To promote its new WAP site, Ford Motor Co.?s Lincoln brand is launching a multichannel mobile campaign that includes mobile Web banners, SMS and bar codes.

Banner advertisements will be running via the Quattro Wireless Network. Quattro Wireless created the mobile site for Lincoln as well.

?Ford is always focused on making sure interested consumers can get the information they seek anytime, anywhere, and that we are driving them to our dealers,? said Trisha Habucke, digital marketing manager of mobile at Ford, Dearborn, MI. ?Ford has invested heavily in technology across all its product lines, and our increasingly technology-enabled consumer that loves capabilities like SYNC are increasingly likely to do their car research process using mobile.  

?Our goal is to showcase the Ford family of products in a compelling manner and help move people through their purchase process, driving delivery of more information on car models and more dealer visits, quote requests, and inventory checks,? she said. ?We also see mobile as a great channel to provide service to current Ford vehicle owners when they are on the go. 

?We are already seeing great results with Lincoln.com with high volumes of visits and very encouraging engagements.?   

Lincoln.com is a robust mobile Web site that highlights the Lincoln vehicle line-up.

The mobile site expands Quattro Wireless? work with Ford, which began last year with mobile media campaigns and accompanying ad microsites for the 2009 Ford Flex, 2009 Lincoln MKS and the 2010 Ford Taurus. 

With a distinctive design, the Lincoln mobile site provides smartphone users a virtual showroom with vehicle specification, photos and video.

Additionally, the site features a dealer locator, inventory information and click-to-call roadside assistance.
 
FordVehicles.com is expected to launch in the fourth quarter. 

?Early mobile sites were media destination sites,? Ms. Habucke said. ?This is Ford?s most comprehensive and coordinated effort in mobile to date. 

First and foremost, it?s one destination site for each of our major brands that is optimized for mobile,? she said. ?Around the mobile sites we are delivering on a coordinated strategy for shopping, media delivery, SMS messaging, print media and other marketing efforts.? 
 
In addition to serving as Ford?s network of choice for running advertising campaigns across the mobile Web and in applications, and creating the mobile site, Quattro Wireless is also managing short codes and an SMS functionality associated with the cross-channel campaign. 

Consumers can text MKSTAG or MKSDEMO1 to 4LINC (45462) for more information on the car. The mobile call to action will be promoted in print advertisements.

Consumers with smartphones can also take advantage of the tag system Ford launched with Microsoft earlier this year.

By simply pointing a smartphone camera at the bar codes in Lincoln print catalogs, consumers will be automatically directed to the Quattro-hosted Lincoln.com mobile site for more in-depth information.

The tags will also be used to drive traffic to the Ford Taurus mobile site as well.

 ?Mobile makes perfect sense for auto marketers like Ford today,? said Rob Orgel, chief operationg officer of Quattro Wireless, Waltham, MA. ?Auto buyers are moving their Internet usage to their mobile devices from online, and companies like Ford are moving there with the consumer.  

?Mobile brings an auto maker the ability to interact with in-market consumers on the go leveraging the location awareness of their devices, using compelling expandable ads, and driving them to their deep mobile site and dealer network,? he said. ?Mobile also serves uniquely to activate other mediums ? as we did for Ford with short codes and tags in the catalog that bring the consumer to the rich mobile site experience.   

?The bottom line is that mobile helps a marketer drive more immediate action at all key points in the auto purchase process and backs up the effort with a level of measurement that is hard to match in most other media.?

Here are some shots of the mobile site: