Executive Summary

2020 will be a pivotal year for mobile as the first 5G networks gain traction in some countries, including the US and China. But that will be just one story, as privacy regulations tighten, transparency tools become more widespread, and mobile video and audio grow more important.

How will 5G affect the mobile landscape in 2020?

It’s still too early to determine 5G’s full impact, but sales in 5G phones will explode in the second half of the year. 2020 will be an opportune time for media companies, app developers and marketers to explore rich media experiences that take advantage of 5G’s fast speeds and low latency.

How will privacy regulations affect mobile marketers?

Marketers will need to be more judicious about how they collect and use data. Regulations and operating systems restrictions, particularly Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), will cut back available data, and should raise prices for premium third-party data and location-based advertising, increase the use of contextual ads and put pressure on companies to utilize their first-party data.

What other developments will impact mobile?

Wearables will continue to evolve and gain users, but many will remain tethered to smartphones. Hearables (earphones with internet connectivity) and augmented reality (AR) will gain strength. Connected TV (CTV) will also grow quickly, which will influence the mobile strategies of over-the-top (OTT) video providers.

Will transparency improve in 2020?

Yes, and the IAB has come up with new transparency tools over the past year, with app-ads.txt the most important. The tool verifies the legitimacy sellers of an app publisher's inventory, but so far fewer than half of app publishers have appended the file. The pace should increase in 2020.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report will look at 10 key trends that will affect mobile marketing in 2020.

KEY STAT: 5G networks launched in 2019, but only a few million 5G smartphones have been shipped worldwide since then. That will begin to change in 2020.