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Ahnu targets outdoor enthusiasts to generate 6.2pc click-through rate

Shoe brand Ahnu ran a targeted mobile advertising campaign last year that is now fueling the brand to continue to run other initiatives with application MapMyRun this year.

Ahnu positioned the online and mobile campaign to promote its new SugarPine hiking boots to hit a bigger market for everyday wear skewed towards younger consumers. The brand worked with agency Kindred on the campaign.

?In some ways, this campaign was a way to pop back into a higher-level brand strategy and showcasing the fact that they?re fashion conscious,? said Kerry Rose, managing director/partner at Kindred, San Francisco.

Mobile snapshot
The campaign ran from July 15 ? Sept. 15 last year to launch a pair of hiking boots that targeted women with bright colors that were sold exclusively at REI stores.

The emphasis on color was played up in a mobile photo contest that encouraged consumers to take photos of their favorite colors in nature for the chance to win a pair of shoes every week.

Ahnu ran a campaign within the MapMyFitness app that included full-page ads to promote the contest, which resulted in a 6.25 click-through rate.

This relatively high click-through rate is likely attributed to the fact that MapMyFitness? users are similar to the demographic that Ahnu was looking to capture. Ahnu is continuing to work with MapMyFitness on other mobile campaigns this year.

Email marketing was also used to spur campaign participation. 

The seven-week photo contest generated 75,272 votes and 133,223 unique views.

To tap into the nature-focused messaging behind the campaign, creative showed an image of a woman lacing up the boots while on a hike. Another image placed a photo of the shoe in front of a bright flower to emphasize the shoe?s colors.

The campaign claims to have grown Ahnu?s online community by 525 percent in 90 days and also boasts a 100 percent retail sell-through.

Additionally, the brand cites 30,000 Facebook ?likes,? and 28,000 fans that were collected in eight weeks.

In the mobile running
Ahnu is not the only shoe brand to try mobile photo sharing to generate some engagement with consumers.

Last year, Nike launched an Instagram-based microsite to push a line of Nike Air Max sneakers. The site pulls in custom shoe colors based on the shades in an Instagram picture (see story). 

This move towards creating social and mobile campaigns on an owned microsite versus a social media platform is a trend that numerous brands are starting to see opportunities in as mobile and social become a more integrated part of marketing plans (see story). 

?Mobile will continue to gain strength because marketers need to meet their customers where they are in their busy, active lives,? Mr. Rose said.

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