The number of advertisers using targeted audience-reach methods grew only three percent quarter over quarter, according to the latest Millennial Media data. But of the campaigns that did employ targeting of some type, local market was by far the most active with a 24-percent growth quarter over quarter.
More than half of mobile advertisers continue to aim their campaigns at the broadest audiences. In many ways, the cautious stance is understandable. There are growing consumer and regulatory concerns about tracking and privacy, for example, meaning targeted campaigns carry a level of risk that more traditional campaigns do not.
Also, targeting mechanisms still are fragmented and a work in progress, including the task of assembling a large-enough population of users who are willing to receive targeted ads and messages of various types.
Although advertising dollars are still not commensurate with the amount of time consumers spend with their mobile devices, which has increased 50 percent since 2008, mobile ad spending grew more than 100 percent, year over year. In the retail and restaurants vertical alone, growth topped 1300 percent, Millennial Media says.
Additionally, mobile advertisers are spending more on individual campaigns. The number of mobile ad campaigns costing more than $250,000 grew 200 percent year over year.
