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Target ramps up its marketing efforts via new mobile ad campaign

Target is running a new mobile advertising campaign that promotes its pharmacy initiatives and lets consumers learn more about it.

The company is running the mobile ads within Pandora?s iPhone application. In addition to the mobile banner ads, Target is also running a mobile video.

?Mobile marketing is more effective when location is used as the prequalifier for driving responses,? said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce, Boston.

?Consumers have to wait for prescriptions to be filled,? he said. ?A targeted mobile ad delivered at this moment, at the right location is a smart move that harnesses the power of mobile."

Mr. Kerr is not affiliated with Target. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Target did not respond to press inquiries.

Right on target
The Target mobile banner ad reads ?A daily dose of achoo relief. Find a pharmacy.?

When consumers tap on the mobile ad they are redirected to the company?s mobile site. There, they are encouraged to download the company?s iPhone app or continue on with their mobile browser experience.

Through the mobile ad, users can find a pharmacy, view their prescriptions, browse $4 generics and check out Target?s other pharmacy services.

Additionally, consumers can find the nearest Target pharmacy by entering their city, state of ZIP code information.

The mobile ad also lets consumers browse Target?s weekly ad and other ongoing deals.

?Smart brands and retailers are mixing it up [with their mobile ad campaigns] and gaining experience with a variety of approaches,? Mr. Kerr said.

?Rather than try for a home run at the first at-bat, a better approach is to rack a lot of base hits, while learning as much as possible along the way, in the form of tracked metrics,? he said.

?As smartphone adoption surges past 50 percent and accelerates, the future will be very bright for those who know how to play the game.?

Mobile success
Target has been growing its mobile advertising efforts over the past few years.

The company is continually using mobile ads to help promote new specials, deals and even increase in-store traffic.

Most recently, Target ran a campaign that promoted its new grocery initiatives.

?Mobile advertising can only succeed if integrated mobile commerce is linked in, so incremental revenue can be tracked to a specific campaign and that mobile campaign tweaked for maximum ROI,? Mr. Kerr said.

?Traditional branding does not translate into mobile and leaves a lot of value in the table,? he said. ?Mobile is about here and now calls to action.

?We are seeing a surge of recent mobile commerce site RFPs, driven by the marketing department. This is a very good sign.?

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