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Spends on in-app advertising to be $17 billion by 2018: Juniper Research
MUMBAI: The times are changing and so is advertising. Today, the line between traditional advertising and digital advertising is blurring. A new report, Mobile Advertising: In-App, Mobile Internet & Messaging Strategies 2013-2018, by Juniper Research has found In-app mobile ad spends will reach $16.9 billion by 2018, up from $3.5 billion last year.
According to the report, growth will be driven by several key factors including improved targeting capabilities, as well as a trend for more effective interactive rich media ads to be deployed in preference to traditional static display advertising.
Tablets close the adspend gap on smartphones
The report argues that while smartphones currently account for approximately 70 per cent of in-app ad spend, the growth in tablet users and usage would propel greater medium-term spend. It observed that tablet in-app ad spend would be further fuelled by the fact that CPMs (Cost per 1,000 impressions) are significantly higher than those for smartphones, particularly for rich media ads, which also have higher CPMs than static display ads. By 2018, the tablet/smartphone ad spend split will be almost 50/50.
Location, Location, Location
It also observes that although app downloads will increase exponentially to 2018, the majority of in-app advertising expenditure is likely to be spent on advertising with social mobile giants such as Facebook and Twitter. Nevertheless, report author Sian Rowlands remained optimistic about the opportunities for smaller developers: ‘As the mobile advertising industry matures, more sophisticated advertising solutions are being installed by leading players, with a clear trend towards utilising location-based advertising to drive greater relevance. These new technologies and formats will benefit stakeholders across the mobile advertising value network.’
Other key findings from the report include:
• Global mobile ad spend will surpass $39 billion in 2018, up from $13 billion in 2013.
• Rich media ad spend will surpass display ad spend in apps by 2018, as more engaging ad formats see huge uptake.
• Advertisers can increase conversions by simply adding mobile optimised features, for instance a ‘click to call’ button, or by linking to the relevant app store.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
