Brief:

• Spending on mobile advertising is set to make up 43% of the total U.S. ad market by 2020, exceeding total spending on all traditional media, researcher eMarketer forecasts. Ad dollars will follow audiences that are abandoning traditional media in favor of mobile platforms, Martín Utreras, VP of forecasting, said in the firm's press release.
• This year, mobile will account for $76.17 billion of ad spending, rising above TV's $69.87 billion, print's $18.74 billion, radio's $14.41 billion and out-of-home' $8.08 billion. EMarketer predicts this trend will continue in the next few years, as mobile's estimated ad spending of $141.36 billion in 2022 is more than double that of TV at $68.13 billion.
• Digital video growth on social media platforms and video-sharing sites like YouTube will underpin the shift of ad dollars to mobile media, per the report, as the advertising "duopoly" Facebook and Google will continue to see double-digit growth in mobile.

Insight:

EMarketer's latest forecast highlights the tectonic shift in ad spending as audiences spend more time consuming content on mobile devices in lieu of traditional media like TV, radio and print. Digital giants Facebook, Google and increasingly, Amazon, are well positioned to offer advertisers almost unmatched audience targeting based on the valuable swath of data they collect on users. Meanwhile, their self-serve ad management systems let marketers of all sizes — from local small businesses to multinational brands — more easily run campaigns that align with their budgets and assess metrics.

Advertisers likely will benefit from the continuing shift in viewing habits to streaming video as more U.S. households cancel pay-TV subscriptions. Livestreaming viewers are more likely to engage with ads included with their content, such as pre-roll video or sponsored ads, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Livestreaming also helps viewers better remember the brands advertised, and makes it more likely for them to click on ads and visit brands' websites than paid content on TV or live programming, the association said.

For app developers and content creators, the shift in ad dollars provides a significant opportunity to monetize their creative work. More than three quarters (77%) of brands have asked their media agencies to buy in-app ad placements due to their favorable metrics, according to a Sapio Research survey commissioned by Fyber. In-app inventory will account for 43% of overall digital advertising budgets within the next five years, up from 34% currently, per the survey, which aligns with eMarketer's latest report around the predicted surge in mobile ad spending.