• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, November 30, 2009

Mercedes-Benz spread the word about its smart fortwo car in China in a new way, using technology that inserts ads into residents' online spoken English lessons.

Now this is an interesting idea. Using a recently introduced concept called Conversational Advertising, Mercedes-Benz was able to embed customized creative into free online spoken English language lessons found at Speak2Me.cn, a Web site and social network targeting 300 million students and professionals learning English in China.

Here's how it works.

Speak2Me uses speech recognition technology combined with a virtual teacher that helps users practice spoken English.

In countries like China, students learn how to read and write in English, but there's a shortage of people who speak English, making it hard for students to master spoken English.

Speak2Me's Conversational Advertising allows users to interact with a brand visually.

Mercedes-Benz China created a microsite where consumers could tour Europe in a smart fortwo car while conversing with an avatar tour guide.

Users spent between three to five minutes, on average, per visit. They can also share lessons via social networks to garner additional brand buzz.

Mercedes Benz China is the first client to use this technology in an ad campaign, and has also signed up for a second round. Results of the initial campaign show potential. Over the course of three months, 60,000 young, Chinese professionals took Conversational Advertising lessons, with each user completing four lessons on average, totaling 1.3 million minutes of interaction with the smart fortwo brand.