Strong acceptance of mobile ads, combined with scale and penetration, point towards explosive market growth in context of 3G and smart phone adoption

Singapore, October 21, 2010 – A survey done by InMobi, one of the fastest growing global mobile advertising networks, reveals surprisingly high levels of mobile advertising in Asia, with two-thirds of Asian consumers comfortable with mobile advertising, and over 50% ready to receive personalised advertisements. This finding is likely to surprise advertisers, who have, so far, been conservative in adopting mobile advertising as part of their strategies, but points to the untapped potential of the region. The survey, done in partnership with digital marketing intelligence agency, comScore, interviewed 3,500 consumers in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Australia, and discussed overall comfort with mobile ads, perceived benefits and willingness to have ads.

Other findings include:
• Overall, 69% of Asians were comfortable with mobile advertising, and 54% were ready for customised/personalised advertising.
• 46% of those surveyed have benefited from being introduced to new product through a mobile advertisement.
• Mobile advertising appealed more to men and the under-25, rather than women or older consumers. Even so, across the board, Asian acceptance/comfort levels for mobile advertising were substantially higher than in the United States.
• 50% were willing to receive advertising in return for free apps, and 53% in return for a lower phone bill.
• Markets with more advanced phones (like Australia), had more evolved perceived benefits.

Presenting the report, James Lamberti, VP Global Research & Marketing at InMobi said, “These results present a truly enlightening picture of how mobile advertising is perceived in Asia. There are opportunities here for advertisers willing to tailor-make campaigns to take advantage of these inclinations.”

“As the market grows and technology matures, there is great potential for growth given that the Asian consumers are receptive to mobile ads and see the value that these ads bring as confirmed by this survey. Because InMobi has the largest reach among mobile advertising networks in Asia, it is the perfect platform to reach out to mobile consumers in the region ” said Emmanuel Allix, VP & Managing Director, APAC at Inmobi.

“We’re pleased to partner with InMobi for this survey,” said Joe Nguyen, Vice President, Southeast Asia, at comScore. “It gives advertisers and brands a better understanding of the situation in Asia, and hopefully a better position from which to strategise.”

InMobi’s also shared other interesting information about mobile advertising in Asia and the rest of the world:
Global
• Nokia dominates the global share of impressions, with about 47% of the impressions, with Samsung and Sony Ercisson in second and third place, respectively. The trends in the Asia Pacific region are similar, with Nokia well ahead of competition at 61% of the global share of impressions. Sony Ericsson is a distant second at 14%.
• Together iPhone and Android are showing the strongest growth, globally, with a joint share of 11%, mainly at the cost of current leaders Nokia and Symbian, who together have a 48% market share. Nokia leads in Asia, with 36% share of the available impressions, with Symbian in second place. The iPhone has a market share of about 2% in the region and went up by 0.6% in the region between June and July 2010.
• The iPhone is the largest mobile advertising device in the world, with a 5% share of global ad impressions, and over 36% of these impressions outside the North America region. Symbian is making the largest impact outside the developed nations with over 84% of impressions from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Asia
• iPhone and Android are barely present in Asia, Nokia dominates these regions. iPhone OS is 11% share in Asia and Android is 2.5%.
• Australia

o Australia has seen a 63% growth in smartphones since in July 2010
o The Nokia OS comes in third in this region, with only a 5% share of ad impressions. In Australia, the iPhone leads with 35% of the available impressions, with Symbian in second place at 24%.
o Apple leads in terms of manufacture’s share with 35% and Nokia comes in second with 29%.

• Malaysia:

oThe Symbian OS leads in Malaysia with a 37% market share, followed by Nokia at 15%
o Nokia and Sony Ericsson own almost 92% of the market for manufacturers, with iPhone and Samsung sharing the remaining 8%.

• Indonesia

oNokia and Symbian are the OS that lead in Indonesia, with a share of 38% and 23%, respectively.
o Nokia owns the market in Indonesia with about 60% of the manufacturer’s market share. Song Ericcson is at 22%, with other brand sharing the rest of the pie.

About InMobi
InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. InMobi provides advertisers, developers, and publishers with a uniquely global mobile advertising solution. InMobi, which more than doubled its network in the first 6 months of 2010, delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 185 million consumers in over 125 countries through more than 21.2 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. This includes over 11.5 billion impressions to more than 100 million consumers in the Asia Pacific region making it the largest mobile ad network in Asia. Recently InMobi was selected to the 2010 AlwaysOn 250 as a company to watch in the global Silicon Valley.
InMobi is venture-backed with marquee investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in London, San Francisco, Bangalore, Tokyo, Mumbai, Johannesburg and Singapore.
To learn more, please visit www.InMobi.com/research , follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog at www.InMobi.com/blog

For more information contact:
Rice Communications for InMobi
Sonya Madeira Stamp
Tel: +65 6223 8729Mobile: +65 9450 1090