James Hill, senior director of product and partnerships at Teads, offers advice on how advertisers can build impactful mobile campaigns.

Mobile advertising has had yet another stellar year – IAB Europe reports that mobile now accounts for 42 per cent of total display advertising and Forrester expects mobile ad spend to account for 70 per cent of digital advertising spend by 2022.

This ongoing investment is obviously fantastic if you’re in the business of selling mobile ads. However, research shows half of consumers think most ads they see on their mobile are boring with findings from another survey showing the average person ignores over seven mobile ads each day.

In the UK, banners deservedly account for 31 per cent of the total £4.18bn display budget however on mobile this drops by half to just 16 per cent, suggesting that a lack of quality inventory and innovative solutions have previously failed to inspire advertisers.  If mobile is to continue to grow, the challenge will be for ads to tread the fine line between an engaging and disruptive user experience. This means constantly innovating and thinking of ways to stand out without intruding on the user experience on the small screen which is very personal.

To build an impactful campaign on mobile, brands and advertisers should first consider their ad creative. It’s well known that shorter ads work better on the small screen. But there are also many new technology features that can be added to make their ads even more compelling.

For example, we recently worked with BP introducing a gyroscopic function for our Swing format. This incorporates the device into the creative through movement – in the ad, when you tilt your smart phone, the creative responds by changing the different publication methods of BP’s report, revealing its life-cycle. This clever and reactive form of advertising makes the ad more relevant and engaging for mobile, by incorporating the element of movement, which arouses curiosity.

Even though many advertisers now use chatbots in their customer service portals, it’s becoming increasingly common for brands to use them in their online advertising.  Teads first introduced a chatbot video ad with Tommy Hilfiger, where the tech was integrated into the fashion brand’s outstream video ads. The bot is accessed via a call to action laid over the video creative. This was a simple but extremely effective way to encourage users to engage, as they’re able to ask the chatbot questions to help them discover pieces from the brand’s new collection.

Something advertisers should also keep in mind when planning their mobile campaigns is the display renaissance we’re going through. A recent report by the AOP shows that publisher revenue has risen almost 6 per cent in the last year, largely powered by the exciting new creative opportunities available.

This often-static format now includes many new innovations for brands to consider that really capture the user as they scroll. An example of this is our Flow format – which animates as the user scrolls up and down, leading to greater engagement when the consumers realises their scrolling behaviour has an effect on the creative. 

As we approach 2019, I expect that we will face even more challenges when it comes to creating the perfect mobile ad campaign, one that tows the line between engagement and intrusion, whilst still conforming to the Better Ads standards. However, those marketers that make the most of the latest technology innovations to boost the power of their creative, have a huge opportunity to be more engaging than ever before.