The Hyperfactory

The winners were announced during the Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Nov. 17. As the MMA’s highest honors, these awards recognize companies and their campaigns for spearheading the adoption of the mobile channel for marketing purposes.

Each year, the MMA’s awards ceremony serves as the conclusion of the Mobile Marketing Forum. The MMA received hundreds of submissions in 12 categories from companies worldwide.

Winners are selected by the MMA Awards Selection Committee comprised of global industry leaders from wireless carriers, technology and content providers, agencies and industry publications.

The 2009 MMA award winners, by category and region, are:

Mobile Display Campaign - North America
• Pizza Hut iPhone App, Pizza Hut Inc.

Mobile Display Campaign - Central & Latin America
• Trident Fresh, F.biz

Mobile Display Campaign - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• LMfootball.mobi, Livemobile (Pty) Ltd.
• Soccer stars in your pocket, Mobiento

Mobile Display Campaign - Asia Pacific
• Puma F Wan, Phonevalley

Mobile Display Campaign - Global
• The Virtual Zippo Lighter App, Moderati Inc.

Mobile Messaging Campaign - North America
• Creating a Safety Movement by Encouraging Conversation: Just Look for UL, MS&L

Mobile Messaging Campaign - Central & Latin America
• Carefree Mobile Campaign, pontomobi interactive

Mobile Messaging Campaign - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• Kraft Foods Turkey / Patos, Mobilera

Mobile Messaging Campaign - Asia Pacific
• Because We Can, The Hyperfactory

Mobile Messaging Campaign - Global
• Obama SMS Speech Excerpts Sent to Cairo and Ghana Regions, Clickatell

Emerging Technology Campaign - North America
• Pizza Hut iPhone App, Pizza Hut Inc.

Emerging Technology Campaign - Central & Latin America
• Jeito Chiclets; Jeito Lhama, F.biz

Emerging Technology Campaign - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• Fanta More Play, The Hyperfactory

Emerging Technology Campaign - Asia Pacific
• Cadbury Be The Gorilla, The Hyperfactory

Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign - North America
• Rogers/Live Nation - Wireless Box Office, MyThum Interactive

Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign - Central & Latin America
• ClubMovistar – Mobile Loyalty Program, Movistar Chile, AndinaTech

Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• Pepsi Makes Your Day, RABARBA ILETISIM HIZMETLERI

Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign - Asia Pacific
• Sony Quantum Code, AURA Interactive

Multi-Mobile Channel Campaign - Global
• Coca-Cola Global Mobile Festive 2008, The Coca-Cola Co.

Social Impact - North America
• Real Housewives of New York City: Ultimate Virtual Viewing Party, Bravo Digital Media

Social Impact - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• The Fastest on Facebook, Mobile Dreams Factory

Social Impact - Asia Pacific
• Sony Quantum Code, AURA Interactive

Cross-Media Integration Campaign - North America
• UPS jobs - Problem Solved, UPS & TMP Worldwide

Cross-Media Integration Campaign - Central & Latin America
• TIM Father's Day: Gift Express, TIM, McCann Erickson & Mobext

Cross-Media Integration Campaign - Europe, Africa and Middle East
• Who Killed Summer 09 (Vodafone Group), OMD Mobile

Cross-Media Integration Campaign - Asia Pacific
• Go For It, Tribal DDB India

Cross-Media Integration Campaign - Global
• Ad Council That’s Not Cool, R/GA

Best Mobile Campaign Overall: (three-way tie)
• TIM Father's Day: Gift Express, TIM, McCann Erickson & Mobext
• UPS jobs-Problem Solved Mobile Media Campaign Delivers Hires, UPS & TMP Worldwide Advertising
• Who Killed Summer 09 (Vodafone Group), OMD Mobile

The award winners for the 2009 MMA Industry Awards are:

Mobile Innovation: Creativity
• Pepsi Makes Your Day, RABARBA ILETISIM HIZMETLERI

Mobile Innovation: Reach
• ScoreCenter, ESPN

Social Impact
• Text ALIVE Mobile Donations, Mobile Accord Inc.

Award for Overall Excellence
• Fanta Stealth Sound System, Ogilvy Advertising

The award winners for the 2009 MMA Academic awards are:

Academic of the Year - Individual
• Margherita Pagani, Bocconi University

Academic of the Year - Institution
• Ball State University, Ball State University

Full article

Howard Hunt
Regional business development,
The Hyperfactory

Geoffrey Handley
Co-founder, The Hyperfactory

See full article

Los Angeles, November 18, 2009

In what has become an annual tradition, The Hyperfactory received top honors across several categories at the Mobile Marketing Association’s 2009 Global Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. This year, the global agency took home three more awards for its innovative campaigns:

• Best Mobile Messaging Campaign (Asia Pacific): Because We Can – 42Below Vodka campaign turning a billboard to life

• Best Emerging Technology Campaign (Asia Pacific): Fanta More Play – Virtual Tennis 3D augmented reality app

• Best Emerging Technology Campaign (Europe the Middle East and Africa): Fanta More Play – Virtual tennis 3D augmented reality app

“This is fantastic recognition endorsing our belief that we are the best at helping the biggest companies in the world figure out mobile. We advice them on what they should be doing about this emerging medium and building a strategy around it to finally develop the technology that would get them there”, said Derek Handley, CEO and founder of The Hyperfactory. “The mobile phone is somehow becoming the remote control to people’s life and our goal is to remain the best at creating campaigns for brands we love.”

About The Hyperfactory
The Hyperfactory powers businesses and brands through the mobile medium. As the most awarded and oldest independent specialist, they are consistently setting new standards of excellence through their two divisions:

With a history of winning more industry accolades and recognition than any agency worldwide, clients include Coca-Cola, BlackBerry, L’Oreal, Vodafone, Disney and Kraft.  Privately owned and founded in 2001 by New Zealand brothers Geoffrey and Derek Handley it employs over 100 of the world’s best mobile technology and marketing experts.  The Hyperfactory support and deliver globally through their network of offices in Auckland, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Sydney and Hyderabad, India.

For more information, visit: http://www.thehyperfactory.com

As the MMA’s highest honors, these awards recognize companies and their campaigns for spearheading the adoption of the mobile channel for marketing purposes.

The finalists for this year’s Global MMA Awards represent the mobile marketing pioneers and thought leaders who continue to shape the industry’s best practices through innovative and increasingly effective campaigns that raise the bar for all stakeholders within the mobile marketing community and beyond, according to the MMA.

The full list of finalists can be found here.

Representatives from HyperFactory and R/GA were on hand to discuss new mobile innovations such as using HTML to format mobile sites to look like applications and augmented reality promotions. These new trends have already been active in Europe and are poised to sweep the globe

“We’re at an important inflection point in terms of mobile,” said Chris Colborn, executive vice president and chief experience officer at R/GA, New York. “Mobile is at a place where there’s been a lot of change in the marketplace with the advent of the App Store and dissemination of the new mobile Web platform on the iPhone and Palm. “There are new opportunities for what we can do in the mobile space,” he said.

