Warner Bros. is aiming to get movie lovers excited about its upcoming ?Dark Shadows? film via a mobile campaign that incorporates social.

The studio is running mobile banner ads within Pandora?s iPhone application. Warner Bros. has used mobile advertising in the past to drive engagement for its new films.

?Promoting products that have a social element to them within Pandora is a smart move on the side of Warner Bros.,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

?The traffic is there, and as long as the mobile component works well across platform then the expected return of the ad placement becomes real,? she said. 

Ms. Troutman is not affiliated with Warner. Bros. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Warner Bros. did not respond to press inquiries.

Dark Shadows
The Dark Shadows mobile banner ad features characters from the film. When consumers tap on the mobile ad they are redirected to an optimized landing page where they can watch the film?s trailer, read a synopsis and browse stills.

Additionally, the mobile campaign includes social aspects.

Users can Like the film via Facebook and interact with other fans. Consumers can also spread the word out about the film via Twitter.

Dark Shadows stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pheiffer and hits theaters on May 11.

Mobile ads is a great way for movie studios to get the word out about their upcoming films.

Although this particular campaign did not let consumers pre-order their tickets, it would have been effective to add that feature.

Movies galore
Warner Bros. is no stranger to mobile.

The company has ran mobile ads in the past to drive awareness of its films.

Last year, Warner Bros. ran a mobile and social ad campaign that drove awareness for its ?Final Destination 5? film.

The campaign included rich media banner ads that targeted users based on their social activity instead of demographics or other targeting criteria (see story).

Most recently, Warner Bros. let ?Happy Feet Two? fans preorder a copy of the movie and learn more about the film via their mobile device.

In addition to ordering the film, users could also download the Happy Feet Two mobile application (see story).

?With promotion of a movie, not only do you get the effect of the right demographic visiting the site to preview a film, but you also get the share aspect of social, which can multiply the effect by a large amount,? Ms. Troutman said. 

?Making sure that the preview is available on the mobile Web, and works cross platform with a shareable link to social media is key,? she said. 

?The ad on Dark Shadows does just this ? and the return of traffic should show a great mobile result.?

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