TGI Friday?s has launched its first location-based mobile advertising campaign to reach consumers ages 18-35 while they are going to, or returning from, movie theaters.

The restaurant chain?s media agency, Initiative, tapped 4th Screen Advertising and Rippll to help power the ?Make it a premiere night out? mobile ad campaign across Britain. Conceived, planned and bought by Initiative, the mobile campaign uses the latest location-based technology, as well as day-part targeting, to reach the core TGI Friday?s audience at the right time and place.

?Due to the fact that a high proportion of the TGI Friday?s restaurants are located next to a cinema, Initiative?s strategy for TGI Friday?s is to build association between the two,? said Sally Lane, digital account director at Initiative, London. ?A ?premiere night out? is not just going out to watch a film, but also indulging in cocktails and a meal for the full premiere experience.

?4th Screen?s location-based targeting allows us to sign-post users to the restaurants in real time when we know they are in proximity to a restaurant and cinema and they are browsing on the go,? she said. ?The mobile ads display real-time directions on the banner, but also display a Google map if you click on the banner for more info.

?This mobile campaign helps TGI Friday?s reach its target demographic of 18-35-year-olds.?

T.G.I. Friday's, a unit of the Carlson Companies, is a U.S. restaurant chain focusing on casual dining, with 1,000-plus restaurants in more than 50 countries.

Initiative is a media communications company with a focus on marketing data and analytics.

Mobile ad agency 4th Screen?s publisher clients include Vodafone, O2, The Guardian, ITN and FHM. Its advertiser clients include Coca-Cola, Barclaycard, Direct Line, Green Flag, Disney, Natwest, Warner Bros. and Nokia.

Thanks goodness it?s mobile
The TGI Friday?s mobile ad campaign launched Sept. 28 and is running through Nov. 30.

TGI Friday?s first location-based mobile advertising campaign is running across 4th Screen Advertising?s publisher engagement platform, Mpression.

The campaign lets consumers with mobile Internet-enabled handsets to view the ads and take advantage of promotional offers such as deals for drinks, lunch and dinner.

Being time- and week-part targeted, the campaign will run from Monday through Thursday during lunch and in the evening. It will promote offers in 46 TGI Friday?s restaurants throughout Britain.

A range of mobile advertising creatives and promotional offers will be served throughout the duration of the two-month campaign.

TGI Friday?s realizes that mobile has become an increasingly popular channel to communicate with consumers.

The restaurant chain?s objective for its "Make it a premiere night out" campaign is to engage a broad range of consumers with location-based mobile rich-media to drive footfall into its local TGI Friday?s during the week.

Location, location, location
One of the key advantages of location-based advertising is targeting users nearby a retail location, as they tend to be in a more receptive mindset while browsing the mobile Internet to be served dynamic mobile advertising banners.

4th Screen Advertising claims that location-based advertising delivered in this way ensures maximum reach and minimum waste for TGI Friday?s investment.

The location-based targeting for this mobile campaign lets Initiative to not only target consumers when they are near a TGI Friday?s restaurant, but also when they are in close proximity to a cinema.

Ms. Lane said that this dual capability re-enforces the message that watching a film and enjoying a meal and cocktails at TGI Friday?s are synonymous with one another.

This aligns perfectly with Initiative?s strategy of associating TGI Friday?s with a trip to the cinema in order to make it a ?premiere night out,? per Initiative.

Adding yet another layer of targeting, Initiative can serve the TGI Friday?s ads only on entertainment sites on Mpression, thus ensuring the campaign captures consumers in a relevant mindset.

TGI Friday?s ads appear on the mobile platforms of Nuts, FHM/ZOO, Heat, Shazam, Global Radio and The Mirror.

The core audience of these publishers, including FHM Mobile, dovetails with TGI Friday's target demographic:

?The location-based targeting allows us to customize the banner ads with correct directions, making the ad incredibly relevant and a response more likely,? Ms. Lane said.

?Initiative?s team of mobile specialists were tasked with creating an innovative location-based campaign for TGI Friday?s, with mobile being a  core strategic planning process for all clients,? she said.

?Data, analytics, insight and innovation are central to all our services, and we hold ourselves fully accountable to client business goals.?

Final Take
Dan Butcher is associate editor on Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily

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