A part of the Interpublic Group, R/GA is an advertising agency specializing in digital marketing. Mr. Colborn spoke about several of R/GA’s mobile offerings and how the mobile space is changing with the advent of new technologies. For every television and PC in the world there are four mobile devices, he said. Yet, advertisers are spending more on TV than mobile. Brands should invest in mobile not because of its reach or the ability to target consumers on mobile, but because of the personalized experience that comes with mobile. TV marketing is a lean-back medium, Mr. Colborn said. PC marketing is lean-forward, while mobile is extremely targeted and relevant because it is such a personal device to the user. Advertisers need to put mobile at the heart of any 360-degree campaign, such as the R/GA-powered Nokia campaign, Urbanista Diaries (see story).

The campaign gave a series of bloggers cameras and mobile devices to go out and document how they see the world. It was rendered in real time on the Web. Eventually, brands like CNN got on board and general everyday consumers joined the campaign, making it a global experience.

Embracing mobile Web
Changes in global sites can whet the appetite in terms of what can be done on the mobile platform. One good example is ESPN. The sports brand uses advanced HTML to make for the richer media experience users expect from an application. Google’s Fast Flip was launched for the PC Web and mobile, showing that Google is paying attention to the mobile platform and knows the future of browsing is on mobile. Brands need to think in terms of applications when designing mobile sites, Mr. Colborn said.

The Massachesuts Institute of Technology has designed its mobile landing page with icons, giving users the functionality of an application on the mobile Web platform. Volkswagen has followed a similar practice. Using GPS and location services on the mobile Web will help shape the future too, for example a consumer using her present location to look for street art on Flickr. Amazon is paving the way in mobile commerce with a mobile site that has many of the same functionalities as the PC Web site. If users are still not satisfied with Amazon’s mobile site, the commerce giant has a button to link back to a more traditional PC-style site to make users more comfortable. These new trends in mobile Web development have come from the innovations seen in applications.

Another way to leverage the mobile platform is to link it with the PC Web. The Nike Training Club starts users on Nikewomen.com, where they can build avatars and set up workout routines. Then, the user downloads the application and can take the fitness routine anywhere (see story).

Mr. Colborn said the usage of the iPhone application is twice as high as the Web usage. Developers and brands will continue to leverage the mobile platform in an effort to reach consumers in their everyday life. Applications are experimenting with incremental purchases. like on Major League Baseball’s. After the initial purchase of the Major League Baseball, users can pay $0.99 to watch any live game via their iPhone. Using the Barnes & Noble iPhone application, users can snap a picture of a DVD, book or CD and look up its price in the bookseller’s super store and find the nearest location that stocks the product. “We’re going to see a lot more rich visual experiences,” Mr. Colborn said.

Mobile on the street

The Hyperfactory creates mobile marketing campaigns, programs and sites for clients through offices worldwide. Derek Handley, Los Angeles-based CEO of The Hyperfactory, said that integrating mobile is the way to go for the future.

The United Nations used The Hyperfactory to promote UN Voices in Australia. As a part of the campaign, posters and advertisements featured people with various afflictions. Some were HIV positive, others homeless. Users were encouraged to take a picture of the person’s mouth on the poster and send it to a designated number on the poster. Within a few minutes of the message’s sending, the users receive a recorded call from the person on the poster, telling them about their cause. All proceeds from the messages and calls went to various related charities. Users were also directed to a Web site where all the stories were listed. There, users could submit their own stories too.

“It was a static campaign that used mobile on two levels,” Mr. Handley said. “It brings the voice of the characters of the campaign to you in a personal and innovative way and it creates a voice for the static media, trying to get more interactive and help it come to life.”

In Sweden, AMF Pension ran a campaign to get young adults interested in savings. The company used posters to ask mobile users to photograph themselves and send it in to a designated number. Then, the user would receive an MMS back with how they would look several years in the future. Mr. Handley said using the tactic of surprise, the campaign engaged young users.

Hyperfactory’s promotion for shoe giant Nike, Nike PhotoID, allowed users to take colors from the real world and put them onto shoes. Users created personalized sneakers by taking a picture of a combination of colors they found and sending them to a designated number. After sending, an MMS is sent back to the consumer with a shoe styled with their colors and a code to enter to buy the product online.

In terms of augmented reality, Coca-Cola and The Hyperfactory launched two promotions. The applications launched across Europe in late January and were supported by print and online ads, on-pack promotions, point-of-sale material, viral marketing and public relations. One application is called Fanta Virtual Tennis and the other is the Fanta Stealth Sound System (see story).

Mr. Handley said the future of mobile is full integration into media campaigns, like Fanta has done. “These ideas are all mobile-centric,” Mr. Handley said. “We take big ideas for mobile and integrate them into the wider campaign and they all use various mechanisms to engage in cutting-edge technology.”

The brothers, who founded The Hyperfactory in 2000, won't reveal how much listed Meredith Corporation is paying for the 19.9 per cent stake but say it is "up there" in terms of other emerging New Zealand technology companies.

In 2006 Rod Drury sold his email storage company AfterMail to US software maker Quest for more than $60 million and in 2003 a 70 per cent chunk in Peter Maire's Navman was snapped up by US manufacturer Brunswick for $56.1 million.

New York-based Derek Handley, who will stay on as chief executive of Hyperfactory, said the company had been looking to do a deal for the past 18 months. "We wanted to find someone who would be able to really help us move to the next stage." The acquisition by Meredith would help the company, which grew its revenue by 80 per cent last year, grow even faster. "When you look at New Zealand success stories like Navman they have taken 30 years to get to where they are. "If we want to get to $100 million in revenue - we want to get there in 2009 not 2039."

The Hyperfactory only expanded overseas four years ago but already has two offices in the United States as well as sites in Shanghai, Hong Kong and India. Handley said the acquisition would not mean pulling out of its New Zealand operations, instead it would have a joint head office in Auckland and New York.

Handley said the deal would allow Hyperfactory to gain access to Meredith's clients as well as expanding its services throughout the US.

Meredith is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and last year had revenue of US$1.6 billion ($2.45 billion). It owns 12 television stations in the US, as well as 23 subscription magazines and 32 websites.

Handley said Meredith had the ability to reach 85 million Americans a month. "All of that stuff has got to go mobile." Handley said the relationship with Meredith had already resulted in more than a million dollars worth of business and he expected that to grow to more than $10 million per year.

"I think for us the deal definitely cements Hyperfactory as a New Zealand success story." Handley said it showed New Zealand entrepreneurs could succeed in going global despite being so far away from major world markets. "It proves young people can do this. That you can build a global business with entrepreneurs from Auckland - I think that is the thing I'm most proud of - it's not about the money."

