• by Masha Geller , April 20, 2003

Handheld device users are shaping up to be a sweet spot for advertisers seeking to drive results and increase brand awareness. Vindigo, a developer and publisher of consumer services for wireless phones and handheld devices, has announced results of several recent advertising campaigns with leading beverage and automotive companies that capitalized on the power of mobile advertising using Vindigo 2.0, which offers local entertainment information including movie reviews and show times, restaurant reviews, bar and shop locations, and museum and live music offerings.

The service allows advertisers to target customers by information channel, such as restaurants or movies, or by location, and Moet & Chandon, Perrier, General Motors and Avis all utilized Vindigo to extend traditional print and broadcast advertising campaigns to reach customers "on-the-go." Company officials say the result was significantly higher response rates than online and other mobile advertising mediums.

A recent Perrier campaign, conducted during Fashion Week in New York City, was used to promote the product as well as the company's Fashion Week VIP sweepstakes. When a Vindigo user searched for restaurants, bars or cultural events, they were likely to see ads for Perrier. Over 8% of Vindigo users who viewed the Perrier ads opted to have product and sweepstakes information emailed to them.

Moet & Chandon turned to Vindigo for a campaign targeting affluent trendsetters in urban markets from New York City and Miami to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Vindigo linked Moet & Chandon ads with top restaurants, gourmet shops and arts and cultural events. The campaign helped the company capture thousands of qualified leads, with over 7% of Vindigo users who saw the ads opting to have product information sent via email.

Automotive companies also achieved noteworthy success with mobile advertising campaigns on Vindigo 2.0. General Motors capitalized on Vindigo's ability to reach a targeted audience in order to generate buzz around the 50th anniversary of its iconic Corvette. Advertisements featured images of Corvettes and allowed users to add reminders about anniversary events to their PDA calendar. The campaign was so successful, General Motors recently renewed with Vindigo - this time to promote its Saab brand.

Avis used Vindigo to reach business travelers - a significant segment of Vindigo subscribers. Vindigo aligned Avis ads with key categories in the Services channel including Car Rentals, Gas Stations and Parking Garages. Over 11% of users who saw the Avis ads opted to have a coupon and detailed information sent via email.