The total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market is being tipped to grow from €2.6 billion in 2010 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37 percent to €17.2 billion in 2016.

According to a new research report from Berg Insight, this figure will correspond to 15.2 percent of the total online advertising market or 3.8 percent of the total global ad spend for all media. Overall, mobile marketing and advertising consists of five categories: text messages, display ads, mobile search, in-application advertising, and in-video advertising.

The company mentioned that the popularity of smartphones and the increasing availability of mobile media that can include mobile advertising are the main game changers.

“Brands are now progressively embracing the mobile channel, including the entire range of apps from games and entertainment to utility applications. Also mobile web advertising and opt-in SMS campaigns are popular,” said Rickard Andersson, Telecom Analyst, Berg Insight.

Andersson also mentioned that advertisers are also keen on exploring opportunities with location-based advertising (LBA) making marketing messages hyper-relevant both in time and place.

As per the current status, traditional digital players and major mobile OS providers are battling for market shares in the mobile advertising space.

Referring to Facebook’s plans (it recently emerged that Facebook intends to foray into mobile advertising by the end of March), Berg mentioned that the company has the potential to become an important player if leveraging user data for targeted mobile campaigns. According to a report filed by Bloomberg, an idea that is being considered is putting Facebook’s Sponsored Stories ads, which feature friends’ interactions with brands, within the mobile News Feed.

Also, further consolidation is expected to bring about an ecosystem consisting of a few dominant digital advertising networks spanning all types of devices.

There is no doubt that consumer usage is massively shifting from desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets. More content is being consumed when people are on-the-go, and that means location relevancy takes an even greater priority in the marketing mix, the delivery channels of offers and advertising, and even what deals should be delivered at that point in time.

The industry also needs to address the concerns of consumers. For instance, there is a widespread consumer perception that personally identifiable information is being widely shared with advertisers without their consent.