Handley put their success down to drive and hunger. "It is hard work. But deals like this make it all worthwhile." Handley came up with the mobile marketing idea on the balcony of his Auckland apartment in 2000 but it wasn't until 2004 that the business began to gain steam.

In 2007 The Hyperfactory gained financial support from 42 Below founders Geoff Ross, Grant Baker and Stephen Sinclair as well as American investors Rich Frank and his son Paul Frank who helped the company set up shop in Hollywood.

Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), a 107 year old New York Stock Exchange listed company, reaches over 85 million Americans each month through its roster of well-known media brands including Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle. One of America’s leading media and marketing companies, Meredith's fiscal 2008 annual revenues were $US1.6 billion.

Privately owned and founded in 2001 by New Zealand brothers Geoffrey and Derek Handley, The Hyperfactory has rapidly become a major global success story, establishing itself as the world’s expert in mobile marketing.

The company specialises in powering businesses and brands through the mobile medium with award winning, innovative and strategically creative initiatives. Its campaigns have won more mobile marketing awards than any agency worldwide.

“Entering into an alliance with Meredith, a leading media company with vast expertise, experience and resources, will accelerate our global growth at a pivotal stage for the mobile marketing industry,” says Derek Handley. “Being part of such a consortium of leading edge thinkers will stimulate our own creative ideas, design and implementation capabilities, and also create opportunities for us to compete for a whole new tier of clients.”

In addition to its traditional print marketing and advertising business, Meredith has made a number of strategic investments in recent years to broaden its audiences, enhance its online and video content creation expertise, expand its distribution platforms, and increase its sales and marketing capabilities.

“Joining forces with The Hyperfactory provides Meredith’s Integrated Marketing unit with access to the fast-growing mobile category and complements our recent acquisitions in the digital marketing space,” says Jack Griffin, President of the Meredith Publishing Group. “The Hyperfactory’s capabilities fall directly in line with our strategic goals and present significant opportunities for our business-to-business engagements.”

Derek Handley will remain the Chief Executive Officer of The Hyperfactory, with dual headquarters in New York and Auckland.

“Meredith’s stake in The Hyperfactory is an endorsement of our vision and ability to deliver on it,” continues Mr. Handley.  “With Meredith as a strategic shareholder and full business partner we can together leverage the power of mobile across our combined extensive client networks.”

A recent study by Magna Insights shows that within five years the majority of world-wide web users will access the internet using mobile. There are 250 million mobile phones in the US alone with 60 million Americans actively browsing.  Nielson Mobile and eMarketer estimate the US mobile advertising market will grow from $805 million in 2007 to $3.6 billion in 2010.

“Media companies can no longer afford to simply use mobile as a passive channel of communication. They need to actively develop business and brand strategies that include mobile if they are to maintain future connectivity with their customers,” says Mr. Handley.

Says John Zieser, Meredith’s Chief Development Officer, “This strategic move further expands Meredith’s global footprint as well as our ability to serve our clients on this rapidly growing platform. We are continuously seeking out new opportunities to align with market leaders throughout the world.”

“iPhones are considered to be the latest and the greatest,” said Dave Everett, vice president and partner at KaOoga, Newton, MA. “They are made for people on the go and this fits in perfectly for fast food chains.”

“The demographics also match up well as the iPhone users’ age group skews towards a younger crowd,” he said. “Another iPhone advantage is the enormous screen size – an advertiser’s message is impossible to miss. “Having mobile outreach gives fast-food chains an opportunity to push new products, specials and deals.”

Taco Bell first launched its Why Pay More value menu last year and it couldn’t have been a more perfect time. The battered economy has taken its toll on fast-food chain sales in general and the Why Pay More value menu is a great incentive to drive sales.

The Taco Bell value menu includes a variety of menu choices including burritos, tacos and nachos. To use the app, users just need to enter the prices of the value menu items they are buying. Then, they have to shake their phone to trigger calculation.

The application is meant to show consumers that Taco Bell is dedicated to helping consumers save money during this tough time. The application also calculates how much change consumers are to get back.

Customers with a limited amount of money in hand can enter the amount they have and the app will show them what combinations of menu items they can afford to buy. The app also has a store locator link that helps find the nearest Taco Bell.

“Quick service restaurants view mobile apps as a new way to engage their customers, from a simple store-finder function that helps customer find the nearest restaurant to full remote ordering and payment right from the app,” said Noah N. Glass, founder CEO of Gomobo, New York.

Gomobo built an iPhone application for fast-food chain Burger King. The Burger King app lets consumer place orders and pay for them their iPhone (see story).

Additionally, Gomobo helped Subway with its mobile ordering service (see story).

“Restaurant self-service technology has evolved from in-store kiosks, to online ordering, to the mobile device,” he said.

The Global Board will be chaired by Federico Pisani Massamormile, and will be supported by Global Vice-Chairperson Michael Becker, with Mike Wehrs, MMA President and CEO, and Russell Buckley, Global Chairperson Emeritus, rounding out the Global Board of Directors.

The MMA 2009-2010 Global Board of Directors is as follows:

Global

* Global Chair: Federico Pisani Massamormile, CEO HANZO
* Global Vice Chair: Michael Becker, Executive Vice President of Business Development , iLoop Mobile
* Global Treasurer: Louis Gump, VP Mobile, CNN
* Global Secretary: Geoffrey Handley, Co-Founder & New Business Director, The Hyperfactory
* MMA: Mike Wehrs, President and CEO

APAC

* Chair: Sean Rach, Managing Director, OgilvyOne Hong Kong
* Vice Chair: Barney Loehnis, Network Director, Isobar Asia Pacific
* Secretary: Dilip Mistry, Windows Live Lead, Greater Asia Pacific
* Treasurer: Geoffrey Handley , Co-Founder & New Business Director, The Hyperfactory HK Ltd
* Chair Emeritus: Jimmy Poon, Managing Director, Puca Technologies
* MMA: Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director APAC

Europe

* Chair: Herve Le Jouan, Managing Director, Census Solutions
* Vice Chair: Arda Kertmelioglu, CMO / Co-Founder, Mobilera BV
* Secretary: Mark Wächter, Chairman, BVDW Section Mobile (MMA Germany)
* Treasurer: Salvador Carrillo, Founder & CEO, Mobile Dreams Factory (MMA Spain)
* Chair Emeritus: Russell Buckley, Vice President of Global Alliances, AdMob (also Global Chair meritus)
* MMA: Paul Berney, Managing Director EUR

LATAM

* Chair: Omarson Costa, Senior Business Development Manager - Latin America, Microsoft
* Vice Chair: Enrique Yuste, President, Wunderman Latin America
* Treasurer: Fernanda Magalhaes, Brazil Manager, Mobext
* Secretary: Roberto Vázquez Ferrero, Director Telecom Practice, Latin America, The Nielsen Company
* Chair Emeritus: Federico Pisani Massamormile, CEO, HANZO
* MMA: Terence Reis, Managing Director LATAM

