49% Increase in Mobile Buzz Advertising, Says Buzz City

By Reporter Wireless and Mobile News on January 13, 2009 3:16 PM

The BuzzCity Mobile Advertising Index for Q4 2008 showed an almost 50 percent growth in paid banner advertisements in the U.S. during the last three months of the year.

BuzzCity Global Mobile Advertising Index

The following statistics show paid advertising banners delivered in the fourth quarter of 2008 throughout the entire BuzzCity Global Mobile Advertising Network. Banners are delivered to more than 2,000 publisher sites, including BuzzCity-owned mobile community service, myGamma.

Banners Served on BuzzCity Mobile Advertising Network

Q4 Position	Country	Q4 Banners	Q4 Growth
1	Indonesia	3.6 billion	100%
2	India	727 million	10%
3	South Africa	465 million	-14%
4	United States	382 million	47%
5	Kenya	241 million	-19%
6	Egypt	150 million	54%
7	Romania	135 million	32%
8	Bangladesh	135 million	1%
9	Philippines	116 million	119%
10	Libya	101 million	-2%
	Total	6.0 billion	49%
	Network Total	7.6 billion
	Network Growth	40%

In the fourth quarter, just over 7.5 billion advertiser banners were delivered across the network, representing quarterly growth of 40%, a slight increase from the previous quarter's growth of 38%.

The report shows inventory sold across the BuzzCity Mobile Advertising Network. The BuzzCity report tracks, by extension, the growth of off-portal mobile internet use in more than 200 countries around the world.

The strong growth of the BuzzCity Mobile Advertising Network in the U.S. is an indicator of the resilience of mobile advertising in the face of the current economic downturn, as well as the exponential growth in mobile internet use among U.S. consumers during 2008. In total, 382 million paid advertising banners were served to a U.S. audience during Q4. For the entire year, banners served in the U.S. grew by 209%.

"The continued strong growth we're seeing in the U.S. is not surprising, considering that this was a huge year for the discovery of the utility and usefulness of the mobile internet in the market," said KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity. "Despite a difficult economic environment, we foresee healthy growth in the U.S. continuing this year as increasing numbers of people discover the mobile internet and as operators offer lower priced, flat-rate data plans."

"The overall Q4 results are significant in light of the current global economic situation. We are clearly seeing more advertising on mobiles and, much like in the U.S. market specifically, globally we expect to see further growth in 2009 as advertisers focus more on accountability in their campaign execution," said Lai. "Even the apparent shrinkage of advertising inventory in South Africa has a silver lining to it: publishers providing greater value and transparency for consumers will sustain demand as they continue to monetise their content in this market."

While the top 10 performers contributed 80% of the traffic, the network continued to grow beyond these markets; by the end of December 2008, 28 markets exceeded 10 million banners per month compared to 23 in Q3. Year-on-year the network grew by some 300% and growth is expected to continue.

BuzzCity also announced plans for a new office in Johannesburg to oversee the growing advertiser demand in South Africa.

About BuzzCity

BuzzCity is a developer of global wireless communities and consumer services. Established in 1999 in Singapore, BuzzCity today operates the world's leading wireless community - mygamma.com - for two distinct audiences: the newly connected emerging middle class in developing markets and the blue collar sector in developed regions. These "unwired" consumers, are accessing the mobile Internet on their phones due to widespread and affordable wireless access.