicted to account for 30%. The market will be driven by rising penetration of both smartphones and especially tablets, and increasing amounts of mobile content available for advertising opportunities on both of these devices. II. Growing Consumer Engagement on Mobile Devices

2 The biggest driver of the local mobile advertising market is the fast growing usage and penetration rates of both smartphones and tablets. The mobile device has transitioned from a device primarily used for voice and text to a more sophisticated multi-functional device with usage patterns centred around its mobile media capabilities, in particular access to web browsing and apps, which is driving strong opportunities for advertisers. Smartphone ownership levels in Australia have continued to grow strongly to an estimated 73% penetration of the 15 to 65 age group in In five years time it is likely that virtually all mobile phones will have smartphone functionality built-in, and penetration of smartphones amongst the 15 to 65 year old age group will reach 93%. A smartphone is a deeply personal device, thus the barrier is much higher in terms of what consumers will tolerate with regards to mobile advertising. Consumers can be less receptive to mobile ads as they see them as more of an intrusion. But once this barrier is overcome, it enables the potential for deeper consumer engagement by brands at a more personal level. Tablet household penetration has also increased significantly, rising from 33% in 2012 to 49% in 2013, and is expected to continue to grow strongly over the next few years. Growth in tablets will outpace that of smartphones, which are a more mature device closer to maximum penetration. Penetration of tablets amongst Australian households is predicted to increase from 49% in 2013 to 80% in However, the full potential for mobile advertising on tablets still however needs to evolve. Higher levels of engagement are possible on tablets, due to the more immersive experience that tablets can provide. III. Higher Engagement From Ad Agencies 2013 has seen a significant leap forward in acceptance and awareness amongst agencies and brands of the importance and effectiveness of mobile advertising. Higher demand is now coming for premium mobile ad solutions, which are now seen as an essential part of an integrated advertising campaign buy covering both traditional / offline channels and online channels. In particular, more retail companies are choosing to integrate mobile advertising into their advertising campaigns, rather than treat it as a stand-alone advertising product. This trend will continue strongly into IV. Adoption of Rich Ad Formats is Growing The adoption of rich media ad formats continues to grow strongly. Formats now used include expandable banner ads enabling advertisers to incorporate videos, galleries, maps and interactive forms into their mobile advertising campaigns as well as sectional sponsorships and video advertising. HTML5 enables more dynamic and richer mobile content to be developed across all mobile devices, and also enables the serving of rich media ads across all these devices. It is particularly suited to smartphones as such content makes better use of the smaller screen. The more fluid and dynamic page structure of HTML5 enables the building of rich media applications such as expandable banners and other widget functions, as well as animation. Most rich media ads are

3 now produced in HTML5. The Australian market is seeing a high proportion of rich media enter the mobile advertising market. Network latency has been a major inhibitor in the development of rich media mobile content. Due to its relatively fast 3G and 4G mobile networks, and also the high penetration of both smartphones and tablets, this is leading to an ideal environment in Australia for the creation of rich media content by online publishers and mobile agencies. Australia is now currently among the leading nations in terms of rich media ad production. Mobile ad networks / agencies such as Big Mobile, InMobi and MobeSeek now produce the majority of their new inventory using rich media. The gap between the level of technical sophistication or complexity of rich media ads that can be served on mobile apps compared to m-sites has narrowed significantly over the past few years. Mobile app functionality used to be far superior, however m-sites have now almost bridged the gap. Improvements in smartphone functionality over the past few years have opened up opportunities to develop new features into rich media ad inventory. Smartphones are equipped with sensors such as camera accelerometers to measure movement and vibration, and gyroscopes to measure direction, as well as microphones and speaker phones. All of these features can be potentially utilised within mobile advertising. V. Improvements in Mobile Ad Targeting Mobile ad targeting has been available as a tool in mobile ad serving in Australia for around four years now, however techniques have improved significantly over the last year. Targeting techniques are beginning to increase mobile ad yields for publishers and are more beneficial for brands, which can more accurately target their audiences. Targeting criteria currently used on mobile ad campaigns include: age, gender, mobile carrier, type of mobile device, geography (location), day parting (targeting consumers according to times division throughout the day) and propensity clusters (consumer segmentation by behavioural categories). Online publishers are beginning to leverage Data Management Platforms (DMPs) in the mobile space to gain access to large audiences, via both first party and third party data, and can target customers more accurately via better data intelligence. Mobile ad networks / agencies are now also beginning to partner with mobile operators to tap into the rich data reserves. They can now learn a lot about the customer and more accurately target them on specific sites. This article was authored by Phil Harpur, Senior Research Manager, Australia and New Zealand, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific. Media queries, please contact (mailto:djeremiah@frost.com) VI. APPENDIX Legal Disclaimer

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5 Partnering with our clients team, in addition to delivering our best practices research and experience, to ensure success. 1. Mobile advertising comprises advertising specifically sold to be served on either smartphones or tablets. 2. Tablets were included in forecasts for the first time in Frost & Sullivan, Mobile Device Usage Trends Report, Frost & Sullivan, Mobile Device Usage Trends Report, 2013