North America

* Chair: Maria Mandel, Executive Director of Digital Innovation, Ogilvy Interactive
* Vice Chair: Michael Becker, VP, Mobile Strategies, iLoop Mobile
* Treasurer: Louis Gump, VP Mobile, CNN
* Secretary: Paul Palmieri, President & CEO, Millennial Media
* Chair Emeritus: Tom Daly, Group Manager, Strategy & Planning, The Coca-Cola Company
* MMA: Mike Wehrs, President & CEO (also MMA rep to Global Board)

“The MMA is a premier industry association which discusses, plans and works cooperatively with its entire membership to resolve key industry issues, to share perspectives and case studies across the different geographic regions, to promote technology, processes and practices innovation, and, ultimately, to boost the growth of mobile marketing and advertising worldwide. I am greatly honored to be in a position to help shape its initiatives, drive its international growth and advance its industry leadership’” said new Global Chairman Federico Pisani Massamormile. “I am excited to work with the talented group of individuals that sit on the Global Board. The combined set of skills and experience is unique, extremely valuable and essential as we execute on our mission on behalf of the entire MMA membership and the Industry we represent.”

“Global industry collaboration is essential for the success of mobile marketing and to ensure the best experience for the consumer. Our member and board contribution to this collaborative process is incredibly important, offering real-world expertise and experience,” said MMA President and CEO Mike Wehrs. “My thanks go to the outgoing board members for all their help and hard work, and I welcome our new board for another productive year.”

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin American (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. For information relating to the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum series, please visit

www.mobilemarketingforum.com

APAC
Sonya Madeira Stamp, Jeff Tan or Joan Khor
Rice Communications Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6227 1550
Email: apac.pr@mmaglobal.com

EMEA
Jen Allen or Becca Daniel
Mi liberty Ltd
Tel: +44 207 751 4444
Email: press.emea@mmaglobal.com

LATAM
Maria Ramirez or Julio Gama
Newlink PR
Tel: 305 5327950
Email: press.latam@mmaglobal.com

NA
Valerie Christopherson or Kirsten Woodard
GRC for MMA
Tel: (949) 608-0276
Email: press@mmaglobal.com

If you want to inject real wow factor into your mobile campaigns, you want augmented reality (AR). The customer points a camera phone at a barcode image on a billboard or magazine, and they see a 3D image – of your new product, perhaps – appear on the screen, while the real world remains in the background.
The Hyperfactory has developed AR campaigns for Nike in Asia and Fanta in Europe. Howard Hunt spills the beans on the technology that’s got mobile marketers buzzing.

For mobiThinking’s musings on AR, see: Even better than the real thing.

Q1. What is Augmented Reality and where did it come from?
Augmented Reality (AR) is the process of superimposing digitally rendered images onto our real-world surroundings, giving the sense of an illusion or ‘virtual’ reality. The technology has been around for many years, and has been used in everything from CAD programs for aircraft assembly and architecture, to simulation, navigation, even military and medical procedures. It is only recently, however, that marketers have spotted how AR can be used to engage their mobile audience.

Q2. How does AR work? And what does it involve?
To take part, the consumer needs to download the AR application from the brand’s mobile site, perhaps triggered by an SMS containing the URL.
When the phone’s video camera is pointed at a marker – often a black and white barcode image in print or outdoor advertising – the AR application will first recognise it, analyse it, then create a virtual image based upon the data contained in the marker. The consumer sees a 3D object on the screen, superimposed over the real view seen through the camera lens, which can be viewed from any angle.
AR can also be used on online campaigns (the consumer holds a print advert in front of a webcam), with less development effort than with mobile. But there is so much more scope with mobile, as it can be used anywhere: at a coffee shop, standing next to a billboard, at a sports game, on public transport etc. This makes the extra effort with AR mobile campaigns so worthwhile for brand and consumer.

Q3. How can AR be used by mobile marketers or content providers?
AR can be applied to almost any concept – as long as you have a strong creative angle and the support of an integrated media plan, then the sky is the limit. To date, AR has been a hit with brands that want to create high-impact campaigns to generate awareness of new services or product launches. We’ve seen AR used to create 3D models of cars and shoes from markers in adverts; interactive games; and display messages hidden in SMS.

Q4. What do consumers need to do to take part?
Typically consumers need to have a high-end video-capable phone or smart phone. The technology requires a fair amount of processing power, so the best experience is with high-end Symbian (Nokia etc) or Windows mobile devices. As the application is usually downloaded over 3G or GPRS, it helps to have a flat-rate data plan. AR would also work with the Apple iPhone, but as the software development kit (SDK) is not officially released, applications can not make it onto the App Store just yet.

Q5. What sort of consumers does AR appeal to? Is it more popular with certain demographics or in certain geographies?
There have been too few AR campaigns across the world to say for sure which geographies or demographics respond best. However it is fair to assume it will attract a younger tech-savvy audience (people that go for the latest high-spec phones).
Success, as always, depends on the marketing team’s ability to make the campaign appealing. Consumers are more willing to engage if they perceive a sense of ‘value’. The campaign will be more successful if it is tied seamlessly across media and technology platforms.

Q6. What do you need to do to get consumers involved? Do you have to ‘promote’ the campaign?
Promotion is essential: assuming ‘build it and they will come’ is a recipe for disaster. In common with all mobile campaigns, the call to action must be: 1) clear, 2) simple, 3) well-distributed across channels, and 4) communicate real value.
The simplest way to get the technology into people’s hands is to prompt them to send an SMS. The reply message should contain a URL, hyperlinking to the mobile download site with instructions and full promotion details.

Q7. How successful is this with consumers?
Consumers love to be challenged and they love to take control. AR campaigns are about interaction and empowerment. The most common first reaction from consumers, I believe, is “That’s so cool”, closely followed by “How does it do that?”
These campaigns generate a huge viral or word-of-mouth effect, which is great for creating awareness and engagement. One person – typically an influencer – may tell or demonstrate to as many as 10 friends or family members.

Q8. Is this more than just a novelty?
There’s no doubt the first movers in AR have done it for novelty effect. Many brands saw an opportunity to create a buzz with something new. However this technology is set to grow exponentially both as today’s high-end phones become commonplace and as the mobile business develops new interactive elements to AR campaigns. This will keep creative agencies, brands and consumers busy for the foreseeable future.

Q9. Is it expensive to run an AR campaign?
It’s all relative. The cost of innovation and development makes AR above-average for mobile campaign budgets; however, it’s no more expensive than developing a well-executed integrated mobile Website, or an iPhone game/application. But compared to the average budget for traditional media channels, it’s a drop in the ocean.

