Author: Rebecca

In the United States, smartphone and tablet users are being targeted at a rate that is more rapid than other categories.

According to a recent report by BI Intelligence, mobile marketing is growing at a faster rate than advertising over any other digital channel in the United States, as a rising amount of the overall ad budget by marketers is being allocated to catching the attention of an increasingly large number of users who look to their smartphones and tablet screens first.

Traditionally, there has been a considerable gap between the amount of time spent on mobile devices and the ad money for the channel.

The users of smartphones and tablets have been spending a rapidly rising amount of time on those devices, to the point that it is very significant, and it is still growing. That said while the amount of money spent on mobile marketing is also on a rapidly rising path, it remains quite tiny when compared to the amount of time that users are spending on the devices. The BI Intelligence report shows that this disparity is about to start to narrow, as marketers start to more readily embrace mobile optimized advertising formats.

Among these optimized types of mobile marketing are native ads and interactive rich media.

As the improvement of targeting continues, says BI Intelligence, there will also be an increase in the number of advertisers that will discover the ways in which the mobile advertising platform can effectively be utilized.

The prediction from the report was that by 2018, the mobile ad spend in the United States will reach almost $42 billion. This will be the result of a 43 percent five year compound annual growth rate starting in 2013.

The report examined some of the most important and successful mobile marketing formats, which include the user of social, video, search, and display. The report provided considerable insight into the firm’s predictions with regards to the areas that will see the largest amount of spending from a mobile advertising budget, while looking at the overall performance that may be expected from the ads produced for smartphone and tablet screens.

This application makes it possible for people who are headed out of town to place a hold on their mail.

At this time of year, there is so much going on in terms of gift buying and wrapping, making travel arrangements, and ensuring that everything is packed for the intended destination, it can be easy to forget to take certain steps such as holding the mail, but USPS has created a mobile app to help travelers to overcome this struggle.

The USPS app allows a request for a hold on mail to be submitted over a smartphone or tablet.

When traveling away from home for more than a day or two, placing a hold on mail is a good idea, for several reasons, including security. That said, while many people do intend to do it, it is among the easiest details to forget, particularly when traveling during the holidays, when everything in life is busier and more complicated. It is among the preparations that are most frequently forgotten. However, by using the mobile app, an alternative method can be used to complete this task, whenever it is remembered. Even if it means that the individual is already a day or two into the vacation.

The USPS mobile app is currently available for travelers with both Android and iOS based smartphones.

The mobile application is available for free, and it offers a simple to use “Hold Mail” button that gives customers the opportunity to have their mail held for as few as 3 days or for as long as a month. Arrangements can also be made for the way that the held mail will be collected. For example, a user can request that all of it be delivered in a single large stack, or the customer can indicate that they would rather pick it up from their local post office.

Once the request has been submitted, the user will receive a confirmation email that provides all of the details about the request, such as the applicable dates and the collection information. Once the hold has expired, another email is sent on that day in order to confirm that the mail will no longer be held after that point.

The mobile app also provides the user with helpful information such as the location of the nearest branch, the ability to use tracking codes to trace their delivery of their mail, scheduling a pickup, ordering free shipping supplies, and obtaining price quotes.