Mobile Advertisement Trends to Expect In 2022

For nearly two years, the world stood still as the pandemic caused unprecedented stagnation to individuals and businesses alike. With the hope that the worst of COVID is firmly behind us, there is now a requirement to assess the market to understand how this global pause changed the way mobile advertising was consumed and how the future may look as a result.

What We Saw In 2021 & 2020

The enforced lockdown that occurred as a direct result of the global pandemic saw a significant rise in consumers making purchases via their smartphones. According to Statista, smartphone users accounted for 71% of retail website visits and 56% of retail orders in the United States in 2020.

This rapid growth is in part contributable to the growing trend of consumers watching more video ad content on their mobile phones. Data from 2021 (Adjust) tells us that, since the onset of the pandemic, 52.5% of consumers are actively streaming more content than before. Furthermore, consumers are now spending an average of 82.2 minutes watching video per streaming session on mobile.

It is no surprise therefore that businesses are capitalising on this growing market. The 2021 statistics suggest that video advertisements on mobile contributed to 70% of the entire video ad spend of the United States.

The trust signal data looks promising too, with 59% of mobile users in 2020 reporting being as comfortable with mobile ads as they are with other major outlets like television and print.

How Did This Change Throughout Covid?

While the pandemic certainly was a driver in the overwhelming growth of the mobile advertising market, there was some interesting micro-trends occurring that offer some fascinating creative video insights into consumer behaviour.

During the early stages of lockdown, there was a swell of consumers using social apps to connect with people that they otherwise could not see. In fact, according to App Annie, the most downloaded apps of 2020 were Facebook and TikTok. By mid-2021, Instagram was added to this list. One of these apps is solely based around video content (TikTok), while the other two have been gradually moving towards more video-based content, with the introduction of Instagram Reels (August 2020) and videos now accounting for almost 20% of all posted content on Facebook (DataReportal, 2021).

With engagement rates for all video content on social apps also increasing due to the pandemic, it is no surprise to see companies investing much more into their video ad spend budgets.

One other interesting statistic from the pandemic was the sharp decrease in Google ad conversion during times of increased COVID search activity. While on the face of it, this 30% fall in conversion may seem concerning, the data may suggest that during times of unprecedented stress and uncertainty, consumers will not engage with video ads. However, with the pandemic hopefully coming to an end and better clarity of information on COVID, this number has started to rise and looks to be increasing significantly as we move forwards into 2022.

Will This Continue in 2022?

While the worst of the pandemic may be over and the world is opening up again, the data collected so far in 2022 seems to suggest that consumer habits will not change drastically. In fact, mobile advertising may be in a stronger position than ever. 66.6% of the global population use a mobile device, which is a record high, meaning outreach possibilities are stronger than ever before.

There also seems to be no decrease in online shopping trends. In fact, the pandemic seems to have accelerated the already rapid rise in online transactions, with many directly linked to the increased prevalence in mobile advertising.

What To Expect From Video Advertising In 2022

With the last two years firmly behind us, a new era of video advertising is set to take off. But what should we expect from 2022 and what can separate your business from the competition?

Increased Collaboration

With the video collaboration market set to hit $11.5 billion by 2027, it is no surprise to see more brands increase the use of this powerful strategy in their marketing plans.

By partnering with other brands to create mobile ads, not only can your company reach a brand-new consumer group, you can also gain insights into the marketing strategies of the collaborator, potentially gaining some useful ideas as to what works for them and what doesn’t.

For example, Uber and Spotify collaborated for a social media campaign called “Soundtrack For Your Ride”. Uber users would log into the app to book a ride as normal. While waiting for their ride, they would be prompted to sign into Spotify to choose the playlist for their ride. The campaign would allow Uber users to personalize their ride for their enjoyment, while Spotify would gain new frequent users on their app.

If the collaboration proves to be successful, you can gain new consumers and create a long-lasting partnership with likeminded businesses.

Expect to see this strategy used frequently in 2022 and beyond.

Rise Of UGC

User Generated Content has been growing in popularity for the last few years but is set to take a further leap in 2022. According to an Edelman report in 2020, only 34% of consumers say that they trust most of the brands they use. On the contrary, the same data also revealed that for 81% of consumer, trust is a deciding factor in an online purchase.

This is why UGC continues to be a successful video marketing tool for companies. Consumers trust other consumers as an authentic and reactive source of information. And, with smartphone technology allowing the everyman to create professional level content with just their phone, you are not having to rely on untidy, unedited, poor video quality. Instead, you can get some highly engaging video advertising by only rewarding a single consumer.

There is a continuous rise of influencers on social media platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram and Snapchat making the platforms more popular than ever.

There is likely to be some key consumers of your business who have a substantial social media presence. Therefore, their content can be used direct to other consumers on your platforms but may also generate new leads on their own.

Mobile Streaming Becoming Mainstream

The prevalence of streaming services and smartphones has seen a significant rise in consumers ditching the big screen and watching their favourite shows on their mobile devices. In fact, during the pandemic, the number of hours streamed on mobile devices rose 40% from 2019.

However, it is not Netflix and Amazon Prime where streaming is growing at its most abundant. That is reserved for social apps like YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat. For consumers aged 25 and below, most of their video content is consumed on these applications; and this is a key source of inventory for video advertisers.

Expect to see companies take a more direct approach with these streaming-based social apps in 2022, as they target the next generation of key consumers entering the market.

Mobile Games Are Becoming Social Networks

One of the most frequent means of escapism that consumers used during the pandemic was to download and use mobile games. In fact, data shows that from 2020 to 2021, mobile game consumer spend increased by a staggering 748% (AppAnnie, 2021).

While single-player, puzzle and action games proved to be popular, another genre that grew significantly, no doubt due to the isolation of the pandemic, were games with social and multiplayer components including live chat, video calling and posting.

Video advertising within mobile games makes up a large part of the revenue for this sector. Often, the game will ask the consumer to watch the advertisement or alternatively, pay a monthly or annual fee for an ‘ad-free’ experience. The popularity of mobile games is continuing to rise as we head into 2022 and should be considered a key component of any mobile marketing strategy in the future.

Personalisation Is More Important Than Ever

With a wealth of advertising hitting the consumer directly on their mobile devices, it can often be hard to stand out from the crowd. However, one proven strategy that does drive conversion is personalization. Data from AdWeek has shown that personalised ads can increase ad spend efficiency by as much as 30%.

Despite this, there are many other, more agreeable ways to ensure personalisation for mobile marketing. The primary strategy would be user feedback, particularly A/B testing, customer segmentation analysis, product and service reviews and much more.

Consumers are savvier in 2022; they expect something back for their data, whether that be rewards for sign-ups or reviews, discount codes or even a simple yet personal communication from the company. Using this slower yet still efficient approach will increase the trust signals of your business, while still allowing you to attain the data you need for personalisation in your mobile marketing.