Interviews, insight & analysis on digital media & marketing

Two in three advertisers increase mobile marketing budgets as COVID-19 drives social and m-commerce growth

The accelerative impact of COVID-19 on digital transformation has led to improvements in mobile marketing capabilities for advertisers.

Growth in m-commerce and the use of social media has provided brands with new opportunities to reach consumers, driving up mobile marketing budgets set to be worth $230bn globally in 2021 per WARC Data. However, privacy concerns could potentially hamper mobile’s growth potential. These are some of the findings included in State of the Industry 2021: Mobile Marketing in EMEA, an annual report released today by WARC in association with MMA EMEA, providing a current snapshot into how brands, agencies, media owners and tech vendors see the impact of mobile – its use as a tool for advertising effectively, as well as opportunities and concerns – as they adapt to changing consumer behaviours brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report is based on an online survey of 575 marketing professionals – a mix of client-side, agency, media owner and technology vendor marketers – carried out in April and May 2021 from over 30 markets by WARC , in association with MMA EMEA.

State of the Industry 2021: Mobile Marketing in EMEA highlights the following key insights

1. The majority of marketing professionals are expecting growth in their mobile budgets this year In the 2020 survey, two in five (39%) were expecting an increase in the mobile marketing budget. This year, two in three (66%) say the same, indicating more confidence in both market conditions and in mobile as a channel.

2. Social is by far the most used marketing channel with mobile 87% of respondents are using social in their mobile marketing strategy and, on average, a third of the mobile budget goes toward social. YouTube and Facebook are the platforms most used for display marketing.

3. M-commerce is one of the most important industry changes during COVID-19 Overall, 68% of respondents are seeing increased m-commerce capabilities and two in five (42%) say uptake of m-commerce is one of the most important consumer behaviours.

4. Mobile marketing needs to overcome privacy concerns to realise growth potential As we approach the end of the third party cookie as a means to target and measure, marketing professionals are facing more pressure. Three in five predict they’ll be affected by the ‘death’ of the cookie.

5. Video is catching up to non-video display as the leading form of mobile monetisation for media owners and tech enablers. Subscriptions/memberships and e-commerce are also key focus areas.

6. The future of mobile technology seeks to connect the online and offline, particularly through AI and machine learning, IoT and voice Respondents are investing significant portions of their budgets into mobile technology to ensure they keep up with the latest innovations in the industry, especially as interest in AI continues.

Summing up, Amy Rodgers, Managing Editor Research and Rankings, WARC, said: “As we emerge from the pandemic, with many workforces still working remotely and social and m-commerce technologies rapidly developing, mobile will play an important part in marketing strategies, as indicated by the acceleration of mobile ad budgets and the opportunities provided to advertisers as outlined in this report.”

“Whilst we have unsurprisingly seen an increase in mobile budgets across the region in the last year, we, at the MMA, have also taken a broader sounding on the future of marketing from marketers. One of their key insights is that digital transformations (which include mobile by definition) have accelerated significantly’, commented Chris Babayode, MD, MMA EMEA. “Getting stuff done took weeks not months. This trend is all set to continue, and we expect this to feed through as per the findings in our annual report across social, m-commerce, organisational structures, data and privacy governance.”

A sample report is available to download here. The full report, now in its sixth year, is available to WARC subscribers and MMA members. A similar report will be released later in the year for the APAC region.

News

More posts from ->

DOOH

Dentsu and Out of Home Capital form global strategic partnership

Dentsu, one of the largest global marketing and advertising agency networks in the world, and OOH Capital Ltd, the complete out of home advisory, have announced a new commercial partnership focused on delivering mutually beneficial solutions for brands, retailers and municipal authorities…

Read More ->

Related articles

Mobile

What did MWC 2023 tell us about the future impact of AI on brand experiences and activations?

MWC 2022 was a prototype really, a post-covid test of the fidelity and fragility of in-person mega-events. This year, however, was ‘proper’, with attendee numbers back near 90,000 and barely a mask in sight – but how did AI feature this year, and what did we learn about the future of AI and mobile interactivity, from a brand experience perspective?

Mobile

A winning approach for non-gaming app growth

In an effort to understand what is behind the growth of non-game apps over the past year, AppLovin noticed some key similarities between the ad tech strategies used by both counterparts to reach new audiences. What we found is that with the help of the right ad partner, there is vast potential for mobile marketers to successfully scale their app – whatever the vertical focus.

Mobile

Digital inclusivity: Improving lives, no matter the generation

When it comes to smartphones and digital devices blanket stereotypes are too often assigned to entire generations. For Gen Z, who have grown up with smartphones, there is a perception that they are hooked on their personal devices, forever heads down in the latest social media trend.