Mobile Ad Spending Up 80 Percent In 2010, SMS Remains Largest FormatNew data from eMarketer shows mobile ad spending in 2010 is up nearly 80%, with estimates suggesting the market will surpass $1B in 2011 and over $2.5B by 2014.

The research shows video, display and search-ad spending on mobile will more than double this year, while growth in messaging advertising will “lag behind other more sophisticated mobile formats.”  Still, SMS remains the largest format overall, with spending of $327 million estimated for 2010.

Mobile video advertising is showing the strongest growth, estimated at 124% for 2010 alone.  Over the next four years, eMarketer estimates video will remain the strongest in terms of growth, outpacing other formats in 2014 with 50% growth.  Messaging, on the other hand, will slow in the same time period, estimated to grow only 14% in 2014.

\”The expansion of the smartphone market and the attractive usage and demographic profile of smartphone owners have forced more marketers to pay closer attention to mobile,\” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the forthcoming report \”Mobile Advertising and Marketing: Moving Past the Tipping Point.\”  eMarketer had previously under-estimated the growth of mobile advertising for 2010, originally pegging overall spending at just $593M.

\”It is safe to say that many marketers who had not previously considered mobile advertising are now eager to tap into its potential, thanks to the stamp of legitimacy applied to the medium by the high-profile entrance of companies such as Apple and Google,\” Elkin said.