Q10. What brands have used AR in their campaigns?
Nike ‘T90’ football boot launch in Hong Kong, Q3 2008, McCann Erickson Hong Kong and The Hyperfactory. See the mobile site and case study

Fanta ‘Play’ tennis game in Europe, Q1 2009, Ogilvy UK and The Hyperfactory. See the mobile site and Website

The Ford Ka launch in Europe, Q1 2009, Wunderman. See the mobile site and video

WWF China, Q2 2009, BBH China and Qdero. See the video

Q11. Where do you see AR going in the future? Is it going to be big?
I believe there will be a series of revolutions for this technology. Short term, expect it to become increasingly interactive, incorporating more live-information feeds and interactive animations.
There will be live integration with the mobile Web, exploiting AR’s ability to map to the real world in terms of location. This will revolutionize classrooms with new learning applications, just as much as it will transform the gaming world (as it already doing via PC-based applications).

AR will open up a truly new, virtual environment around us. Just look at these examples:

Sekai Camera from Japan

Wikitude Google Android Travel Guide

Gizmondo AR Game

Q12. What’s the biggest myth about AR?
People think that it is actually artificial intelligence (AI) and is capable of giving birth to alien babies. Everything is possible... but that might take a few years.

AR campaigns tick a lot of boxes: appealing, innovative, interactive, cool, fun, engaging, viral, plus getting the important message across. This campaign from WWF China illustrates this particularly well. Consumers point their mobile phone at any scene to see a virtual bear coping with the environment – the message to young people: help protect wildlife habitat.

So that’s the entertainment crowd happy, now for the utilitarian… If AR in mobile entertainment is nascent, then on the utility side it’s still in nappies. But there are excellent examples of how AR can literally bring all that terribly useful information on the mobile Web to life. Using image recognition or mapping (or location-based services), AR can tap the mobile Web for more information on what’s around you:

• Help tourists find out more about the place of interest in front of them – see Wikitude demo part one and part two (for Android phones).

• Find a great deal on a show or restaurant – see Lastminute demo (for Android phones).

• Tell you more about the movie advertised on a billboard (and where it’s on locally) – see Nokia Point and Find.

It’s immediately clear from these examples how AR is a perfect fit for a travel guide or a local business looking for a new way to entice in passing trade for example. Now consider how useful it would be for a visitor to an exhibition, sports event, car showroom or even shopping centre (especially if it is delivered over WIFI or Bluetooth). The IBM Seer application for Wimbledon 2009 (again for Android) is a good indication of how this works in practice – see this Wimbledon demo.

And what a great tool for consumer empowerment… there is an abundance of mobile sites that help consumers, such as Wines.mobi to check the fair price for a bottle of wine, Safetoy.mobi to check a toy hasn’t been recalled or Drugs.mobi to find out more about pharmaceuticals. How handy if all you had to do was point your camera phone at the product to search for the latest data. AR has the potential to make the mobile Web even easier, quicker, useful and accessible.

Which brings us to branded utility: what marketer wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to sponsor the commentary at a relevant trade show, sports event or guide visitors around town? If there’s any doubt, check out the publicity IBM (and AR, for that matter) has received in the mainstream press with the Wimbledon app. What’s branded utility? Read THIS INTERVIEW with Ogilvy VP Rory Sutherland to find out more.

The results of the Webbys - the Oscars of the internet, if you will - have already been announced.

Kiwi companies Xero (banking/billing) and Hyperfactory (with six ad agency awards) were among the winners named last month.

Hyperfactory boss Derek Handley who, somewhat deflatingly, already lives in the big Apple, from where he directs his Auckland-based company’s global efforts - and his sidekick are supplying Keallhauled with some live comments from the Webbys Gala ceremony on now in New York where, famously, winners are restricted to a five-word speech.

10.30am: Just passed Bob Greenberg of r/ga will hit him up as he comes off the video podium about unfairly taking our Agency of Year crown, and to suggest to expect much stronger competition from us next year...

10.45am: Decidedly underdressed sans black tie.
Just moving into the green room to get our official You Tube thank you video recording done.

11.36am: Just had a great chat to Lisa Kudrow off friends ... no pic allowed.
She looks just like Phoebe.

11.46am: Five minutes in and Twitter has been mentioned 50 times and been the subject of a three-minute video clip. Last year it was mentioned once, if at all.

10.51am: Seth Myers from Saturday Night Live is hosting ....

12.02pm: We are going on stage now to collect our People's Voice for Mobile Gaming for Fanta Europe.

Seth has given us permission walking off the stage to announce "Do you know who I am? I'm a ficking Webby winner ...".

12.10pm: Crazy dude took all of his clothes off for acceptance and yelled out something inaudible.

Forever, it seems, we've been told that it's just a matter of time—next year, for sure—that mobile marketing will take off in the U.S. Yet advertising on cell phones remains tiny.

That may be about to change for two reasons: Web-surfing smartphones are selling briskly even in a downturn, anapplications for those gadgets—especially Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and the BlackBerry—are proliferating. That means people are spending a lot more time playing gameswatching TV, and shopping on their phones. All that activity translates into what marketers call engagement, a fancy way of saying people are paying attention. Companies, of course, prize that, so they're looking for mobile applications that are a good fit for their brands.

Which brings us to Pandora, a nine-year-old, free online service that lets users design "radio stations" based on their musical preferences. Since Pandora launched a mobile edition two years ago, it has signed up 6 million people (total users for mobile and Web versions is 27 million). That has prompted the likes of Best Buy (BBY), Dockers, Target (TGT), and Nike (NKE) to buy ads on Pandora and experiment with what remains a cheap advertising medium—one most companies have yet to figure out. "We've reached a tipping point," says Domino's (DPZ) Pizza advertising executive Rob Weisberg. "Marketers, especially consumer brands, have to take mobile seriously now. You have to be where your customer works, lives, and plays."

Pandora has become a test bed because people who use the service tend to spend a lot of time playing around with it. They are constantly creating stations, rating songs, and scrolling through playlists to find artists they don't know. Pandora founder Tim Westergren says on average subscribers use the mobile service about 90 minutes a day (though there are no independent numbers).

Advertisers are trying out Pandora in myriad ways. Sometimes it's as a direct marketing tool. Domino's, for example, puts up ads that urge people to call in for a pizza directly from their phones. Other companies are using coupons. Docker's offered a 20% discount if visitors went to the brand's site and entered the promotional code "Pandora." Some companies prompt users to watch movie clips where their products are featured prominently. Puma, which developed a shoe with Ducati motorcycles, ran ads on Pandora that included a trailer from the Vin Diesel movie Fast & Furious 4. The ads allowed people to buy shoes that were featured in the film from their phones. Kraft (KFT) and Nike, looking to have people come directly to them, took out ads encouraging Pandora users to put links on their phones that take them to special mobile sites providing advice as well as promote products. Kraft's is the iFood Assistant, with recipe tips, and Nike's is the Nike Training Club, with workout suggestions.

HIGH CUSTOMER RESPONSE
If one thing has surprised advertisers, it's how avidly consumers are responding. Target says 27% more people clicked on its ad for the release of Christina Aguilera's greatest hits CD last fall than on any other mobile Web campaign. The ad urged users to visit a site where they could get a free Aguilera ringtone and buy the album. Target recently launched a Pandora campaign for the retailer's C9 by Champion clothing line.

