Will applications become the new way to advertise?

Over the last few years smartphones and tablet computers have become commonplace in most people’s everyday lives. In 2010 it was revealed that Apple alone had sold over 50 million iPhones and 35 million iPod touches and has since launched two new smartphones. Add this to the 55 million iPads sold, and with the expectation that there will be 70 million iPad sales in 2012 you can see where I’m coming from.

It isn’t just Apple selling smartphones and tablets either, with the rise of Android and the announcement that Microsoft will be releasing a new tablet this year with full Windows 8 operating system it is expected that the sales of tablets alone will hit 122 million units annually by 2016 – a significant improvement on the 20 million in 2010.

But with all this new technology at everyone’s fingertips, no matter where you are or what device you’re using, it has made me wonder whether the advertising world is due to storm in at any given moment and capitalise on unsuspecting customers.

Since the launch of the Apple App Store everyone has become addicted to hand held games and applications that apparently make your life so much better. The app store recently hit 25 billion downloads, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Since recordable television and on demand services such as TiVo and BBC iPlayer made their way into the home it has become easy for anyone to skip an advert due to the vast amount of channels now available and the fast forward option. Therefore advertising revenue is taking a hit. The same applies to advertising in newspapers, according to research there will be a 52 per cent decline in regional advertising revenue between 2007 and 2013, which represents a 1.3 billion pound a year loss in advertising revenue. Due to this it is also expected that 1,300 regional titles will disappear.

So where will the advertisers go?

You could suggest the internet or social media, but these are very easy to avoid. But on the other hand there’s the mobile phone application that the whole world is succumbing to, as people access these while walking, during train and bus rides, at school and work, nearly everywhere you go someone is using a mobile phone app.

Factor in the ability to access the internet and social networking on them and with over 850 million people on facebook, who no doubt own a Smartphone to get a quick news feed fix, and the advertising industry has the whole world at its finger tips.

It hasn’t really begun yet with only a few companies using things such as iAds to target consumers, but watch this space because somewhere, there is most probably an advertising executive watching the growth of the market very closely just waiting to strike.