Mobile Campaigns Miss Extra Point at Super Bowl

I’m a few days late to this, but there has been a lot of conversation this week on not only Super Bowl ads but also the integration of mobile campaigns. Frankly, there weren’t nearly as many mobile calls to action as I expected. When they did show up, they were usually SMS short codes that flashed quickly at the end bumper of some ads.

Admittedly, there were some good mobile integrations (not as many as the missed opportunities) that not only involved mobile campaigns but also had mobile themes in the actual ad creative. The Cars.com ad is a good example. Kim Dushinski’s MobileMarketingProfits blog has a great video that walks through the hits and misses.

Among her suggestions: show the SMS short code in the corner of the screen throughout the entire ad. To add to this, all ads should contain a mobile call to action, rather than the few that did. For brands shelling out millions for seconds of airtime, why not squeeze more value out of the user engagement by offering some form of direct response (promotions, locating the closest store, etc.)?

This could take advantage of the “always-on” mobile device, which the majority of viewers had in their pockets during Sunday’s game (if they weren’t already text messaging during commercial breaks). And this doesn’t even require a fancy iPhone. SMS is the more immediate marketing opportunity that everyone has and most mobile consumers use.

This is especially true for 18- to 35-year-olds, who are not only an attractive demographic but also have their eyeballs set on the Super Bowl. In lots of cases, they’re even paying attention to the ads.

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See the rest of the ads at MySpace.