Sonos, which sells home music systems, just wrapped up a campaign on Pandora. DeAnna Wassom, Sonos' senior marketing director, says she has never seen better customer response in her 20 years in the business. The ads asked people to click through to a promotional video. Typically, only 1% to 2% of people click on ads overall. But nearly 5% clicked in this case, says Wassom, and almost 40% of those clicking watched the entire video. During the campaign, nearly twice as many people asked to be put on Sonos' e-mail list as those signing up on the company's regular site.

Derek Handley, whose firm, Hyperfactory, has persuaded several companies to advertise on Pandora, says most brands have no clue how to market on mobile devices. Many try to do too much, including making sites so technologically flashy that they crash phones. The key is to keep it simple, he says. Handley also advises companies to build special mobile sites, because regular ones don't translate well to supersmall screens. With mobile marketing poised to take off, the companies experimenting now will have a head start.

Online accounting software provider Xero won two Webbys for its software and website in the banking / bill paying category. The Xero application won the Webby Award and also won the People’s Voice Award in the same category.

With eight wins, R/GA New York will be presented with the first-ever Webby Agency of the Year Award at the 13th Annual Webby Awards, organizers announced today.

The new award recognizes the most successful agency across all Webby categories, including, interactive advertising, websites, mobile sites, and online film and video. Other multiple winners include: New Zealand's Hyperfactory with 6; Goodby Silverstein and Partners with 3; and 2 each to Clemenger BBDO, Wellington, Wieden + Kennedy, 42 Entertainment, The Netherland's Achtung!, Japan's Less Rain, Grow Interactive, Razorfish and Atmosphere. Of the big four advertising holding companies, Omnicom and Interpublic tied with eight awards each, followed by Publicis with three wins.

This is the first year that the Webbys have recognized an Agency of the Year, and the inaugural prize goes to R/GA -- which was selected because it won a total of eight Webby categories, including best B2C Rich Media for Nike SPARQ (which also won a People's Voice Award, so let's hear it for the annoying messages), Best Retail for NIKEiD and Best Game or Application for Nike Football Head2Head (the judges also seem to like Nike).

Other big winners include New Zealand's Hyperfactory (with six awards); Goodby Silverstein & Partners (took three); Wieden + Kennedy, Grow Interactive, the Atmosphere and Clemenger offices of BBDO, and Razorfish (all nabbed two). Of the big four, Omnicom and Interpublic tied with eight awards each, followed by Publicis with three wins.

Twitter won Breakout of the Year -- but, like all winners, when Biz Stone accepts his award in New York on June 8, he'll be limited to five words instead of the 140 characters he's used to.

The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which is not to be confused with the Academy of Arts and Sciences, but this doesn't mean Hugh Jackman won't one day be host. This year, however, SNL's Seth Meyers has hosting duties. Some of the members of the "Academy" who are responsible for judging this year's 10,000 entrants: Vinton Cerf, Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington (whose HuffPo took the People's Voice for Best Political Blog), Harvey Weinstein, Alex Bogusky, Betawave's Matt Freeman, AKQA's Rei Inamoto, and Ogilvy & Mather's Annie Wong.

The full list of winners can be found here .

“Each one of them are doers, though some are more active on the creative side, others on the business development side,” said Andy Favell, editor of mobiThinking. “The key was that the rest of us can learn from each of them.”

Here is the list of honorees in the order of markets: Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States.

Sandy Agarwal, director for Asia-Pacific at Nokia Interactive Advertising
An ESPN cable executive from India, Mr. Agarwal spotted the mobile opportunity on a visit to Reykjavik, Iceland. He soon started Landmat with Icelandic partners for mobile entertainment and community products.

Along the way, Landmat was acquired by Enpocket, which itself became a Nokia company in 2007. Mr. Agarwal stayed through the acquisitions, such was his faith in mobile.

Among Mr. Agarwal’s key achievements is the Nokia Life Tools test project offering Indian farmers access to market prices of supplies and produce, weather and tips of the trade in many languages. Mobile subscriptions and advertising, along with sponsorships from fertilizer and seed companies and multinationals, fund the service.

Geoffrey Handley, cofounder of The Hyperfactory
The New Zealander founded his agency with brother Derek, turning The Hyperfactory into one of the most well-oiled mobile marketing firms

The Hyperfactory’s 10 offices and 120 staff worldwide run more than 2,000 campaigns for a blue-chip roster of clients including Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson. It is a sharp contrast from 2001 when the Handleys did not have the funds to fly to Cannes, France, to collect a GSMA Award for a Cancer Society campaign. They did eventually find sponsors to fund the trip, and that tenacity has remained part of their approach to mobile.

The hands-on leader is a firm proponent of mobile’s value in the multichannel marketing environment, steering clients toward a more mass-market mobile Web presence before embarking on applications for niche audiences

Neeraj Roy, founder/CEO of Hungama Mobile
This go-to man for India’s Bollywood film industry helms South Asia’s largest mobile entertainment company.

Mr. Roy is one of the earliest pioneers of mobile marketing in India, running campaigns for 300 local and multinational advertisers and delivering more than 120 million messages across different databases in Hungama’s decade-long existence. Hungama is the Indian term for noise.

It is said that 70 percent of Bollywood mobile content – video, ringtones, music and games – is funneled through Hungama either as distributor, publisher or developer. Mr. Roy in 2007 helped India’s leading brewer take its Kingfisher Swim Suit Calendar mobile.

Salvador Carrillo, founder/CEO of Mobile Dreams Factory
Now who was that Spanish agency that walked away with eight gongs at the Mobile Marketing Association’s 2008 awards? Few at the ceremony were aware that Mr. Carrillo is long in tooth in mobile, launching Spain’s first WAP site in 1999.

The Spaniard channeled his love for mobile and soccer (European football) in an epic campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, resulting in more than 1 million downloads – with more than 20,000 concurrent users.

Mr. Carrillo and his team have convinced several brands to make their first foray into mobile – Spanish wireless carrier Telefonica with its first branded mobile Internet service in 2006, sponsored by Coca-Cola and marking its Spanish mobile marketing debut. Yes, it was soccer-related.

Marc Mielau, head of digital media at BMW Group
In many ways, this German has set the bar for automotive mobile marketing. He is also a firm believer in integrating mobile into all business activities

Under Mr. Mielau’s direction, BMW in 2006 launched the Mobile Calculator to let German consumers calculate the cost of financing a new car using various types of loans. A BMW@mobile application followed, letting consumers shop for a used car by texting a short code to get photographs and other details. They could also elect to have the car dealer call to arrange for a test drive.

Among his other feats, Mr. Mielau has encouraged the BMW customer relations department to add mobile phone numbers and opt-ins to the luxury automaker’s database. This led to a successful MMS campaign in winter of 2007 offering opted-in mobile consumers winter tires for their BMW. 2D bar codes were also added that year in magazine ads, taking consumers who scanned them to the phone’s browser and then to the new models area on http://BMW.mobi.

