Brands to spend 25 per cent more on tablet ads during Christmas period

Platform has driven a higher response rate than phones over past six months.
On average, the global tablet advertising spend in the UK and US powered a four times greater conversion rate than mobile phones between April to October 2012, according to data from marketing firm M&C Saatchi Mobile.
In fact, the conversion rate spikes to five-six times higher when companies target the ads specifically to their audience.
Saatchi expects tablet ad spends to outpace those of handsets for the first time ever this Christmas, with brands set to pay out 25 per cent more than usual on tablet-based campaigns.
Retailers are advised to make sure their sites are tablet-optimised, with ads targeted towards a shopper's demographic to provide a comfortable browsing experience.
Interestingly, location-based ads are incorporated into fewer than ten per cent of campaigns because most tablet shoppers browse from the sofa, though the rise of portable seven-inch tablets are set to change that.
James Hilton, CEO, M&C Saatchi Mobile, said: "Since the introduction of the iPad, brands and marketers have been trying to work out what exactly it meant for them.
"The impact has been far beyond what anyone really expected. With the current and forthcoming releases of more affordable, sub £200 devices such as Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus 7, as well as other high-end devices such as the Microsoft Surface then we believe the impact of tablets upon mobile advertising will continue to increase after the Christmas period.
"This Christmas heralds a major sea change in the mass market adoption of tablets.
"The possibilities to deliver rich media and interactive messaging lead to far better creativity in campaigns. This medium blends the best of TV with the best of interactivity."

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