The end of the year is a time for refection and projection, on what we've achieved and for what we expect. Adam Jablonski, CEO of the Polish ad server Epom, breaks down the current state of mobile advertising in Eastern Europe and what we can expect from the region in 2013.

Stay Alive and Advertise

Despite the widely spoken-of impending Apocalypse on December 21, 2012, we can’t help but look towards 2013 with a renewed willingness to get to work and great expectations for the future of advertising.

The ad industry, which has undergone numerous significant changes lately, will certainly continue evolving next year; and mobile advertising is surely to face many more substantial developments in comparison with other sectors of the market.

Forward Into Mobile

It has become obvious that the future of advertising lies in mobile, and the growth of the mobile ad sector in 2012 proves this fact to the fullest. In fact, the US market spend this year, according to Epom Data Center research, has grown to almost double what it was 2011. As for 2013, the increase of mobile ads’ portability and, thus popularity, is only going to rise, especially due to the constant introduction of new tablet models.

In this respect, Eastern Europe won’t become an exception to the rule; on the contrary, we are likely to witness even the more rapid swell of mobile advertising.

Applying Applications

The in-app advertising niche has recently grown into a real gold mine, due mostly to the insertion of powerful app install tracking options into SDK’s. As for prospects for the upcoming year, this sector of the industry definitely will have many opportunities to raise its efficiency further, especially as far as the Eastern European states are considered (to about 6.9% of the market in 2013).

The reasoning here is crystal clear: the app market is still at the early stage of its fast development, and advertisers are eager to use the fresh, cutting-edge apps that have enormous potential to become worldwide hits, considering that the world’s in-app advertising saturation is going to grow even more, namely to around 84% of mobile advertising, Epom analysts forecast.

Video: Prior Standards Remain

The effectiveness of video ad campaigns on mobile surely can’t be doubted, but will this trend continue in 2013? It most certainly will. Especially since modified global standards are one step from being officially presented.

Whereas Western Europe and the US have more practice in the sphere, and are already familiar with the established major requirements for video ads, the Eastern part of the EU will move towards the globally established rules in the sector.

As for the increase in mobile video ad share, changes will undoubtedly be visible: the segment is currently estimated at approximately 5.9% on the global scale, Epom Data Center surveys predict possible growth up to 11.3% next year. As for Eastern Europe, the current 4.2% share is projected to increase to 8.1% in 2013.

Customers Crave Interaction

Epom Data Center research finds that the current ratio between standard and rich media ads in the Eastern European mobile advertising industry is quite divergent -- with rich media representing only 9% of formats used. The situation is anticipated to change in favour of more interactive and engaging advertisements (rich media) of various kinds and sizes in 2013, reaching up 13%.

This uptick in the diversity of mobile ad campaigns will benefit optimisation, enabling more rich creatives and personalised ads, bringing better audience engagement.

Branding in Mobile

No matter what some might suggest, brand awareness will remain as vitally important 2013 as it is now. As for Eastern Europe in particular, relatively new companies acknowledge the need to build a good reputation and earn their consumers’ trust. Establishing a decent brand image can be reached and maintained via mobile, if you’re dealing with transparent and reliable partners and ad platforms, like Epom.