Popularity of mobile devices signals slowing growth for desktop ads

The trend of explosive growth in mobile advertising will continue for the foreseeable future, according to the latest research from eMarketer.com. Mobile advertising, from sources like video, rich media banners, search, and text message marketing, are projected to grow by over 75% this year and by an average of 73% over the period 2011-2017.

Desktop advertising, meanwhile, which is composed of desktop search, banner, and video platforms, is expected to see flat or declining growth over the same period.

Many in this audience have likely used desktop marketing as a campaign cornerstone for many years. But with more and more consumers using smartphones – an estimated 50% of the mobile-phone-owning population – mobile advertising promises to be the best place to allocate your marketing dollars over the coming period.

Which mobile field is growing fastest? In 2013, that honor belongs to video advertising – projected to grow at over 112%. Compare that figure to the projected growth of desktop video (35%), the only desktop advertising platform projected to post significant growth in the coming quarter.

Not surprisingly, the internet’s big players are already on board with this mobile marketing revolution. Facebook, which derived just 18% of its US ad revenue from mobile in 2012, is projected to more than double that share in 2013 to around 40% of its ad revenue. Twitter and Google have followed suit, although Google’s dominance in the desktop search market has allowed it to continue deriving most of its ad revenue from desktop sources.

The big takeaway: if you’ve been wondering whether to invest in mobile marketing and taper your desktop efforts, the answer is probably “yes.” Desktop marketing, and even some mobile platforms like SMS, should now be seen as supplementary to your mobile efforts, although developing these marketing facets is still greatly important.