Mobile ad spending to surpass $1 billion in the U.S.

For the first time ever, annual spending on mobile advertising is expected to exceed $1 billion in the United States.  Market research firm eMarketer predicts that the total will reach somewhere around $1.23 billion by the end of the year, nearly double 2010's mark of $743 million.  EMarketer credits the immense growth to increased confidence in the medium, which has been bolstered by more bang for their investment buck in the fast-growing mobile market.  With 38% of consumers using smartphones to access the internet at least once per month, it's no wonder.

EMarketer used three kinds of advertising for their calculation: display ads, search ads and message-based ads.  While spending on display advertising (rich media, banners) saw a big jump from $202 million to $376 million, it is video ads that skyrocketed 100% from $28 million to $56 million.  Messaging-based ads, which make up the largest chunk of the bunch, actually saw the smallest increase in spending, from $327 million to $443 million.

$1 billion dollars is just the tip of the iceberg.  According to eMarketer's forecast, that number will nearly quadruple in the next four years to $4.4 billion in 2015.  The numbers are staggering.

Source: eMarketer; Via: Moconews

Seth Brodeur