Mobile Web Advertisers Double

The number of individual advertisers running campaigns on major mobile websites has more than doubled over the past two years, according to a study by comScore.

From a sample of over 600 of the most trafficked U.S. mobile web properties, the online measurement firm recorded 689 advertisers running campaigns in April 2011, representing 128 percent growth versus the 280 advertisers that did so during the same month in 2009. Hans Fredericks, comScore VP, attributes the growth to the continued proliferation of smartphone devices, which in turn has attracted an increase in ad dollars.

It’s worth noting the study did not factor in ads served through mobile applications. The inclusion of those advertisers could result in a far higher number than the 689 reported.

In other mobile news…

Retailers, Restaurants, Auto Brands Grow Mobile Ad Investment

Retailers, restaurants, and automotive brands are spending significantly more on mobile advertising globally, at least across Millennial Media’s network of mobile apps and websites.

For the first quarter of the year the company reported 1,342 percent growth in revenues from retail and restaurant advertisers compared with the same period in 2009. Meanwhile automotive advertisers upped their investment by 723 percent, and financial advertisers spent 379 percent more, it said.

Majority of Connected Device Users Watch TV Simultaneously

Marketers are increasingly interested in the potentially powerful relationship between tablet and smartphone devices and the consumption of broadcast TV content. Earlier this year Yahoo released data demonstrating a correlation between commercial TV breaks and an uptick in search behavior.

Nielsen recently released the results of a study reinforcing that behavior, suggesting over two-thirds of tablet and smartphone owners use their connected devices whilst watching TV.