Study: Within Four Years, 70 Percent Of All Mobile Ads Will Be Local

US mobile ad spend is expected to balloon to $4 billion in 2015, up from just $790 million last year, according to the latest projections by forecaster BIA/Kelsey. One of the key drivers of the growth will be targeted local ads, which will account for $2.8 billion, or 70 percent of total spend, compared to $404 million, or 51 percent, this year.

The big question here is how large agencies and major publishers will respond. Companies like Gannett have been moving feverishly to reorient their newspaper and business operations to a more mobile world. But continuous cuts to the news operations are viewed as having potentially detrimental impact on local brands, whose established names are seen as a way to staying ahead of startups. If those brand names are degraded, the advantages are therefore naturally reduced, paving the way for new services to capture those local markets.