technology

Ad:Tech: MillerCoors, Land Rover Drive Mobile

Land-Rover-B4

Brian Lipman could not take the podium at Ad:Tech in New York on Thursday without having his iPhone with him. The digital media manager at MillerCoors did try, he admitted, but had to go back to his bag and get it. That, in short, evinces the power of the phone. "Mobile is no longer just consumption,” he said, “it's woven into the fabric of people's daily lives.” 

Lipman ran some slides giving a good picture of that:  84% of tablet owners browse the Internet. A quarter of tablet and smartphone users check out mobile ads and then purchase on a PC. Sixty-five percent of people shopping online start that journey on a smartphone. Over 45% start planning trips online then book trips digitally.

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He pointed out that the prevalent things people are doing on smartphones is accessing local information, participating in social media and networking, and getting news and entertainment. He cited Google data that 46% of consumers research on smartphones then purchase in stores. And he noted that prognosticators think mobile commerce will increase 417% by 2016. 

"Mobile's true power is the ability to capitalize on location and in-the-moment. But you have to protect your turf; you know when they are in your store, and you can offer consumers loyalty programs. You should be able to dynamically serve them ads when they are cross-shopping. Because if you don't, someone else may take advantage of it." He said among 18 to 34 year olds, 84% use phones to compare prices.

Lipman served up some mobile programs MillerCoors has been doing in the location and real-time arenas. "We did a test in which we looked at when people were tweeting about beer. We would retarget them almost in real time to serve them contextually relevant info." He said the team would know when consumers checked in from a bar, or when they tweeted about meeting friends or wanting beer, for example. 

Kim Kyaw, digital marketing and social media at Jaguar and Land Rover, cited a recent study by J.D. Power on the importance of mobile to premium consumers, showing premium-product consumers are more likely to use smartphones and apps for new-vehicle shopping. For example, 85% of Land Rover shoppers use smartphones to access the internet, she said. "We want to support perception, consideration, favorability. We want to drive to retailer, increase owner satisfaction and amplify advocacy [via mobile]." 

Kyaw said mobile is also now a good platform for top-of-funnel activity, with hands-on experiences through rich-media mobile ads. "It allows for a rich brand experience."  For the launch of the Evoque vehicle, the company did a mobile app allowing consumers to do things like choose and view vehicle colors, see product attributes, and get a 360-degree view of the vehicle. "So we are increasing consideration through mobile video. It's what shoppers are looking for."

She added that mobile geo-fencing is also a focus at Land Rover in terms of driving traffic to retailers or directing leads there. "We do geo-fencing around Range Rover and Evoque in the New York area, and it's showing great results." She said the company saw a 20% increase in retail interaction.

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