MAM
Forecast sees big payoff for Google’s mobile ads
MUMBAI: Google will sell more mobile advertising than the rest of its rivals combined for the second straight year, according to a new forecast that highlights the expansion of the internet search leader‘s moneymaking competency from personal computers to smartphones and tablets.
The report released on Thursday by the research firm eMarketer projects Google Inc will generate nearly $8.9 billion in mobile ad revenue throughout the world in 2013. The figure reflects the projected amount that Google will retain after paying commissions to its ad partners.
The prediction calls for Google to hold a 56 per cent share of the overall mobile ad market, which is expected to approach $16 billion this year. In 2012, Google accounted for 52 per cent, or $4.6 billion, of the worldwide mobile ad market, according to eMarketer.
Facebook Inc, the owner of the largest online social network, is expected to rank a distant second in mobile advertising this year with about $2 billion in revenue from phones and tablets, eMarketer predicted. Although still far behind Google, Facebook has been making rapid inroads in the mobile market. Last year, Facebook sold less than $500 million in mobile advertising.
The report marks the first time that eMarketer has released digital ad numbers spanning the entire globe. The firm‘s previous estimates, which are closely watched in the industry, have been confined to the US ad market.
eMarketer‘s figures are intriguing because Google doesn‘t disclose how much of its total ad revenue flows from the rapidly growing ad market. Google‘s success in mobile advertising stems from its ability to establish its internet search engine and other services, such as digital maps, Gmail and the Chrome browsers, as frequently used applications on mobile devices.
The company accomplished that largely by forging a partnership with Apple Inc when that company‘s iPhone came out in 2007. Google then baked its services into Android, a free operating system now running on more than 900 million mobile devices.
Android‘s success transformed Google into a competitive threat to the iPhone and iPad, prompting Apple to dump some of Google‘s services as built-in programs on those devices. But many iPhone and iPad users are still relying on Google products by installing apps on their Apple devices.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
