Mobile advertising campaigns have changed over the years, but companies need to think beyond the traditional banner ads and incorporate new technologies, as well as location and incentives to help drive user engagement.

Companies such as Victoria?s Secret, Best Buy and 7-Eleven are increasingly turning to mobile advertising to drive brand awareness, as well as bolster foot traffic. Most recently, the companies have upped the ante in terms of their mobile banner ad creative, which is not just visually pleasing, but more interactive as well.

?The key to success in any mobile marketing campaign is engagement,? said Harry Kargman, CEO of Kargo, New York. ?Engagement can be measured multiple ways whether it is click-through rate or interactions and every campaign may have different engagement goals. 

?Interactivity, depending on the quality of the creative, will almost always guarantee high engagement,? he said. ?If the ad is eye catching, interesting and fun, then there is going to be a much higher probability that people will engage versus that of standard non-interactive banner units. 

?Just apply common sense ? non-corny interactivity wins every time.?

New vision
According to Mr. Kargman, the closer the interactivity is to the content the better. 

For example, an interactive site skin is always going to yield the highest engagement since it is in the content as opposed to around it. 

If content integration is not an option, then figuring out great creative that uses things such as swipe, location, gyroscope or other mobile specific features is best. 

The key is to make a mobile banner ad different and fun. 

?Great interactivity always generates a ?this is cool? moment,? Mr. Kargman said. ?There are two diverging trends right now in mobile advertising. 

?There are a number of companies focused on performance and acquisition and their focus is data to target the right audience,? he said. ?This is a trend where the company that leverages the best data wins. 

?The other trend is that of brand and branding integrations. This trend is focused around context and content. The company that can create the best integrated advertising experiences within the content with the right contextual messaging wins.? 

Uniquely targeted
Mobile offers unique ways to engage and move beyond simple mobile ads.

While click-through rates are higher for mobile, ads are still largely interactive dead zones, just as they are online, per Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce, Boston.

?Smart retailers will find ways to link mobile ads with mobile commerce, so the intent to purchase is captured,? Mr. Kerr said. ?Mobile means product interactions can happen anywhere and smart retailers and brands will be ready to capture this intent. 

?As consumers embrace mobile commerce, retailers and brands in the best position to capitalize will deliver functionality and value to their customers and receive the ability to judge ad campaigns by a lot more than impressions rendered,? he said.

To stay ahead of the pack, marketers should integrate their message directly into relevant editorial content and communicate their message to their target audience.

When it comes to ad placement, transparency is key to ensuring that the brand is targeting the highest quality user audience.

While brands may have varying objectives in the short term, in the realm of advertising overall there is one unifying goal ? to increase their brand's revenue through purchases.

Additionally, while the quantity of users clicking the ad may be important to a marketer?s campaign objective, a quality click is the one made by a user who is carefully targeted to be the most likely to take further action, such as making a purchase.

?The richer the experience, the higher the engagement rates, which in turn delivers the highest brand uplift,? said Melissa Simson, account executive at Kargo.

?Animations and product carousels are great tools to highlight aspects of your brand, and executions like puzzles or games that prompt user interaction are valuable tools which remain ingrained in users' minds,? she said. 

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