Digital ad spend in the UK hit a record £5.42 billion ($8.3 billion) in 2012, up £607 million (12.5 per cent) from 2011, with mobile accounting for more than half the growth.

According to the latest UK digital ad spend report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC, mobile ad spend leapt 148 per cent, going from £203.2 million to £526 million.

In the past, mobile advertising has often promised more than it has delivered, but this looks set to change – at least in the UK. Mobile now accounts for 9.7 per cent of all UK digital advertising spend compared with only 1.1 per cent in 2009.

“Mobile has reached this milestone because marketers are becoming more attuned to the ‘always on’ nature of consumers who expect to engage with content wherever they are,” said Tim Elkington, IAB’s director of research and strategy.

“Consequently, advertisers are increasingly buying integrated campaigns across online and mobile rather than regarding mobile as an afterthought.”

Elkington points out that, during the last 6 months, 20 more of the UK’s top 100 advertisers have produced mobile-optimised websites. Faster 4G networks, he says, are also enabling a new era of richer content consumption.

And with tablets predicted to outsell PCs in 2013, Elkington says this will help maintain “mobile’s significant momentum in attracting both consumer attention and advertising pounds”.

Even without a prevalent 4G network in the UK, mobile video advertising grew from £0.8 million in 2011 to £13.0 million in 2012. Total mobile display advertising (including video) increased by 121 per cent to £150 million.

Mobile search grew 164 per cent, to £365 million, accounting for 69 per cent of total mobile ad spend.

The remaining £11 million of mobile ad revenue is primarily accounted for by classifieds, SMS/MMS and other smaller advertising formats.