Dive Brief:

• Recent research from Polar found that branded content garners more engagement in time spent on smartphones and tablets over desktops.
• According to Polar, time spent on smartphones is 63% higher than desktops. The same research, as reported by Marketing Land, uncovered that smartphones get 127% higher clickthrough rates as well.
• Per Polar, publishers that partner with advertisers that are closely aligned with both their editorial strategy and core audience are seeing higher levels of engagement with branded content.

Dive Insight: 

"Several factors can be attributed to the smartphone’s dominance in time spent. The linear path of the reader ensures there are less distractions and less chances to click away from the sponsored content. As well, content is increasingly tailor-made for the format," Polar explained to Marketing Land.

Having a mobile-first strategy is essentially non-negotiable for marketers today. With nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers owning smartphones, the category has taken a huge leap in terms of grabbing both attention and ad dollars.

Google announced that mobile searches outpaced desktop searches last year, but at the same recent research from ClickZ found that 56% of marketers viewed themselves as beginners in mobile marketing.

Troy Smith, president of Search Optics, recently told Marketing Dive, "It seems that many businesses have not yet developed a truly mobile-first approach to digital marketing strategy. ... A full 46% of marketers surveyed said they do not believe that their current mobile advertising spend is in line with their customers' consumption of media through mobile."

Polar’s research is one more signal that marketers should be focused on the mobile channel.