Change is something that all marketers are familiar with. The state of certain marketing platforms, tactics, and results are constantly changing, so it is often difficult to keep up and stay afloat. The constant change causes marketers to become confused, often wondering if what seems like the right move today, will still be a smart move a few months from now. However, today is the day for something that has not and does not seem to be changing in mobile marketing. It is information that marketers can rely upon, knowing that it has not budged in quite some time. Apple’s success in serving mobile ads has, in the past, trumped Google’s Android, and according to a report from Opera, it still is.
Opera Software, the company behind the relatively famous Opera internet browser, releases a quarterly report entitled, “The State of Mobile Advertising.” Just on Friday, the company released its report for Q3 of this year. In it, the company revealed that Apple still leads the way in mobile ads with a significantly higher eCPM than Google’s Android.
Here is a section from their highlights page:
iOS continues to deliver the highest eCPM
This quarter, iOS led the pack again with a $1.64 eCPM with iPad and iPhone garnering $4.42 and $1.48 eCPMs respectively. Android slipped down in the rankings with $0.88, well below RIM at $1.06.
For a long time I though Google Android to be the more successful of the two battling platforms when it came to mobile marketing. Sure Android gets the most use from consumers, and people tend to favor Android as their mobile platform, but Apple has been doing some amazing things in the way of mobile advertising that Google just has not been doing. This is what has led to their $0.76 higher eCPM.
Android will still be ahead for a long time in the actual smartphone market, but it seems that Apple has developed a significant lead in actual mobile advertising and eCPM. This slightly changes my opinion on who leads the way in the mobile market, as it probably does for many others.
The rest of Opera’s report covers things like what brings in the most ad revenue and, “App vs. Web.” Here is another highlight from the report regarding sports and their impact in mobile marketing.
Sports became the no. 1 category for mobile ad revenue, and mobile sites and apps in the Music, Video & Media category also grew this quarter, with both capturing 30% of overall revenue, making them the highest earners. However, Business, Finance & Investing properties consistently generate more revenue per impression than any other category.
I never knew about Opera’s quarterly report, which now makes me feel a bit behind on my reading. Regardless, it provides a lot of substantial information that marketers can use, such as this fact that sports are apparently the new “in” thing for advertising. Clearly, the more interesting data here is that regarding Apple’s domination of the mobile ad game, though, and the rest is simply a bonus.
