TV IS STILL MOST POPULAR – YET AD BUDGETS SHIFT TO MOBILE

Despite all the talk of digital media, on the face of it , TV holds its own – for now, at least. According to the latest IPA Touchpoint Report, adults spend 4 hours and 35 minutes per day watching TV. Millennials spend 45 minutes more on social media than their elders, yet even they give TV a greater share of their time than any other media.

Nonetheless, 60% of respondents are attempting to have a joined-up approach to attribution; by endeavouring to implement it across all their media channels.

According to a recent study by eMarketer, it will be 2019 before TV loses out to digital media. Yet, already 64% of advertising budgets are being spent on digital platforms. This move to digital is driven by the desire to capture the growing band of mobile users. UK adults pass just under 30% of their total media time on their smartphones on non-calling activity, yet advertisers are spending nearer 40% of their budget on mobile advertising. Mobile ad expenditure is expected to rise to over 50% by 2019 whilst its usage is predicted to remain pretty constant at just over 30%.

Why are advertisers spending disproportionate amounts on mobile advertising and why is this gap set to increase? Part of the reason comes from the vexed problem of ad viewability. In-app ad display has 81% viewability compared to the 52% of standard Internet display. Smartphones are very personal and are not shared in the same way that PCs are so you can pinpoint your audience with greater accuracy. Nearly 70% of all Internet consumption in 2017 is via mobile, according to IAS’ Media Quality Report. And, of course, uniquely mobiles are in a world of their own when it comes to geographic-specific advertising. That all said, audience accuracy will still be largely dependent upon the ability of digital platforms such as Facebook, to get their audience figures right.