Mobile ad spends to grow at 59% CAGR by 2020: WATConsult report

WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has launched its latest report on consumer perception and effectiveness of mobile advertising. This report is their third launch from their latest property WATInsights, under its market research division, Recogn. 

The report highlights various aspects of Mobile Advertising like perception towards mobile ads, preferred ad format by end users, consumer preferences and concerns along with the effectiveness formula which works in mobile advertising. 

Adoption of the mobile device is on the rise in India. According to the report, ad spends on mobile is estimated to grow at a rate of 59 per cent CAGR by 2020. Smartphone screens have become by far the most viewed. Increasing adoption of 4G is driving this phenomenon further. 

Mobile devices are used primarily for social networking, while PCs are used to access e-mails more. 

Mobile ads are perceived to be more useful but less engaging, while desktop ads are perceived to be more engaging. 

Social media ads, video ads and e-mail ads are the most preferred mobile ad formats. Among desktop ad formats, social media ads, video ads and search ads are the highly preferred ones. Around a third of the respondents prefer SMS ads. 

Ads of categories such as electronic products, clothing & footwear, books, movies/ music/ games are highly clicked and purchased. Health & fitness and food & beverages are mostly clicked but not purchased. Jewellery, pharmaceutical products and insurance products ads do not get clicked much. 

The report adds that making an ad more interesting will increase the chances of consumers paying attention to the ads, and making it more relevant and engaging will increase the chances of consumers clicking on the ad. 

In addition to increasing the attention and click on an ad, making it more informative, useful and trustworthy will increase the chances of consumers clicking on the ads and purchasing the products. 

However, consumers feel that mobile ads appear too often and may get annoying, they are intrusive and give rise to security concerns. 

Key findings: 

• Mobile ads are perceived to be more useful but less engaging versus desktop ads which are perceived to be more engaging
• Smartphones screens are the most viewed devices for mobile ads, with 75% of the respondents using smartphone, followed by 42% who use laptops
• 4G is the most used data connection followed by 3G and WiFi
• Mobile devices are maximum used for accessing social networks and e-mails, followed by usage of wallets, watching videos or shows and online shopping
• 48% of the respondents prefer social media ads, followed by video ads, e-mail ads and search ads when it comes to mobile ad formats
• Ad categories such as clothing & footwear, electronic products, books, movies/ music/ games are highly ‘clicked and purchased’; whereas, jewellery, pharmaceutical products and insurance products ads do not get clicked much

Overall, the report deduces that majority of the respondents found mobile ads to be intrusive and irrelevant and they feared breach of privacy. 

Commenting on the findings, Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult, said, “India is going through a phase of rapid explosion in web content and internet technology and people are beginning to acknowledge the convenience internet provides today. After the roll-out of 4G, the usage has only increased at a dizzying pace. With ad spends on mobile expected to grow at a rate of 59 per cent CAGR by 2020, our research is an attempt to put forward the consumer’s point of view about mobile ads, thus helping marketers plan better campaigns.”