2015 has already kicked off with some amazing surprises in the mobile space.  The mobile advertising industry is maturing and there is no doubt that it will soon be developing by leaps and bounds. With the advent of more feature-rich mobile devices, the infancy of the Internet of Things industry, and more sophisticated analytics, the mobile industry is only limited by creativity and imagination.

Here are 7 predictions of what we’ll be seeing in the coming year that will be groundbreaking!

1) Better Targeting of Consumers

Many mobile users find mobile advertising intrusive while others consume it to no end. Marketers are quickly going to realize that they can’t be selling something all the time and that when they do sell a product they need to understand consumers’ interests for better targeting and even ad placement. Better analytics will help serve marketers to this end by providing marketers with the data to make better decisions. It will also help them to build more consumer loyalty.

2) Local & Proximity Targeting

Apple’s new iBeacon technology is literally changing the way advertisers are going to implement location-based ads. The trend to target sales and discounts based on the consumer’s proximity is certainly going to increase. But with iBeacon, a consumer can be in a shopping center, and as he/she wanders around, they will be fed ads for user acquisition and retargeting, based on where they are standing in proximity to the store. Imagine them 5ft away from the Gap and they immediately get an ad for a coupon code targeting the Gap jeans they were checking out on their website. The ramifications of this will be enormous and it will be interesting to see how this will evolve.

3) Wearable Tech

Whether it’s Google Glass or the Apple Watch, wearable devices are new opportunities for marketers to reach consumers. It’s just going to be an additional channel like social media and mobile devices that will need suitable ads. Companies will need to figure out how promote one cohesive message to consumers while retaining brand integrity along all their channels. Ads will need to be adapted for smaller screens and the messages will need to be more concise. Marketers will be able to leverage all the sensors available for more custom ads. The soon to be released Apple Watch has 4 sensors alone to monitor a user’s physical state and is ripe for marketers to tap.

4) More Rich Media in Advertising

Video ads, rich in audio are truly going to dominate in the future. More than that, they are going to be more interactive for the consumer. In addition, ads won’t feel like ads, but will be seamlessly integrated that the video will feel like it’s an extension of the user experience in the app.

5) Augmented Reality

This trend is in its infancy, but continues to pepper the tech news and conferences. Augmented reality is when digital information is overlaid on reality in which users can interact. While gaming seems like the most obvious vertical to benefit, it also can enhance the shopping experience.  Google’s  Project Tango technology and MagicLeap are two companies that have been at the forefront of developing this technology.

6) One-Touch Purchases

comScore’s 2014 Q2 data report showed some impressive numbers on mobile commerce, indicating there was a 47% increase. It also accounted for 21.9% of sales on Black Friday, according to Marketing Land. There is no doubt that these numbers are going to increase as the buying process is shortened. We see this trend with Twitter that allows companies to use the “Buy Now” button in tweets. Apple Pay technology just upped the game by making that possible in mobile as well. Consumers will view an ad and make a purchase instantly using their scanned credit cards.

7) TV Campaigns and a Holistic Approach to Data

The mobile advertising industry is going to be all shook up because user acquisition to shift the TV screen. Small screens will no longer dominate, but rather a diverse channel will be leveraged to expand the user base. Developers will promote something on TV and will be able to track and attribute everything in their AppsFlyer dashboard. It’s the ultimate in having a holistic view of your campaigns. They will be able to see mobile, web, offline, and TV events in one dashboard.

To Wrap Up

The mobile ad industry has a lot to look forward to in the coming years in terms of innovation, creativity, and increasing mobile commerce. If they haven’t already marketers are going to learn to meet consumers where they want to be met and adapt ads to their needs.