Italian luxury automaker Maserati has rolled out its first mobile ad campaign to promote the launch of the new GranCabrio car model.

Ads are running via the 4th Screen Advertising mobile ad network. MEC is Maserati's media agency of record.  

?Maserati understands the potential of the mobile channel,? said Mike Biscoe, head of marketing at Maserati. ?We know there is enough scale and volume for us to reach our target audience and 4th Screen?s knowledge and expertise has enabled us to introduce mobile into our marketing mix.?

MEC is a media agency network that helps brands engage with consumers.

4th Screen is a mobile advertising agency offering brands advanced targeting capabilities and rich-media ad formats. These include sponsorships, interstitials, expandable banner ads with multiple calls to action and real-time ad insertion.

Coca Cola, Barclaycard, Direct Line, Green Flag, Disney, Natwest, Warner Bros. and Nokia are also clients of 4th Screen.

The network's iSlide mobile ad platform will target smartphone users on British publishers such as Guardian Mobile, Vodafone, O2, ITN and FHM.

The mobile campaign is part of a multichannel effort, which also includes online ads and press.

Here is a screen grab of the ad on the Guardian mobile site:

Start your engines
Consumers click on the banner, which expands to a full-screen media display.

Maserati?s expandable ad-format displays a hero shot of the GranCabrio. The landing page is a custom-built microsite for the new car model.

The site lets consumers explore the car in more detail.

The Maserati mobile Internet site offers a clean, branded browsing experience.

The site lets viewers book a test drive directly from their handset and allows consumers to access content at a time that is convenient for them.

The idea behind the mobile campaign is the ability for Maserati to engage with potential customers on a one-to-one basis.

Due to the specific target demographic of smartphone users, Maserati is able to execute a high-quality, rich-media campaign.

?We know our target audience inside out,? Mr. Biscoe said. ?Our aim is to use mobile to underpin brand loyalty from our current customers base, who are mostly 35 years [and up], male, affluent, tech-savvy and smart.

?The campaign will run for four weeks and we have plans for further mobile activity over the coming year,? he said.