• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 11, 2008

Aiming to entice brand advertisers, mobile content provider go2 Media is rolling out animated banner units across its network of mobile content sites on wireless carrier decks.

The banners will appear at the top of mobile WAP pages and feature a series of images that display on a 10- to-15-second loop and are optimized to run across all networks and devices. The idea is to go beyond static graphical spots and text ads to offer marketers a more eye-catching option for mobile campaigns.

"Brands are looking for what they can do to get that image out there, and if we can do things to help enhance their image and proposition to consumers, these are the types of things that will help mobile marketing grow overall," said Tim Solt, senior vice president of sales at go2.

Through its carrier partners, the company provides about 15 branded content channels spanning broad categories such as movies, sports, travel and news. Mobile sites within those channels draw 2 million to 2.5 million unique visitors each month, according to Solt.

Based on testing over several weeks, he said the new animated units are generating higher click-through rates than standard mobile banners and more time spent on ad landing pages. "The initial feedback from people running the animated creative so far has been overwhelmingly positive," Solt said.

Best Buy, the U.S. Navy, and Office Depot are among the initial group of advertisers to use the new format. More brands are expected to follow. At least for now, go2 is not charging a premium for the dynamic units in order to encourage uptake. "We're providing this as a value-added because we want (advertisers) to try it," Solt said. "We think it's the right thing to do."

So far, go2 has mostly handled creative development for the animated banners in-house, along with the actual ad serving across its network. But the company expects to collaborate increasingly with agencies as the new ad program expands.

To date, text-based ads have accounted for the bulk of mobile advertising. But as more consumers begin accessing the Web and content via mobile devices, marketers and publishers alike are looking for new ways to grab the attention of cell phone subscribers.