Dave Katz writes:

It has been reported recently that consumer spend via mobile is on the increase this Christmas. Further confirmation has come from research indicating that 20% of the expected £4.6bn of total online shopping will be carried out using smartphones and tablets.

If consumers want to browse, research and purchase via mobile, then is it not something of a surprise that only 7% of adspend in the UK currently goes on mobile?  Isn’t that the best channel for brands to be communicating through?  The statistics above not only demonstrate how we have progressed in terms of technological growth and how we interact with brands digitally as part of our everyday lives, but they also hide the massive disparity between the investment in time from consumers on mobile device versus the money spent by brands in that same space.

Shopping on mobile has doubled in two years - almost 40% of the UK population has now shopped on a mobile at some point. However the percentage of total online adspend on mobile devices remains at around 1%. It poses the question, are brands and agencies still underestimating the power of mobile?  The basic theory of advertising is that brands seek to be placed in front of their audiences, whilst maintaining as positive an RoI as possible. Therefore if an entire medium is under- valued, there is clearly a huge amount to be made by advertisers that over-invest in that medium, ahead of their direct competitors.

This year in the UK, 16% of all search queries were made via mobile, a growth rate of 60% since 2011. This growth rate will have probably doubled by 2013, and many brands could have missed out on an obvious and rewarding mobile advertising strategy. Those that choose to ignore the growth of this medium, in a sense have failed to understand what the customer wants.

Where not stating here that mobile is the number one digital marketing channel, quite the contrary, you need a lot more tools in the toolbox to achieve the objectives of a competitive retail brand these days. But as a global mobile ad network, and from a group perspective as a global media company, our proven track record in integrated online campaigns taught us that including mobile as an important element in your plan is vital. There aren’t too many service providers out there that can say that based on experience.

It is worth considering how prominent a part of your marketing mix mobile currently is. If it is no part at all – then there is a clear opportunity. It is likely that your competitors are also not overly active in mobile either – so you have got time to steal a march on them. It is also worth considering that about 40% of all Facebook page impressions in the UK are now on mobile – so if you can find a Facebook specialist like Ybrant Digital that is also a mobile specialist (we served just under 2bn mobile ad impressions last month; and as a PMD we are certainly one of the leading experts globally on marketing in the social space) then there is an enormous opportunity to make hay right now, whilst the sun is shining. If nothing else, you might find that Santa leaves you an extra present under the tree this year.

Dave Katz is Managing Director of Ybrant Digital UK.