Nearly three quarters (72%) of UK mobile ad buyers are making the most of users’ mobile data when planning their ad campaigns, a new study from ExchangeWire and Verve has revealed.
According to the research, data has had a direct impact on the increase in creative ad formats like ‘tap to map’ and ‘smart-rise’ video. Almost a quarter (22%) of the 204 surveyed media professionals based in the UK maximise mobile data using more than four different ad formats, compared to just 3% of marketers who are not.
Marketers also admitted that incorporating data into mobile campaign creative improved brand awareness (50%) as well as direct response (30%). For some (14%), it also lifted ROI (Return on Investment) and only 6% have not noted any difference.
ExchangeWire’s head of research and analytics, Becca Muir, believes this is great news for mobile ad buyers, and that a more accurate understanding of mobile consumption will help unlock the use of innovative formats which in turn improve user experience.
“The industry is likely to see huge benefits as a result of better creativity and targeting; most significant being a decrease in the use of ad blockers,” she commented.
According to Verve’s general manager international, Ian James, mobile is at the heart of digital marketing and therefore the importance and accessibility of data is now increasingly taken into account.
“Unlocking the value of multiple data sets, online and offline, is the future of mobile storytelling – and this requires continued collaboration from the mobile ad buyers. Data is the pivotal tool for brands to get closer to their customers,” he explained.
Good news for the user?
Despite the study bringing positive news for mobile ad buyers, ads continue to swallow a big chunk of users’ mobile data.
According to 2016 research by services company Enders Analysis, ad content takes up between 18% and 79% of the mobile data transferred, with JavaScript and visual elements such as animations adding an extra 6% to 68%.
While an increasing number of consumers are signed up to unlimited data plans, rich ad formats are regularly responsible for sluggish page loads. Meanwhile, those that aren’t on these data plans might take issue with advertisers playing fast and loose with their bandwidth allowances.
