The global mobile advertising industry grew 38 percent in the first quarter of 2010, according to BuzzCity?s Global Mobile Advertising Index.

Indonesia, India, the United States and South Africa continued their dominance among the top five and were joined by Canada for the first time. Britain also demonstrated strong growth with approximately 230 million ads served over the three month period - an increase of 114 percent since the previous quarter.

?The growth that the global mobile advertising industry has seen, for the first three months of this year, has risen by a massive 38 percent,? said KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity. ?This double digit growth is also seen beyond the top 20 markets reported on in the study.

?America saw a 54 percent increase of ads served over the three months in Q1 of 2010,? he said. ?This sharp increase in growth, globally and in the U.S., can be attributed to the mobile-centric agencies who are delivering more constant and structured investments in the mobile medium.?

Here is a breakdown of the number of mobile banner ads served by country, with growth percentages as well.

The growth numbers indicate continued interest in mobile Internet advertising. Many of the campaigns are now being run through experienced agencies.

Additionally, BuzzCity has observed a greater investment in mobile from brands outside the mobile content sector, most notably among wireless carriers. There is now a more constant and structured investment in the mobile advertising medium.

?Even though our global mobile ad index showed a strong growth across all markets, we were slightly surprised that the industry had not grown at a faster rate despite the increasing demand for content,? Mr. Lai said. ?In many markets, we can credit limitations of network capabilities for the lack in further growth but in other cases it is simply a lack of variety in content.?

The growth and increased interest in mobile advertising can be attributed to the increase in affordable high-end phones and greater public awareness of the mobile Web.

This year has also driven a rise in the volume of global mobile traffic. This increase in volume and continued advertiser interest has meant publishers can expect better returns as a greater variety of advertisers get better acquainted with the media.

Based on these findings it is clear that marketers need to have an understanding of mobile as a channel and how their potential and existing customers and potential customers use mobile.

This knowledge will enable marketers to better tailor their advertising campaigns.

A key piece of advice for marketers to adhere to is that companies must start to develop clear mobile strategies beyond one-off product offerings via mobile.

As customers become rapidly accustomed to using mobile devices ? ranging from listening to music, playing games, paying bills, reading news, interacting with friends and watching and recording videos ? the demand for more mobile offerings has subsequently increased too.

These services are now expected across-the-board from companies so a more strategic mobile plan should be put in place.

?With the roll-out of 4G networks, operators are set to catch up with user demand,? Mr. Lai said. ?Marketers, therefore, need to meet user demands too.

?We predict this will happen throughout 2010 as marketers begin to develop strategies that integrate mobile into their whole business,? he said. ?This year, we expect more businesses and product content will find creative deployment on the mobile internet as the industry continues to boom.?