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JetBlue tailors mobile ads to target tablets and smartphones separately

JetBlue?s new advertising campaign aims to make a clear differentiation between smartphone and tablet advertising with a combination of long-form video, messaging and geofencing.

JetBlue?s ?Air on the Side of Humanity? campaign builds on a similar advertising effort launched last fall in Boston that is now being rolled out to New York and southern Florida that touts the airline?s positioning to make traveling more enjoyable. Based on the learnings from last year, this year?s campaign is focused on separating smartphone and tablet media experiences with device-specific creative and ad units.

?What we?ve found is that we really can no longer consider [smartphones and tablets] as one platform,? said Elizabeth Eelman, advertising manager at JetBlue, Long Island City, NY.

?With this campaign, we tailored our approach based on the time of day each device is used by consumers as well as by the type of content they?re consuming during those moments,? she said.

Targeting mobile moments
Last year, JetBlue became the first brand to leverage a voice-activated mobile ad as part of the "Air on the Side of Humanity" campaign (see story).

JetBlue is now honing in on the daily commute for the bulk of the smartphone-geared mobile ads with interstitial ads geo-fenced around public transit centers.

Messaging on the smartphone ads play up JetBlue?s claim to offer more leg room than other airlines when consumers are likely cramped on public transportation during their commute.

Since smartphones are used more for travel research, the calls-to-action on these ads are less aggressive about pushing sales and more about brand consideration.

For tablets, there is a rich media game ad that lets consumers interact with the pigeons featured in JetBlue?s video spots. These ads are also running on smartphones, but are targeted more towards tablets when consumers have longer periods of time to spend interacting with content.

Similar to last year, the ads drive consumers to the campaign?s microsite at http://www.jetbluecentralperch.com/.

JetBlue worked with mediahub/Mullen to create the campaign, which runs through May.

Long-form video goes mobile
JetBlue?s campaign also plays up tablets to push out long-form video that is an extension from the effort?s television ads.

Pre-roll video ads will run on Hulu and CBS? tablet and desktop properties.

JetBlue is also teaming up with Funny or Die to create a video series called ?Shoo?s Bird?s Eye View? that will run across desktop and mobile.

The Funny or Die partnership includes a five-week and episode initiative with branded vignettes. In the first 45-second episode, a pigeon pokes fun at the over-the-top relationships that people have with their dogs.

?We know that over 50 percent of American consumers are experiencing digital experiences across platforms and devices, so leveraging mobile we see as a significant opportunity,? Ms. Eelman said.

?The engagement is there in all of our mobile components that we?ve planned and also in the research that has been done to show that this is where people are,? she said. 

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