In a recent Q&A session with Opera Mediaworks Chief Executive Mahi De Silva, a bold prediction was shared with the mobile advertising world.
Facebook’s potential to surpass Google in Mobile Advertising was not only discussed it was all but directly predicted.
Currently, Opera Mediaworks owns 17% of global mobile display advertising and is on track to double their revenues when all is said and done for 2014. The point? This company understands mobile advertising.
Mahi De Silva was an early pioneer in the world of mobile advertising, and feels that Google has dropped the ball on mobile display advertising.
In short, it’s a belief echoed elsewhere across the advertising world amidst projections that mobile will grow from an $18 billion dollar industry in 2013 to well over a $35 billion dollar industry by the end of 2014.
Facebook, which has partnered with Opera Mediaworks for their display advertising, certainly has Google on the run.
“If you look at the display market, they are already number one,” De Silva recently told Venture Beat. “Facebook could be number one on a combined basis. If it’s not next year, it might be in 2016. They are the most interesting company to watch right now.”