• by Aaron Baar , September 26, 2011

The Energizer Bunny is ready to rock out with his ears out in a new mobile marketing campaign.

The new ad, which is available to consumers using in-app advertising and Apple's iAd network, is intended to promote Energizer's support of VHI's Save the Music Foundation, which funds music education in public schools. Using the accelerometer in Apple's i-devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch), users can make the bunny do vaunted rock star moves like the windmill strum for a guitar or whacking the cymbals on a drum set.

Through the ad, users can also change the bunny's stage outfits (from heavy metal to funk to country), make a donation to the Save The Music Foundation and download a free tracks from iTunes. The add also includes a location-based function that directs people to where they can find specially marked packages that will enable people to exchange promotional codes for an iTunes gift card.

"People's music tastes vary. But one thing we hope most people will agree with: whatever you're listening to, when you mix in the Energizer Bunny beats, the unstoppable energy and positive attitude amplifies the fun," Serge Traylor, brand manager for energizer, tells Marketing Daily in response to e-mailed questions. "The Energizer iAd allows consumers to interact with the Energizer Bunny by customizing his look from Disco to Rocker to Country Star."

Energizer's partnership with Save the Music began in July. Since then the company has made eight grants (worth $30,000 each) of musical instruments to schools around the country and has facilitated bringing musicians into those schools to help teach the subject. "It's been proven that music provides enriching benefits to a child's education, making the lack of music programs in our country's schools all the more significant," Traylor says. "Energizer is helping to power music in schools around the country so more children can have access to those benefits."

The iAd format appealed to the Energizer team because it allowed people to interact with the marketing message without being taken out of the application they're currently using, Traylor says. "A limitation of regular ads is that once you leave the ad, you must re-launch the app and get back to where you were," he says. "This platform does not disrupt that interaction with the app, it just sits on top of it."

Ultimately, the new format will guide Energizer's future mobile strategies, Traylor says. After the program runs its course, the company will review the data to help it develop future mobile marketing programs. "This new advertising strategy allows us to provide entertainment and information while on the go," Traylor says. "We are excited to be testing the waters in this space and will evaluate the results before making any future plans."