• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 29, 2014

According to the Opera Mediaworks’ State of Mobile Advertising report, 10/22, Android continues to close the gap with iOS in mobile advertising revenue, while its share of impressions is now almost double that of iOS.

Earlier this year, Android overtook iOS in impression volume. The gap widened further in the third quarter of 2014, with Android devices capturing 58% of impressions vs. iOS at 30%.

In monetization terms, Google’s mobile OS gained three percentage points, compared to Q2, reaching nearly 42% of revenue in Q3. Apple still commands higher revenue at 51%, but it is lower than Q2, when it was at 53%.

For the first time, 1 in 10 mobile ads delivered in the United States are video. In addition, video eCPMs (effective cost per thousand impressions) were eight times higher than banner ads and two times higher than rich-media ads, reports the mobile-video ad platform, AdColony.

Will Kassoy, CMO and CEO of Opera Mediaworks and AdColony, says "… we're seeing brands continue to embrace the power of sight, sound and motion… investing in mobile video advertising… as key component of their marketing strategies… mobile video… (is) a big catalyst for the industry… (with) higher production value content… (and) insatiable demand from consumers for video experiences… “

Additional highlights from the report include:

Mobile video is showing rapid, unadulterated growth

• In 2014, mobile video impressions grew 3.5 times, and mobile video continues to be the fastest growing category in mobile advertising
• Overall, brand spending on in-app HD mobile video ads has increased by 36% from the previous quarter
• Advertisers running video-ad campaigns on apps in the Shopping, Sports, Social and Health & Fitness categories, saw the highest percentages from the upper 80s into the high 90s
• Shorter-form video formats are becoming more popular, with more than half of video ads served in the range of less than 20 seconds
• Entertainment brands are employing mobile video ads most often, with 22% of impressions coming from their campaigns

iOS 8 adoption slower than iOS 7

• One week after the release of iOS 8, it accounted for just under 29% of impressions served to Apple devices. The same metric for iOS 7, one week after its 2013 release, was more than double at 65%

Breakout quarter for the Americas

• Though the United States is still the leader, with 44% of impressions and 58% of revenue, the non-U.S. Americas (Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean) have nearly doubled their share of impressions in the last quarter and now account for nearly 1 in 10 mobile ad impressions globally
• Mexico and Argentina are the biggest drivers of that growth
• Revenue for the Americas is also strong, at 10% share of the total
• The region Europe is in second place for impressions, with 17%.

Social still No. 1

• Social Networking is still the most popular category in mobile advertising, accounting for about 1 in 5 ad impressions. At the same time, Music, Video and Media sites and apps drive the most revenue, with 23%

To view the full report from Opera Mediaworks, please visit here.