Asia’s Mobile Advertising Marketplace Has Gone Full Circle

The latest developments in mobile advertising will see brands creating richer, more immersive mobile ad campaigns, while the next generation of smaller brands, businesses and apps will bolster spend on standard mobile ad banners. The mobile advertising ecosystem is expanding and will start to command a greater percentage of digital ad spend across Asia.

For the purposes of this report, mobileSQUARED has looked at 10 markets (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) representing 2.7 billion mobile subscriptions. The research reveals that the mobile advertising industry has gone full circle and now not only incorporates brands of all sizes, but is embracing the developer community also.

The model is becoming self-perpetuating and generating significant growth and opportunities for all brands and businesses alike. Consequently, mobileSQUARED forecasts mobile advertising revenues across the Asia10 region of US$3.13 billion, increasing to US$3.96 billion in 2013, and US$6.21 billion by 2015.

Of this, mobile display market will be worth US$2.02 billion in 2012 and US$2.98 billion in 2015. In 2012, mobile display will account for 64% of total mobile spend. Smartphones are driving this change.

Smaato has rapidly expanded its APAC headquarters in Singapore to capitalize on the burgeoning mobile advertising market in APAC – comprising developed markets like Singapore and Japan, and emerging ones like Indonesia and Vietnam. As a long-term investor based in Asia, EDBI is well-placed to actively connect Smaato through our business and government networks with potential partners in these countries to gain first-mover advantage and establish itself as a preferred mobile advertising partner of choice. Smaato’s focus on “Ads for Apps” will be a competitive differentiator, as mobile content creation becomes democratized, leading to mobile becoming the preferred means to engage consumers, stated Chu Swee-Yeok, Chief Executive Officer, EDBI Pte Ltd