Portals, entertainment top mobile advertising spend in Q1

Portals and directories led mobile advertising spending during the first quarter of 2010 according to mobile ad network Millennial Media's latest Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach and Targeting. Entertainment followed in second, trailed by the telecommunications vertical. Millennial notes that mobile ad spending on travel leaped from the eighth spot to fourth since Q4 2009, while education jumped from nine to six as schools ramped up their recruiting efforts for the fall semester. In addition, the pharmaceuticals category entered the top 10 for the first time, placing ninth in terms of overall mobile ad spend. Millennial notes that average mobile web page views increased from 115 in Q4 to 125 in Q1, suggesting that consumers are now comfortable with browsing on mobile and engaging in deeper experiences.

The March S.M.A.R.T. report also states that Los Angeles is now the top U.S. designated market area for mobile ad requests, followed by Dallas, Houston, New York City and Chicago. The southwestern U.S. accounts for six of the top 15 DMAs, with eight of the 15 in either California or Texas. BlackBerry devices led requests in 12 of the 15 top markets, with the iPhone tops in San Francisco, Fresno and Sacramento. Apple's iPod touch was the top mobile connected device in all 15 locales.

For more on the March S.M.A.R.T. report:
- read this release

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