The State of Mobile Advertising in Canada
Of all the shifting landscapes in marketing, mobile advertising is the most dramatic. For advertisers, it’s the greenest platform with the most opportunity for strategy adjustments, and while there are some pitfalls for the savvy marketer to manage, namely CTRs and conversions. Having a better understanding of this landscape can be the difference between being a pop up ad, and providing something people want to engage with and buy.
THE MAJORITY OF CANADIANS OWN SMARTPHONES
61.5 percent of Canadians now own a smartphone, and three-fourths of internet users in total own them. This means that most internet users are reachable on mobile, making it a very viable platform for advertisers.
That’s two-thirds of the country on smartphones, and the rest, well…
FAST 4G LTE CONNECTIONS ARE GROWING QUICKLY
The number of fast 4G LTE connections is on the rise in Canada, surpassing even the growth rate in the United States. Canada’s adoption rate is at 54 percent, and by 2020 will hit 76 percent. In the same period, 4G LTE data use will likely rise from 83 percent up to 95 percent of all mobile data usage.
The adoption rate is growing at same rate that these basketball players are getting taller — and closer to the net. Clearly, the growth is advantageous.
These faster connections give advertisers more freedom with their creative — elaborate and data-hungry advertisements can be deployed more with less caution.
TIME SPENT CONSUMING MEDIA ON SMARTPHONES SECOND ONLY TO TV
In 2016, Canadians consumed media on their smartphones for an average of two hours and 20 minutes a day. This is second only to that extended family member in the living room: the TV. Time spent watching TV is declining, but only by a small amount per day.
However, every year, mobile is taking more and more time away from desktop and laptop media consumption — an important consideration when planning your digital budget.
AD SPENDING ON MOBILE IS INCREASING BUT STILL DOESN’T MATCH TIME SPENT ON MOBILE
Marketers do take mobile seriously as an advertising platform, and mobile ad spending has increased a dramatic 55 percent between 2015 and 2016. However, the average percentage of a budget spent on mobile advertising (17.7 percent) is still significantly behind the percentage of time consumers spend on the platform (25.7 percent). This shows a lingering lack of confidence in mobile spending.
Not investing in mobile is a bit like stubbornly sticking to an old technology:
MOST CANADIANS WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA DO SO ON MOBILE
Of all Canadian social media users, 87.9 percent of them are checking their accounts on mobile. When using social media as an advertising platform, it’s important to keep mobile optimization a priority.
Increasingly, content is being consumed directly from social media rather than websites. Facebook even has a program called Instant Articles that hosts news content from verified publishers to keep users on the platform longer. Social media will remain a growing consideration for marketers looking to expand their audience reach in the future.
With nine out of ten social media users checking their social on mobile, that’s only one person missing out: