ThinkPad, Think Lenovo, Think Mobile, Think Big
By Tom Burgess, CEO, Third Screen Media

In the course of the past year, we’ve seen many major brands dip their toes in the mobile advertising pond.  And for good reason. The water was pristine and inviting.  The pond has grown into a large body of water, and the swell of many major brands, publishers, agencies and carriers joining in has led the banks to flood.  Our pond runneth over.

Now that the water has been tested, more brands than ever are diving in.  When once an average mobile advertising campaign neared $25,000, some now average well over $350,000.  With an ever-growing inventory from which to choose, major brands are realizing the possibilities of the mobile platform, including reaching a targeted, influential consumer base that has become increasingly mobile.

One of the global brands that recently sought to connect with a mobile audience was Chinese computer giant, Lenovo.  Since acquiring IBM’s PC business lines back in late 2004, Lenovo has struggled to change consumer association of the ThinkPad brand with Lenovo, rather than with its birthparent, Big Blue. In June of 2006, Lenovo decided to incorporate mobile in its overall advertising efforts to help shift brand association.  Handled by Ogilvy, the campaign sought to reach Lenovo’s target audience through WAP banners on selected sites such as USA TODAY, CBS SportsLine, go2 and others.. The campaign was followed up by the implementation of an industry first survey tool—TSM|MediaEffect—which delivered the data necessary to determine the success of the campaign.

During the WAP campaign, mobile subscribers were provided special offers on banner ads, where they could link to a survey and be entered to win a free phone upgrade.  Consumers not only actively engaged in the media, but the campaign garnered an unprecedented click-through rate of 6.66%. 

In the traditional online world, a 0.2% advertising click-through rate is the industry norm.  Compare that to the mobile industry average of 3% and you can immediately see the success of the Lenovo campaign and the impact these results will have on the decision-makers at brands and agencies considering mobile advertising initiatives.  In addition to a high rate of click-throughs, the campaign also aided Lenovo in their primary goal: increasing brand awareness.  Among the TSM|MediaEffect survey respondents who were exposed to the media and visited the WAP site, there was an increase of 74% and 156%, respectively, in aided brand recall.  This meant that a considerable number of consumers associated the ThinkPad laptop with its new parent brand, Lenovo, considerably diminishing the product’s association with IBM.

The metrics mentioned above represent a new era for the mobile advertising industry.  The technology and expertise is now available to not only accurately target the campaigns and capture the data, but to measure and evaluate the overall effectiveness of campaigns.  For the first time, agencies and their respective brands have the capability to evaluate their executed campaigns at levels that were once not possible, and this has added considerable value to the ad buy.

As brands such as Lenovo leverage new technology offerings to reach a more targeted consumer base, we’ll continue to see numerous success stories on the mobile platform.  Yet, with extensive metrics and a winning report card, the Lenovo campaign will serve as a benchmark as the market expands and embraces brands who have decided to think big and think mobile.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />