78 per cent of media agencies and brands think mobile advertising lacks quality data, with many citing it as a major factor in why they are satisfied with their current mobile strategy.

While mobile has been accepted as a major channel by most brands, with 59 per cent increasing their mobile budgets by over a quarter this year, and 20 per cent doubling it, many are still not comfortable with how to operate in the mobile world.

57 per cent of media agencies and brands interviewed in a survey by Affable Digital are unsatisfied with their current mobile strategy, with the lack of quality data and the ubiquity of mobile seen as barriers to understanding its role and how it can be applied to their businesses.

Rich customer data, and the ability to manage it, is recognised as crucial for mobile strategy, with 92 per cent of respondents believing that new data sources will be increasingly important going forward, and 89 per cent prepared to pay a premium in return for more efficient and accurate targeting.

Partnerships with networks may see an increase, with 73 per cent of those surveyed believing that operators have a key role to play in the future of mobile advertising. The importance of mobile in emerging markets was also seen as an essential factor for future strategy, with 58 per cent of respondents thinking that the growing audiences in developing nations will be key to any success they have moving forward.

“While it is inevitable that marketers will better understand mobile over the coming years, data fuelled targeting is a fundamental infrastructure element that needs to be fixed,” said Ryan Afshar, director at Affable Digital. “The survey is telling us that with mobile budgets increasing dramatically despite the insufficient targeting available, there is a huge revenue opportunity for operators to play a significant role in the advertising ecosystem.

“The media industry would not only pay huge premiums for better data targeting capabilities, they are also openly welcoming of operators getting into the space. However, it is important that operators focus on understanding the demand from the media industry. While it is true there is demand for the more advanced types of targeting, the industry is still crying out for accurate demographic data.”