Smartphone ownership in the UK will hit 75 per cent next year, according to Guy Phillipson, CEO of the IAB UK. Phillipson revealed the stat in his opening address at IAB’s Engage event in London this morning. He didn’t quote a source for the stat, but said the IAB had “trended the line” to arrive at the figure.

Despite this, Phillipson revealed that only 40 per cent of the top 100 UK advertisers currently have mobile-optimised sites. He also revealed that the majority of search clicks in 2013 will come from mobile devices, and predicted that, having posted year-on-year growth of 132 per cent, mobile advertising “will undoubtedly be a billion pound medium within a few years”.

Unlike the IAB’s Mobile Engage event, Engage is not totally focused on mobile, but Phillipson seemed keen to single out the channel for special praise this morning. Fru Hazlitt, MD, commercial and online at ITV, also referenced mobile in her presentation, talking about the success of the recently-introduced Shazamable ad format, and demonstrating Ad Sync, which enables an advertiser to target consumers using the X Factor app during the programme. The advertiser’s ad appears on the TV during the ad break, and at the same time, a mobile ad appears on the screen of anyone using the app.

Hazlitt’s most interesting revelation, however, was that 90 per cent of viewing is still live. She clearly doesn’t live in my house…