Mobile advertising rose 149 percent in 2011, generating $1.6 billion, up from $0.6 billion in 2010.

The figures published in the IAB's Interactive Advertising Revenue Report for 2011 found that mobile beat out other categories including digital video, retail, and search in terms of growth rate.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) called this year-on-year growth in mobile advertising an "impressive achievement".

On the rise

PwC U.S.'s Dan Silverman, a partner company involved publishing the annual report, said 2011 saw mobile advertising become "a meaningful category".

"By combining some of the best features of the internet, along with portability and location-based technology, mobile advertising is enabling marketers to deliver timely, targeted, relevant, and local advertisements in a manner that was not previously possible," said Silverman.

"With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, it is likely that the tremendous growth in mobile will continue as these screens become even more crucial to the marketing mix,2 added IAB's CEO, Randall Rothenberg.

You can check out the report here.

[source: BusinessWire]