McDonald?s, Pepsi and Trader Joe?s are among the marketers that rolled out interactive and engaging mobile advertising campaigns during the first quarter of this year that not only built their brand presence but helped them connect with consumers on a deeper level.

Brands and marketers are seeing the potential of running mobile ads, as well as incorporating location into the mix to better target users. Nowadays, mobile ad campaigns have become more sophisticated and interactive.

Here are the top 10 mobile advertising campaigns in the first quarter, in alphabetical order.

? Butterball stepped into the mobile advertising arena with a mobile ad campaign that offered users helpful turkey tips, promotions and recipes.

The mobile ads encourage users to celebrate everyday with Butterball. It was well-executed as it took consumers to a mobile-optimized page that included videos.

The videos helped users find the perfect turkey, learn how to thaw it and how to stuff it.

Butterball is a popular brand and nowadays many consumers are unaware of how to cook a turkey or do not know how to pick the right one.

A mobile ad campaign such as this helps the company build a relationship with their customers, as well as educate them on the best ways to use its products.

Chapstick ? Chapstick was smart when it ran a full-page, audio and mobile banner ad within Pandora?s iPhone application.

The company seldom tipped its toes in the mobile space, and the campaign helped Chapstick builds its social and mobile presence.

Chapstick?s mobile ad campaign aimed to increase the company?s relationship with fans.

When users tapped on the mobile ad they were redirected to the company?s Facebook page.

There, consumers were encouraged to ?Like? Chapstick. This not only helps build the company?s relationship with consumers, but also lets them learn more about its products.

The company also launched a branded radio station within Pandora to continue its engagement with users. 

Facebook likes and increasing its social presence via a mobile campaign.

The company is running full page and mobile banner ads within Pandora?s iPhone application. In addition, Chapstick has also launched its own radio station to further engage consumers.

KFC ? Fast food giant KFC proved that it got soul when it ran a mobile advertising campaign that promoted its Classic Chunky Chicken Pot Pie.

The company is no stranger to mobile and used the medium in the past to build a one-on-one relationship with consumers.

What is great about this particular campaign is that the company also placed QR codes on its beverage products to promote the new meal and entice consumers to sign-up for a sweepstakes giveaway.

Incorporating mobile ads into a multichannel campaign is an effective way to reach consumers on different channels.

Lionsgate ? This year, movie studios have been increasingly using mobile ads to drive awareness and sales for their upcoming films.

Lionsgate is no stranger to mobile so it was not shocking that the company used mobile advertising to promote its most anticipated film of the year, ?The Hunger Games.?

The company used Moviefone?s iPhone app to boast awareness of the film.

When consumers tapped on the Facebook tab, they were redirected to the movie?s social page where they could ?Like? the film.

The company was smart to run the mobile ad campaign within Moviefone?s iPhone app because consumers are already looking up films while they are there, so the ability to reach them and tell them about the new movie was a smart move on Lionsgate?s part.

Mars ? Candy giant Mars ran a mobile advertising campaign for its M&Ms brand to increase awareness and sales leading up to Easter.

The M&M mobile ads let users learn about how to incorporate M&Ms products into their Easter dessert recipes.

The ad campaign involved mobile banner ads and sponsorship within the Today Show iPhone application.

The mobile ad led users to a mobile site where they were able to view four Easter-themed recipes.

Each recipe showed users a picture of the finished product, the ingredients, prep time and how many servings a recipe makes.

Mars took advantage of a mobile device?s small screen added engaging content to keep users interested in the brand.

McDonald?s ? Fast food giant McDonald?s is no stranger to mobile advertising.

In fact, whenever the company has a new product it uses mobile ads to help get the word out.

For this particular campaign, McDonald?s used a mobile ad to entice users to try the company?s dollar menu items by playing a word scramble game.

In addition to learning about the dollar menu items, users had the option of finding the nearest

McDonald?s location to try the menu items in person.

The McDonald?s ad campaign was based on the idea of educating users on the dollar menu items by testing them on the products with a group of mobile games.

By incorporating a game in a mobile ad, McDonald?s was able to engage its targeted users for a longer time period.

Papa John?s ? Similar to McDonald?s, pizza giant Papa John?s has seen the potential of mobile for a while now.

The company is constantly running mobile ads that entice consumers with current deals and new menu items.

When consumers tapped on the mobile ad, they were taken to the company?s mobile-optimized site where they had could get their order delivered, order carryout or find the nearest Papa John?s location and browse offers.

The mobile ad was an effective way for Papa John?s to drive sales, as well as in-store traffic to its locations.

Pepsi ? Beverage giant PepsiCo Inc. used television check-ins to bolster its advertising during Super Bowl XLVI.

Pepsi made digital a big push for its upcoming TV spots that ran during the game. The company worked with GetGlue and Shazam to incorporate mobile into this campaign.

By using all these different mobile applications, Pepsi was able to interact with users during one of the most important games of the year.

Sprite ? Coca-Cola Co.'s Sprite used mobile ads to ramp up its social presence.

The mobile ads, which ran in TV Guide?s iPhone app encouraged Facebook Likes.

Using mobile banner ads to drive Facebook likes is an effective form of marketing.

Additionally, running the mobile banner ads in a relevant mobile application such as TV Guide was a smart move for Sprite.

For example, many consumers access the TV Guide iPhone application when they are at home, sitting on their couch and deciding what to watch.

When consumers are served a mobile ad such as the Sprite one they are more inclined to tap on it and participate when they are relaxing at home.

Trader Joe?s ? Trader Joe?s entered the mobile advertising arena last month with a new campaign that let consumers find the nearest location as well as browse its products and recipes.

The company knew that its mobile ad campaign had to be innovative to capture the attention of consumers using Pandora?s iPhone application.

The company also promoted its Fearless Flyer where consumers were able to browse different categories such as bakery, beverages, cheese, frozen, grocery and produce and flowers.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York