Millennial Mom Insights
August 26, 2019
by Emma Antoine-Portinari
Mobile advertising has quickly become the dominant form of marketing communication for companies and advertisers. This year alone, U.S. advertisers will spend more than two-thirds of their digital budgets on mobile ad placements. New market research tells us why.
Higher mobile consumption
This year marks the first time in history that U.S. consumers will spend more time on their mobile devices than watching TV, with smartphone use comprising the majority of their media consumption. Also for the first time, the number of U.S. smartphone users will surpass the number of desktop/laptop users. What are these consumers doing on their devices? They're spending the majority of their time in apps, and they're projected to download more than 350 billion of them by 2021. Looking forward to the next two years, these trends are expected to continue to increase, with smartphone use and consumption growing greater each year.
Increase in mobile media buys
With consumers engaging more and more with in-app environments, advertisers are making the move toward greater use of in-app advertising. Media dollars are increasingly being spent in-app and will account for 82.6% of mobile ad purchasing this year, amounting to a total spend of $77.03 billion.
What's especially interesting is how those ad dollars are being distributed — according to Forrester Consulting, most advertisers allocate their in-app budget fairly equally between native, display, video and social media ad formats. In addition, advertisers are particular about the types of apps they'll appear in, with health and lifestyle-focused apps ranking among the most popular.
Finding the value
Because approximately 89% of mobile browsing time is spent in apps, the in-app environment has become the most consistent place for ads to get views. Advertisers are finding that in-app advertising not only allows for better targeting, but increases customer engagement with their ads. Advertisers report feeling that in-app advertising inventory of all varieties provides them with high quality content. In-app advertising has also been shown to have a major impact on the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. A survey by Sapio Research revealed just how valuable mobile placements are for advertisers, finding that in-app ads improve ROI of campaigns by an average of 41%.
Reaping the benefits of in-app ads
In-app advertising is becoming the single most important channel for advertisers to communicate with their target audience. Consumers are demanding more mobile experiences, in turn creating opportunities for companies to engage with them through digital content and mobile channels they love interacting with.
Brands hoping to connect with millennials and Gen-Z need to take on a mobile-first mindset. Ovia Health offers leading brands a diverse suite of mobile-first, high-impact, and native advertising solutions to help you reach your audience with our first-party targeting. To learn more, visit oviahealth.com/advertise or email us at advertise@oviahealth.com.