Muller yogurt is both building up brand awareness and its social presence with a campaign that helps educate consumers about a new product.

Muller is using mobile banners and rich media as part of a multichannel approach to market the yogurt. The Muller ads are running inside applications and mobile sites such as US Weekly.

"We are excited to be launching Muller yogurt, beloved in Europe and now available in the United States," said Brian Hannigan, director of marketing at Muller Quaker Dairy, Purchase, NY.
 
"Our target audience connects with brands using myriad of outlets and mobile is one key part of our digital outreach," he said.

"Mobile is an excellent opportunity to deliver engaging experiences that drive awareness and trial for the brand. Additionally, with product still only available in select markets, mobile?s GPS capabilities allow us to target ads locally and with the highest accuracy."

Muller Quaker Dairy is a joint venture between PepsiCo. Inc and the Theo Muller Group.

Launch on mobile
The company is running banner ads with copy that features a picture of Muller yogurt and encourages consumers to tap to learn more.

The ad then expands to take over the screen when tapped and asks consumers to tap to ?taste? the yogurt.

When tapped on again, the ad features a picture of Muller yogurt with buttons below that encourage users to connect with the brand on Facebook and Twitter.

Consumers can then see what others are saying about the company and click to either follow or ?Like? the brand?s Facebook or Twitter pages.

To drive awareness around the new product, Muller is using social media to encourage users to tag tweets and Instagrammed photos with the hashtag #trymuller. There is also a Facebook app that consumers can access to upload their photos.

Besides digital, Muller is also using television, print, events, street sampling and in-store activation to get the word out about the yogurt.

Social value
Social media and mobile go hand-in-hand, and the company is smart to marry the two mediums together in one experience.

For a product launch in particular, utilizing social media can be effective in educating consumers about something new because users are able to see what others think about the product.

However, simply directing users to a page without an upfront value can be tricky. For example, Muller could have encouraged consumers to "Like" the brand?s Facebook or Twitter page in return for a coupon that would drive in-store traffic.

Many brands besides Muller have also used mobile to drive social media engagement.
 
For example, Amstel Light recently used mobile advertising to drive Facebook ?Likes? (see story).

Additionally, Lay?s ramped up its social initiatives by using mobile video (see story).

"Our key consumers are active in social networks, not only in keeping in touch with friends, family and co-workers, but also in advocating the brands they love," Mr. Hannigan said.

"Given that the bulk of social engagement is tied to on-the-go activities, we see mobile as a logical place to establish a connection between Muller and our consumers," he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York