The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets and a huge rise in the use of apps caused mobile advertising in 2012 to almost triple to over £500m, as total UK digital ad spend hit £5bn for the first time.
UK mobile advertising grew a staggering 148% year-on-year in 2012 to £526m, up from £203m in 2011, with growth continuing to accelerate in the second half of last year.
The revolution in handheld devices – almost two-thirds of the UK population owns a smartphone – has had a massive effect on the ad market.
In 2008, when Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's app store, an event which would accelerate the smartphone market and irrevocably change how people use phones, mobile advertising in the UK was a paltry £25m.
Mobile display and video advertising grew 121% to £150m in 2012, with mobile search soaring by 164% to £365m. Mobile search accounts for 69% of total mobile ad spend.
Source: https://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/apr/10/mobile-advertising-triples-record-levels