Warner Bros. Entertainment UK ran a Bluetooth-based marketing campaign to promote the summer comedy "The Hangover" across Britain.

For the mobile marketing campaign, the movie studio tapped Bluepod Media, which has become the first mobile marketing agency to release an ABCe Bluetooth Campaign audit certificate. The Hangover campaign, delivered in Bluepod Media's bar network, featured the film's trailer and was sent to mobile phones via Bluetooth over a one-week period last month.

"Warner Bros. was trying to drag feet to the cinema to see the film, and they can use Bluetooth to either push out messaging for upcoming films like The Hangover or new releases such as Harry Potter or to let patrons of the cinema also know what DVD releases are coming out," said Jon Fletcher, cofounder of Bluepod Media Ltd., Worthing, West Sussex, Britain.

"This campaign's goal was to drive footfall to the cinema," he said. "It was also designed specifically so we could audit a campaign to be totally transparent and able to verify that the statistics we give people are correct."

Consumers that walk into the proximity of a Bluetooth-enabled "pod" get sent an alert on their mobile screen asking if they would like to download a trailer for The Hangover.

They can then download an application to their phone, where they select what type of content they want to see and what they don't.

Bluepod Media has Bluetooth-enabled kiosks in 85 percent of Britain's cinema chains, the top 15 largest shopping malls in Britain, and a network of more than 500 clubs and bars, as well as Premiership Football Club stadiums.

While trailers and other mobile content are pushed out via Bluetooth, Bluepod helps its clients run competitions and quizzes via SMS.

Consumer activity was measured in locations in Bluepod's bar network and verified by ABCe to the industry-agreed standards and metrics agreed by JICWEBS.

Bluepod Media claims to have achieved the highest accreditation by ABCe.

Measurements included in the ABCe audit for The Hangover Bluetooth campaign were unique Bluetooth devices, which measured the number of devices that successfully accepted the trailer; Bluetooth downloads, which tracked the number of times the trailer was downloaded; and exposed Bluetooth devices, which counted the number of devices detected during the campaign period.

"The campaign strategywas to increase footfall into cinemas to see the film, and the bar network was seen as an ideal location to send out the mobile content," Mr. Fletcher said. "We asked ABCe to audit the downloads that were achieved and Warner Bros. was more than happy to have an independent body look at these download to help us provide transparency in everything we do.

"On a related activity, we sent out on our cinema network an interactive application for the film One Missed Call, and this was the only platform that advertised the film," he said. "It saw 33 percent increase in footfall from what was expected, and Warner Bros. put this down to our network platform."

Third-party Bluetooth campaign tracking
ABCe was established in 1996 as the industry-owned, non-profit distributing organization, which works on behalf of advertisers, media buyers and media owners to provide third-party independent verification and certification for data related to electronic media in Britian and Ireland.

The Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards, or JICWEBS, is a body created by industry players in the British and Irish media.

Its purpose is to ensure independent development and ownership of standards for measuring on a site-centric census-basis audience reach, frequency and activity levels, including the use and effectiveness of advertising on electronic media.

ABCe supports the work of JICWEBS by delivering audit and certification services for electronic media usage to these industry agreed standards.

ABCe's role is to manage standards for the industry through its work with JICWEBS, and to provide credibility, comparability and transparency for electronic media.

This gives advertisers the opportunity to maximise returns on marketing budgets by using ABCe certified media and ensures that stakeholders -- marketers, investors, media owners, media buyers and advertisers -- can invest in electronic media with confidence and trust.

ABCe delivers global measurement standards for local markets through its work as chair of the IFABC Web standards group.

"We're the first company to get auditing accredidation from ABCe," Mr. Fletcher said. "It's going to be a very big thing in mobile, being able to audit your campaign to figure out exactly how many people downloaded the mobile content and which people viewed it on their phone.

"Bluetooth is a fantastic platform because it is free to send information and rich media that consumers are coming to expect," he said. "As many phones are pay-as-you-go, this downloading from WAP or viewing mobile WAP eats into credit.

"What we do is free for everyone, from mobile games with pre-roll ads to free ringtones, wallpapers and screensavers."