By Rick Mathieson
Branding Unbound - July 7, 2009
Ace is the place where some serious response is being generated through idle screen mobile advertising.
Mobile marketing firm Mobile Posse has alerted me that a national campaign promoting home maintenance products to mobile consumers has generated a click through rate of 18%.
The campaign, launched during Memorial Day weekend, using idle screen advertising - which essentially displays an ad when you're not using your mobile phone - invited consumers to visit their local Ace Hardware store. Not only did a notable percentage click on the ad, but 30% of the respondents visited an Ace location.
“The Memorial Day holiday weekend is a perfect opportunity to make a dent in the home maintenance to-do list. Everyone has to-do lists for taking care of their homes, including starting or finishing a painting project, especially if extended family is coming to visit,” says Andrew Vitellaro, Sr. Creative Specialist at Ace Hardware, in a statement.
Now to be clear, this isn't just pushed advertising. While it's not a SMS-based opt-in model, consumers do opt-in by downloading a Mobile Posse free application to receive informative and fun content, along with valued offers from local and national retailers.
I'm still trying to figure out what I think about this model all together. As readers know, I'm not a big fan of mobile advertising ala ad banners and text messages that interrupt the mobile experience. This could be something different, as the ads only appear when you're not using the phone for something else, and of course, it's received by people who have opted in for such a thing.
Time will tell how well it pulls over the long haul. But at least for now, Ace Hardware is finding idle screen advertising quite handy.