Daniel Rosen, head of AKQA MobilThis decade-long veteran of mobile works at one of the most highly lauded interactive agencies. So it is no surprise that AKQA Mobile gets to put a mobile spin on campaigns and sites for Nike, Coca-Cola and Smirnoff.

Mr. Rosen takes particular pride in the Nike PHOTOiD effort that invited sneaker fans in Europe to snap something colorful and send it to a short code with the keyword DUNK. AKQA automatically created a shoe based on the colors in the image and texted the design back. Consumers could then customize the design on NikePHOTOiD.com and buy the footwear.

A Smirnoff .mobi site in 2007 led to the development of the Nighlife Guide to help customers find a bar nearby selling Smirnoff and the Pocket Bartender feature to help users choose a Smirnoff-based cocktail. And then there was the winter 2008 effort that encouraged visitors to http://Coke.mobi to design and send a mobile Christmas card to someone else.

Melis Turkmen, head of the mobile marketing and advertising unit at Turkcell
In an industry that does not attract its fair share of women, Ms. Turkmen is a standout: an indefatigable evangelist of mobile advertising and marketing who has the numbers to prove it.

When Ms. Turkmen moved in 2005 from Turkish wireless carrier Turkcell’s value-added services division to run mobile marketing, her unit had revenue of only $2 million. Four years later, that unit generated $45 million in sales, with the product line expanded from three services to 22, eight agency partners evolving into 24 and a team of one now 13-strong.

Ms. Turkmen and her team have helped craft mobile campaigns for brands such as Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, Shell, BP, Coca-Cola and Unilever. Last year, Turkcell ran 650 mobile marketing projects with 276 brands in 27 industries. The carrier’s pride-and-joy are its permission database, free airtime campaigns and Tone&Win ringback tone advertising platform.

Louis Gump, vice president of mobile at The Weather Channel Interactive
Mr. Gump is always on the stump. Mobile marketing in the United States has no more dedicated a champion than this peripatetic executive who speaks up for the channel at every major event or caucus. He has the street cred.

Given the nature of its focus, the Weather Channel Mobile at http://weather.mobi is one of the most popular mobile sites nationwide, attracting a Nielsen-claimed monthly mobile audience of 11.9 million unique visitors, per January data. It is ahead of content rivals ESPN and CNN and behind only Yahoo Mail, Google Search and Yahoo Messenger.

One of the earliest media properties to go mobile in 1999 – the pioneering wired Web-based weather.com launched in 1995 – the Weather Channel Mobile flourishes with several business models in use: banner ads, syndication of mobile video content to several distributors and customer subscriptions for applications on the BlackBerry, iPhone and Android platforms. The outlook is sunny.

Omar Hamoui, founder/CEO of AdMob
One of the pioneers in the mobile ad network space, Mr. Hamoui has launched three startups before AdMob – Vertical Blue, GoPix and Fotochatter. Perhaps the Silicon Valley-based executive is proudest of his latest effort, the three-year-old AdMob that has gone through three rounds of funding and convinced some of the largest advertisers worldwide to run mobile banner ad campaigns.

AdMob claims to serve 4.1 billion ads monthly to consumers on more than 6,000 mobile sites and 1,000-plus iPhone and Android applications in 160 countries. Advertisers who have done business with AdMob include Land Rover, Coca-Cola, adidas, Paramount Pictures, Ford, Procter & Gamble and MTV Europe. Publishers in its network include CBS Mobile, Hollywood.com, Flirtomatic, Electronics Arts and AccuWeather.

Mr. Hamoui is said to be a hands-on executive, working closely in the recent launch of the iPhone Download Exchange. That exchange will let iPhone application developers in AdMob’s network use a portion of their ad inventory to promote their application and drive downloads.

What’s an organic farmer from California and former chef to the Grateful Dead band doing in mobile? Ask Mr. Keenan the next time you bump into him at one of the countless mobile shows nationwide and overseas.

Mr. Keenan is better known for his tireless stumping on the mobile circuit, representing the Mobile Marketing Association currently as global vice chairman and metrics crusader. Still, he finds time to push the mobile bar for agency clients such as Reebok, Marriott, Nike, adidas and Electronic Arts.

A shining moment for Isobar was in 2005 when mobile saved the whodunit “Veronica Mars” television show from cancellation. Viewers were asked to opt-in via SMS to get messages from the series, adding an interactive dimension for Veronica Mars fans and turning them into promoters of the program. Show ratings are said to have more than doubled during the campaign’s run, Web site traffic quintupled and mobile ad banners got an 8 percent click-through. Mobile done it.

Industry before self
A common thread through the current honorees’ list is not only the time they spent on their clients and firms, but also the numerous tours of duty they did with speaking gigs or committee responsibilities at the Mobile Marketing Association, CTIA: The Wireless Association and GSMA.

This list of top 10 mobiThinkers is set to become an annual feature.

The selection process will remain the same: Asking executives in the mobile business to nominate their heroes. Nominations this time round were restricted to executives who were actively engaged at an agency- or brand-level.

“We created a shortlist of those who were nominated most frequently or stood out and then argued a lot until we came up with 10 that represented a cross-section of the best from different areas of mobile marketing and from different parts of the globe,” mobiThinking’s Mr. Favell said.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “As you know, there are so many excellent candidates in mobile marketing. We hope that by drawing attention to this body of mobile creativity and best practice, we can inspire more brands to embrace mobie.”

http://media.smh.com.au/technology/media-09/geoffrey-handley-of-hyperfactory-386316.html

Target also has a mobile site where mobile users can browse and search products and locate the nearest Target store that has the merchandise they are looking for. The mobile site does not allow users to make purchases.

The mobile site and the iPhone application both give users access to product ratings and reviews

To promote its Go International collections, Target leveraged text messaging to consumers on its mailing lists to inform them of new designers that are part of the limited-time-only fashion program coming or when favorites are leaving.

"We are continually looking for ways in which we can leverage mobile devices to offer guests shopping solutions that fit within their busy lives and budgets," Ms. O'Leary said. "Leveraging mobile devices helps enhance anytime, anywhere shopping experiences at Target."

Specific to iPhone users, they can go to iTunes on their computer or visit the App Store directly from iPhones and download the application, then sync up their phone.

After that, guests can go to the Target.com Gift Finder and select attributes, such as male/female and age. The user will see the gift idea and price.

From there, guests can save the idea to their favorites, which ties the gift to recipients in their contact list.

This isn't the first time that a retailer has used the iPhone to push its gifting options.

Sam's Club, a warehouse club chain owned by Walmart, has a Gifter Stress Lifter mobile application (see story).

That iPhone application was designed to find personalized ideas for friends, family or colleagues on the Sam's Club member's holiday shopping list. Consumers can make purchases through the application.

