Capsule Snapshots
CPG mobile video campaigns seem to be springing up like weeds and announcements about mobile content deals are being rolled out at what appears to be warp speed. Some examples of a few successful programs:
- Third Screen Media rolled out a mobile ad campaign for Unilever, one of the largest consumer brand companies worldwide, that featured actor and romance cover model Fabio. The "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" mobile initiative featured a WAP site that closely mirrored the brand's Kitchen of Love online counterpart, also with Fabio. The site enabled users to download video content, send "Fabio-grams" to friends and view recipes provided by Unilever.
- Proctor & Gamble launched its "Irresistibility IQ for Crest Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste" mobile campaign, which featured Nick Cannon, host of MTV's "Wild 'N Out." The mobile program for Crest ran on all major U.S. wireless carriers and was the first of a series of campaigns for P&G brands using integrated short message service messages (SMS). To take the Irresistibility IQ, quiz users texted "IQ EXTREME to C-R-E-S-T." P&G said response rates were high.
- McDonald's franchises near Tulsa, OK, developed "Mobile Whoa," a campaign that offered consumers mobile coupons, an SMS scavenger hunt and a mobile phone picture gallery. To join the hunt, participants had to text "Hunt 62931" or go to the website. Clues were revealed until someone solved the mystery. The coupons, called mCoups, offered a free small order of fries or hash browns. People who uploaded photos could access a mobile phone picture directory, ringtones and wallpapers.
Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that mobile ad spending will exceed $11 billion annually by 2011, as more and more CPGs migrate content to the mobile phone screen and carriers continue to foster partnerships with major brand advertisers and media companies.
Laura Marriott, president of the Mobile Marketing Association, which has representation in more than 40 countries and strives to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies, sets guidelines to ensure consumer opt-in or consumer pull in all mobile marketing initiatives.
Marriott said that brands are beginning to build significant investments around the mobile channel.
"Coca-Cola's launch, for instance, will help drive interest and awareness from other brands to invest in mobile," she said. "Large-scale campaigns by companies like Coca-Cola are another industry milestone in that brands are leveraging the mobile channel to its fullest potential. The fun has only just begun."
OgilvyInteractive's Maria Mandel added that the ultimate success of mobile marketing boils down to what consumers want to receive on their mobile devices and in what form.
She envisions a number of upcoming trends such as advertisers that will invest in mobile as a separate channel and tag traditional/event media with short-code response/promotions.
"There's no question this is a multimillion-dollar opportunity for advertisers," she said. "The challenge is to figure out how best to leverage it."
Neal Leavitt is president of Leavitt Communications, an international marketing communications company. Read full bio.