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Mobile Ad Spending to Rise 83%

Marketers will spend more on mobile advertising this year than they will on newspaper and radio ads, continuing a dramatic marketplace shift, according to a new study from research firm eMarketer (www.emarketer.com). Data shows spending on mobile ads will leap 83% in 2014 to nearly $18 billion. Newspapers will generate $17 billion, while radio will bring in $15.5 billion.

“As more eyeballs are going to mobile in larger numbers, the dollars are starting to follow,” Cathy Boyle, an eMarketer mobile analyst, told The Wall Street Journal.

Nonetheless, mobile’s ad share growth has failed to keep pace with how much people use their smartphones and tablets. While adult Americans spend nearly a quarter of their media time on mobile devices, the medium will capture just 9.8% of the total ad market in 2014, eMarketer says. Meanwhile, newspapers – which only get about 2% of people’s media time – will secure just under 10% of the entire market.

Such numbers indicate that advertisers have yet to fully embrace mobile, a phenomenon prompted at least in part by uncertainty about the effectiveness of the medium and reluctance to pull dollars from traditional platforms. Still, with mobile ad products improving all the time, mobile advocates are bullish that marketers’ investments will accelerate substantially in the years ahead.

“I think it’s going to take a very big bite out of all the advertising dollars,” said Yariv Ron, chief executive of mobile ad company Appwiz. “The infrastructure is not there yet. Only now is it starting to take form and shape.”