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India is APAC's largest mobile advertising market: InMobi study

In just 90 days, the Indian market grew by over 1 billion impressions to become the largest market in the Asia Pacific region.

India now has the largest mobile advertising market in the Asia Pacific region, with 5.8 billion impressions monthly, reveals the latest report released by InMobi.

According to the study, in just 90 days, the Indian market grew by over 1 billion impressions (+22 per cent) to become the largest market in the Asia Pacific region.

India is APAC's largest mobile advertising market: InMobi study
The growth is driven by a broad set of publishers and advertisers who are moving rapidly to embrace mobile advertising in the market. Due to the size of the population and mostly the mobile phone penetration, the volume and growth is a clear indication that mobile phones are now a viable compliment to television as an advertising channel, the InMobi study says.

However, despite the market growth, smartphones remain relatively nascent in the market. India is still largely an advanced phone market, with 88 per cent of all mobile ad impressions categorised as advanced phones.

Smartphone impressions continue to grow at a slow rate in the market, compared to the rest of the world. Nokia devices remain commonplace in the Indian mobile market. While 12 of the top 15 devices are manufactured by Nokia, Samsung fills the remaining three spots.

Android and iPhone OS have yet to gain significant ground in India and as of today, represent only a 0.4 per cent share of the market.

Says James Lamberti, vice-president, global research and marketing, InMobi, in an official communiqué, "The Indian mobile advertising market continues to show rapid growth due to the improving ad ecosystem. Major publishers are bringing their media into the mobile channel, while brands are simultaneously discovering the power of mobile advertising. This healthy ecosystem, along with 3G network infrastructure improvements, will position India as one of the most influential mobile markets across the globe."

The study reveals that for the period between July and October 2010, the Asian market matured by 9 per cent, recording approximately one billion impressions, driven by a huge upswing in smartphone impressions, which were up by 719 million impressions, recording a 47 per cent growth.

Says Amit Gupta, co-founder and vice-president, business development, InMobi, "With the growth we are witnessing in India, there is no question that mobile phones are a necessity for brands that intend to reach Indian consumers at scale. With so many consumers using mobile devices as a primary means to digital media consumption, mobiles are the complimentary media channel to television for reach extension, while still maintaining a compelling brand experience that will only improve as smart phones penetrate at scale over the next year."

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