For its part, Target has run mobile campaigns in the past.

The mass merchandiser ran a banner ad campaign to promote its exclusive sale of Christina Aguilera's new CD release.

For that effort, Target placed banner ads on 310.tv, a new mobile blogosphere platform, to promote its exclusive sale of Christina Aguilera's new CD release (see story).

In addition to the headers and footers, Target's media buy with Snakk Media included a sponsorship and run of site, promoting the deluxe version of the pop diva's "Keeps Getting Better: A Decade of Hits."

A few weeks later, Target expanded this banner ad campaign with Pandora to promote its exclusive sale of Ms. Aguilera's new CD release (see story).

Target's media buy with mobile ad agency The Hyperfactory included banner ads on Pandora's personalized radio service iPhone application that drove consumers to a branded mobile Web page with an offer of a free Christina Aguilera ringtone.

The goal was to promote the deluxe version of the pop diva's "Keeps Getting Better: A Decade of Hits."

Like many other retailers, including Ralph Lauren Corp. and Gap Inc., Target recognizes the value of an iPhone mobile application and the mobile-savvy audience it attracts.

"Partnering with Apple's iPhone allows us to provide unique mobile-based solutions for the large number of our guests who use an iPhone," Ms. O'Leary said.

"We started off talking to Fox Searchlight about how mobile is a great way to reach a mobile audience, a perfect component for a Notorious marketing campaign," said Liz Jones, vice president of entertainment and media at Hyperfactory, Los Angeles.
"They were excited to use mobile to get consumers to view trailers and to reach an urban audience," she said.

Notorious is the story of Christopher Wallace who, through raw talent and sheer determination, transforms himself from a Brooklyn street hustler to become the greatest rapper of all time, The Notorious B.I.G. This story charts his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectation.

The campaign launched Dec. 22 and the movie opened in theaters Jan. 16. The campaign revolved around driving traffic to the Notorious destination site to get people to watch the video.

The studio is running mobile banners within Pandora's iPhone application. The application allows Fox Searchlight to target consumers ages 18-34 who listen to rap and hip-hop. The banners encourage consumers to click-to-video to view a video trailer. Every time a user scans the bar code the consumer receives a link to a trailer for the movie on YouTube.

"Fox Searchli8ght is looking to do something different, break out of the clutter," Ms. Jones said. "I think mobile is the best place for that right now because it offers a great chance at having a big share of voice. "Mobile allows brands to reach a specific demographic," she said.

Also there are scanable 2D bar codes on movie posters throughout New York.

mobilemarketer.com

Mobile's ubiquity makes it a natural for facilitating lead generation and engagement, something that categories such as automotive have been able achieve with good effect. In third-quarter campaigns run by ad network AdMob, automotive advertising logged a range of click-through rates, between 2.9% and 5.5%, followed by 1.2% to 3.5% for entertainment brands.

"The beauty about mobile is that whenever [consumers] decide to hit that trigger -- 'I am going to find out more about Kia' -- we can be there to enable that experience," said Dave Schoonover, customer-relations marketing manager at Kia Motors. "So for us, it's not enough to just deliver a brand message online, we have to enable the scenario whereby if they decide to take the next step ... they can contact a dealership."

Mobile drives action
Mobile's ability to draw an instant response and identify highly qualified and engaged prospects through capabilities like click-to-call and click-to-SMS makes the medium ideal for driving action. Larry Harris, CEO of Ansible Mobile, sees mobile more as a customer-acquisition channel that's measured in clicks, not eyeballs. For him, impressions, as measured in the traditional cost-per-thousand-viewers metric, do not go hand-in-hand with mobile.

"CPM is more about brand awareness, which most mobile is not. [Mobile] is about getting action. There's no great metrics, in my view, around impressions. When you click through, that's your engagement," Mr. Harris said.

As brand managers are held to greater accountability, there is also a sense that results-based campaigns will move to the fore. Mr. Harris said to expect more performance-based programs that combine cost-per-impression with cost-per-click.

And while cost-per-click wouldn't necessarily be cheaper or more expensive than CPM, advertisers could negotiate more aggressively for direct response buys, media buyers say.

Not ripe for branding -- yet
For now, some say mobile has several strikes against it as a branding channel. On most handsets, the screen is too small and the multimedia capabilities are too limited to deliver a rich, branded experience.

In its current incarnation, mobile also lacks the reach and scale to satisfy the exposure requirements of large-scale campaigns. Though smart phones are on the rise, the vast majority of consumers still use their handsets for voice and text.

"The challenge in the marketplace now is that you can't reach enough people to have that branding effect to affect your bottom line," said Amy Auerbach, senior VP-director of digital at Initiative.

For Ms. Auberbach, the minimum threshold is 3 million people. But as with any new technology, gathering a critical mass will take time.

Makes other media interactive
But while handset limitations and other factors make mobile less optimal for awareness building, marketers can still tap the medium for its interactive capabilities for brand building. In fact, one solution is to use it along with other, less interactive media, such as print or billboards. Tagging a static ad with a mobile call-to-action can add a conversion or click-through metric. Whether the campaign is skewed to branding or direct response, once mobile is inserted into the equation, one-way, passive media becomes two-way, trackable media -- and potentially more accountable.

"There's increasing need for accountability in this space," said Angela Steele, senior VP at mobile marketing firm Hyperfactory. "More and more it's not just impressions and clicks but how mobile is converting."

Some don't view the branding vs. direct response demarcations as meaningful.

"It's like saying television is branding ... [but] if you put on the Home Shopping Network, it's being used as direct response," said Jack Philbin, president of Vibes Media.

Best tied to larger strategy
One way to frame the branding vs. direct-response debate is to draw a line between mobile web banner advertising and mobile marketing, the latter being more about weaving mobile into the overall marketing strategy, Mr. Philbin said. When mobile is part of the broader media mix, "you've got the mobile call-to-action to [TV, print or out of home]; it could be a way to tie all those disparate media dollars together that creates some sort of congruence. Mobile is not its own channel; it's a layer on other mediums."

Increasingly, brands are looking at it this way.

Chris Murphy, who looks after digital marketing for Adidas in the U.S., said integrating mobile into a broader campaign, rather than any single stand-alone mobile program, has guided the athletic shoemaker's mobile strategy. The marketer's "Basketball Is a Brotherhood" campaign featuring print, outdoor and TV invites users to text in and receive calls from NBA all-stars. The goal is to push users to its "Brotherhood" site where a rich, branded experience awaits and let mobile continue the conversation long after the TV spots expire.

"If you did text in, say, from television spots, you can extend the consumer participation and reinforce the message," Mr. Murphy said.

In the end, it's about having something to show for the mobile campaign.

"You don't want to set up a mobile program without some sort of measurement in place to show that consumers actually did see it and interacted with the content," Ms. Auerbach said. "So, whether it's an opt-in or short-code response, unless mobile is part of a bigger program, I don't think branding is worth the trouble."

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