The Kelsey Group, a division of BIA Advisory Services, forecasts mobile search advertising revenues in Western Europe to grow from 39 million euros in 2008 to 2.3 billion euros in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 125.4 percent. Revenues for the local segment of mobile search will grow from 18 million euros in 2008 to 1.4 billion euros in 2013, a 139.3 percent CAGR. Mobile display ad revenues for the region will grow from 14 million euros in 2008 to 1.1 billion euros in 2013, a 138.3 percent CAGR.
A comparison with Kelsey’s U.S. mobile ad forecast released earlier this year shows Western Europe leads the U.S. in adoption and monetization of mobile local media, primarily due to the greater number of mobile handsets in the region — 499 million in 2008, compared with 266 million in the United States.
Additional findings from the U.S. mobile ad forecast include:U.S. mobile search ad revenues will grow from US$39 million (27 million euros) in 2008 to US$2.3 billion (1.6 billion euros) in 2013. U.S. mobile local search ad revenues will increase from US$20 million (14 million euros) in 2008 to US$1.3 billion (915 million euros) in 2013. U.S. mobile display ad revenues will grow from US$21 million (15 million euros) in 2008 to US$567 million (399 million euros) in 2013.
“In addition to the higher number of mobile subscribers in the region, rapid proliferation of smartphones is helping drive the growth in mobile advertising,” said Michael Boland, program director for Kelsey’s mobile local media practice. “Our forecast indicates the number of smartphones in Western Europe will grow at a 35.7 percent CAGR during the forecast period, from 32 million in 2008 to 149 million in 2013.”