• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 16, 2008

Digital agency veteran Eric Bader has joined mobile marketing consultancy BrandinHand as president and managing director, and will launch its New York office.

The advisory firm was started in Los Angeles in 2005 by John Hadl, previously managing director of Quigley-Simpson Interactive. As CEO of BrandinHand, he also serves as chief mobile strategy adviser to Procter & Gamble.

Bader joins BrandinHand from MediaVest Worldwide, where he was managing director of digital, overseeing planning, buying and execution of campaigns across all digital platforms. The Digital Connections unit he led there handled $300 million annually in digital media buying for clients including Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Continental Airlines and P&G.

Before heading to MediaVest in 2006, Bader was head of online enterprises at College Sports Television (now owned by CBS), and previously was executive director of interactive strategy at Ogilvy Interactive. His latest move was motivated by the emergence of mobile as a viable advertising and marketing medium.

"I see so much exciting potential for mobile--not just down the road, but things today that can make a difference for brands, that I just wanted to focus on it," Bader told Online Media Daily. The groundwork was laid two years ago when he began working with Hadl on the agency side on digital and mobile campaigns for P&G.

"He and I realized early on that mobile could do things for P&G that weren't possible just a few years ago," Bader said. In his new role, he plans to advise brands on integrating mobile into cross-media campaigns and using cell phones to help boost in-store sales. "Something we're really focused on and feel bullish about is the impact of mobile in the retail environment--the role in having mobile become a part of your shopping experience," he said.

He pointed, for example, to a mobile application for P&G's Cover Girl brand that lets users select the appropriate cosmetics based on their skin type and other factors. They can then bring that information with them via mobile device when they shop for Cover Girl products in stores.

While P&G is BrandinHand's anchor client, Bader said the firm is also working with other big-name marketers including Lionsgate Films and American Express.

Despite fears of a looming recession, Bader remains confident that advertisers won't reduce or hold back from mobile spending in 2008. "Mobile is not a premium. It's a place to move inefficient spend from underperforming vehicles like direct mail, e-mail, and in a lot of cases, online banners," he said.

In the coming year, Bader said he expects BrandinHand to hire another four to six staffers in addition to himself and Hadl to handle increasing business. "A year from now, mobile is going to be as explosive as going into online media was eight or ten years ago," he said.