• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, September 1, 2015

According to a report released today by eMarketer, 2015 is a benchmark year for mobile advertising. Mobile will account for 52.4% of total digital spending, an increase of 59%, surpassing desktop and print marketing for the first time.

"Brands and marketers continue to see increased value in mobile advertising to reach consumers," states eMarketer analyst Martín Utreras. "Some of the shift is happening organically from digital ad spending dollars, but also we see additional dollars moving from traditional media and new money coming from local advertising and small businesses."

eMarketer estimates that U.S. adults are spending 2 hours and 51 minutes on the Internet a day, with mobile accounting for more than half that time.

With regard to specific ad formats, eMarketer has revised their 2015 figures upward. Display advertising will account for the lion’s share of ad spend for the foreseeable future.

The report predicts that spending on video ads will be $2.78 billion while spending on banner ads, rich media and sponsorships will equal $12.77 billion. Both figures are higher than originally forecast.

Search ads account for the second-largest share of the mobile market at 44.7% or $13.62 billion.

Mobile is also expected to surpass print advertising’s share of the market in 2015– sooner than originally anticipated. This is due to simultaneous downwards adjustments of expected print ad spend and upwards adjustment of expected mobile ad spend.

Uritas states that improvements in mobile ad technology and targeting methods, coupled with consumer demand on mobile will continue pull dollars away from print ads.