Australia’s mobile advertising industry is expected to reach $682 million by 2018 with over 70% of mobile advertising spend predicted to be served on tablets alone, reveals a new report by analysis firm Frost and Sullivan.

The ‘Australian Online General and Mobile Advertising Market 2013’ report findings show that the past 12 months have seen huge growth in mobile advertising expenditure due to the dramatic rise in smartphone consumption and, more significantly, tablet consumption.

Mobile advertising is now an essential strategy of media agencies and brands, with 79% of Australian companies set to increase their mobile advertising expenditure by 10%, comparative to the prior year.

The report found that all industries in Australia experienced strong growth, with the banking and finance and automotive industries currently leading the market. Retail has also been a strong adopter.

Local mobile ad networks and global mobile ad networks alike are expanding their Australian business models. Phil Hapur, senior research manager at Frost and Sullivan, predicts that this momentum will continue into 2014, with the advancement of mobile-specific advertising campaigns.

Ad rates for mobile advertising have remained stable over the past year. Although there is evidence of innovation in mobile advertising, such as video ads embedded in banner ads, the market remains largely underdeveloped.

Continuing to experience strong growth is mobile search advertising, which has rapidly increased over the past few years.

One of the industries biggest challenges is driving value in mobile and tablet advertising due to the oversupply of inventory spots created by high mobile usage of smartphones and tablets, says Hapur.

“Higher demand is now coming for premium mobile ad solutions, which are now seen as an essential part of an integrated advertising campaign covering both offline channels, such as TV and print, and online channels, both mobile and non-mobile,” he says.