Walmart, Microsoft leverage in-app ads for product pushes

By Giselle Tsirulnik

January 13, 2010

Walmart's banner ad

Walmart and Microsoft’s advertising within NBC's Today Recipes iPhone application is an example of the opportunities and various ad formats that brands can take advantage of when targeting savvy smartphone users.

Walmart opted for banners and Microsoft is running preroll video ads for its Windows 7 PC operating system. The sponsorships showcase that while banner advertisements are available to brands within applications, there are a multitude of advertising units that can be weaved into a user’s experience.

“We wanted to create an editorially driven Today experience that also gives the sponsor an appropriate way to reach consumers with not just a branding message, but also useful ideas on how to use their products,” said Randy Stearns, deputy editor of the East Coast at MSNBC.com, New York. 

“There’s a clear line between the Today content and the sponsors', and viewers can choose what works best for them,” he said.

TodayShow.com’s new food and recipe site, Cooking School, and application, Today Recipes, are meant to extend and enhance the wealth of lifestyle advice and ideas featured on Today's popular digital properties. 

The mobile destination, which features video content, is targeted at viewers who want to find delicious recipes and cooking tips from celebrity chefs and food experts. 

Campaign details
The Walmart campaign consists of click-to-download and click-to-WAP banners.

The click-to-download banners route consumers to Walmart’s iPhone application, making it more discoverable and giving consumers the option of downloading it.

This is the banner ad:

This is the landing page:

The Walmart iPhone application is designed to help consumers find great deals on products that fit their budgets. The mobile commerce application is mean to make the Walmart shopping experience, quick, easy and fun.

The second set of banners that Walmart is using focus on driving clickers to the retailer’s site, where they can find savings, order a prescription, view and create their shopping list, find stores near them and search the mobile site.

The banner creative urges consumers to learn more about Walmart’s deals on no-contract phones, which have become increasingly popular in the midst of the economic slowdown.

Here is a screen grab of the banner:

This is a screen grab of the landing page for this banner:

The Today Recipe application features video with recipes from famous chefs for special events and holidays.

The videos come loaded with preroll advertising from Microsoft.

The ads show how easy it is to migrate one’s PC to the Windows 7 operating system. The advertising’s tagline is, “Simplify your PC. Fast.”

Here is a screen grab of Microsoft Windows 7's seven-second preroll ad:

This is the branding that follows the video ad:

Today Recipes application
From decadent desserts to full-fledged feasts, Today’s Cooking School features a rich variety of culinary treats demonstrated by world-class celebrity chefs. 

Viewers can use the iPhone application to get more in-depth instructions on how each meal is prepared, collect and store their favorites and search for new ideas.

In the coming weeks, Unilever, the Cooking School’s advertising partner, will provide recipes and special video segments showing how its popular brands like Bertolli, Country Crock, Hellman’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and Ragu sauces can be used to prepare delicious family meals. 

Each brand will be featured and have custom creative. The branding, which will be the same on the site and on mobile, will rotate throughout 2010.  

Consumers can also search by recipe or celebrity chef, or expand the new advanced search feature and locate recipes by cuisine, season or holiday. 

This comprehensive cross-media initiative is available on all platforms, with a presence on air, online and on mobile devices.

MSNBC.com worked with Zumobi to create the Today Recipes application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

To market the application, MSNBC tactics include an on-air, online and mobile.

“We’ve had great success with apps and at present, the plan is to deliver Today Recipes on iPhone as an app only,” Mr. Stearns said. 

Dan Butcher contributed reporting to this story.