Mobile ad revenue set to double in 2011

Gartner forecasts mobile ad spending to surpass £2bn this year

Worldwide mobile advertising revenue is set to double, according to forecasts from research firm Gartner.

The company predicts spend on mobile advertising will increase to $3.3bn (£2.05bn) globally from the $1.6bn generated in 2010.

Furthermore, the figure is expected to reach $20.6bn by 2015. However, not all types of mobile advertising will generate the same opportunity. Search and map-based ads will deliver the highest revenue, while video and audio ads will see the fastest growth through 2015.

"Mobile advertising is now seen as an opportunity for brands, advertisers and publishers to engage consumers in a targeted and contextual manner, thereby improving returns," said Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner.

"For that reason, mobile advertising budgets are set to increase tremendously across all categories and regions, growing from 0.5 per cent of the total advertising budget in 2010 to over 4 per cent in 2015."

Andrew Frank, research vice president at Gartner, added: "Brand marketers who want to include mobile in their advertising initiatives should have their budgets in place now to take advantage of mass consumer adoption of smartphones and media tablets."