According to the data collected by PubMatic, mobile ad spend is skyrocketing. During the second quarter of 2020, mobile ad spend increased by 71% from a year earlier as advertisers sought to reach customers who spent more time on their mobiles during the coronavirus lockdowns. Mobile advertising spend during the second quarter of this year was 8% higher as compared to ad spend on mobile devices during the first quarter of this year.
Although smartphone advertising fell after the outset of the pandemic in March of this year, it recovered more quickly as compared to desktop advertising. Desktop advertising increased by 2% between February 26 and June 24 of this year on PMPs (private marketplaces). On the other hand, in-app advertising spend surged 391% during this period, outpacing the 52% gain for the smartphone web.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, smartphone video was hit hard, however, during the second quarter, mobile video advertising spend increased 116% over pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
Furthermore, the growth varied by region and the Americas saw a 77% increase in smartphone advertising spend during the second quarter of this year from a year earlier. In comparison, mobile ad spend increased 62% in the Asia-Pacific region while smartphone ad spend surged 61% in Europe-Middle East- Africa. Asia-Pacific region showed the fastest growth of 30% from the first quarter of this year. In comparison, the Americas showed a growth of 7% from Q1 while Europe-Middle East- Africa showed a growth of 3% from the first quarter of 2020.
The increase in smartphone ad spend since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic reflects an increase in smartphone usage among customers who used their mobile more often while stuck at home during the lockdowns. Marketers increased their spending via smartphone header bidding in programmatic auctions by twenty percent during the second quarter of this year from a year earlier. Pubmatic also cited other research to highlight various trends in smartphone usage that impacts how advertisers reach customers.
People are engaging with a wider variety of applications during the pandemic. According to App Annie data cited by Pubmatic, the top ten gaming and non-gaming applications have a smaller share of total usage this year as compared to 2016. The wider engagement of smartphone users also indicates that people have discovered new ways to use their mobiles like smartphone banking to manage their money or to participate in video-conferencing calls. This indicates that people are less dependent on a handful of applications that carry ads, and advertisers need to adjust their advertising spend accordingly.
Read next: Facebook's New Report Highlights Global Consumer Trends That'll Shape The Future
Although smartphone advertising fell after the outset of the pandemic in March of this year, it recovered more quickly as compared to desktop advertising. Desktop advertising increased by 2% between February 26 and June 24 of this year on PMPs (private marketplaces). On the other hand, in-app advertising spend surged 391% during this period, outpacing the 52% gain for the smartphone web.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, smartphone video was hit hard, however, during the second quarter, mobile video advertising spend increased 116% over pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
Furthermore, the growth varied by region and the Americas saw a 77% increase in smartphone advertising spend during the second quarter of this year from a year earlier. In comparison, mobile ad spend increased 62% in the Asia-Pacific region while smartphone ad spend surged 61% in Europe-Middle East- Africa. Asia-Pacific region showed the fastest growth of 30% from the first quarter of this year. In comparison, the Americas showed a growth of 7% from Q1 while Europe-Middle East- Africa showed a growth of 3% from the first quarter of 2020.
The increase in smartphone ad spend since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic reflects an increase in smartphone usage among customers who used their mobile more often while stuck at home during the lockdowns. Marketers increased their spending via smartphone header bidding in programmatic auctions by twenty percent during the second quarter of this year from a year earlier. Pubmatic also cited other research to highlight various trends in smartphone usage that impacts how advertisers reach customers.
People are engaging with a wider variety of applications during the pandemic. According to App Annie data cited by Pubmatic, the top ten gaming and non-gaming applications have a smaller share of total usage this year as compared to 2016. The wider engagement of smartphone users also indicates that people have discovered new ways to use their mobiles like smartphone banking to manage their money or to participate in video-conferencing calls. This indicates that people are less dependent on a handful of applications that carry ads, and advertisers need to adjust their advertising spend accordingly.
Read next: Facebook's New Report Highlights Global Consumer Trends That'll Shape The Future
