The role of developers to the future development of mobile advertising is crucial. Here we will examine how the role of developers has changed over recent time, how it is currently views and how it might develop in the future.
There was a time not too long ago when developers were merely bit players in the in the mobile marketing game. As long as they created apps that fitted the bill, then all was well. But things in the mobile world can change very quickly, and today the role of the developer is the key to its future.
Just two years ago the marketing industry paid little attention to mobile advertising. The philosophy was that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it†and conventional ways of delivering advertising for, instance through television and fixed web, were working out just fine.
On the other side of the coin developers were embracing mobile as were consumers. Developers could produce great mobile apps, and consumers loved to download and use them. Soon the app market rocketed.
Worldwide in 2011 there were nearly 18 billion mobile app downloads which was around a 120% increase over the previous year and the total of downloads will soon exceed 200 billion since the first app market was opened in 2008. This amounts to an annual revenue for the developers of over $15 billion generated from sales revenue and advertising revenue.
No longer can the developers considered to be merely bit players; they are clearly leading the market and its major innovators: they control the technology, the spend on ads, and the ad impressions. They are also highly influential in targeting data and in analytics and reporting. As far as developers are concerned, their market is worldwide and they are able to target any geographical area.
The future of advertising is mobile and already mobile advertising has a reach that is equivalent to that of television and with a huge space in which to grow.
Not all mobile developers are set to become millionaires. Spotting trending apps in such as Angry Birds in advance is as much to do with luck as it is with judgement. There are no templates that can guarantee riches and fortunes. However for the entrepreneurial innovator there is no shortage of global opportunities and for the less entrepreneurial there are at least some well paid day jobs on offer, and at a time when other parts of the IT industry are struggling.
This is not to say that developers are islands. For it all to work there needs to be a good synergy between publishers, advertisers and developers and the fundamental ways in which these sectors interrelate has not really changed. What has changed is the technology, and the realisation that it is a lot cheaper to enter the game than it used to be. The winners of this game will be those who are able to create the most compelling content targeted at the demographic with adequate budgets; plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
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