Insurance giant Liberty Mutual Group has launched its first mobile advertising campaign on Apple?s iAd and claims that early metrics related to consumption time and unaided brand awareness have so far exceeded its expectations.

Targeting iPhone and iPod touch users, the new campaign is the first iAd to include a Twitter feature, letting consumers tweet updates about how they are ?doing the right thing? and invite others to engage as well. Creative development and media planning for the iAd campaign were handled by ad agency Hill Holliday.

?This iAd campaign is part of a long-running innovation effort that we?ve been doing with Liberty Mutual as a brand?recently it was the launch sponsor of Time?s iPad app,? said Steve Bagdasarian, digital strategist and mobile specialist at Hill Holliday, Boston. ?When iAd opportunity came about, we and Liberty saw it as part of a larger innovation story for the brand to be part of multiple platforms and advertisements in various forms of execution.

?The iAd fit into the larger strategy of innovation and experiential campaigns we?re trying to create for the brand,? he said. ?Some of the initial insight we?ve gotten back in terms of general consumption time has far exceeded our expectations.

?Whether it comes from Apple or other partners, compelling rich-media mobile advertising is raising the level of expectations of consumers for brands and their mobile consumption experiences.?

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States based on 2009 direct written premium.

The company ranks 71st on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2009 revenue.

As of Dec. 31 of last year, Liberty Mutual had $109.5 billion in consolidated assets, $94.9 billion in consolidated liabilities and $31.1 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Group offers a range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.

Apple Anthem
Liberty Mutual is looking to run the recently launched iAd campaign into the first quarter of 2012.

The mobile ad campaign features expandable banners featured in iPhone applications from publishers such as The New York Times. It is centered around the company?s ongoing approach to connecting with consumers on the topic of responsibility.

Inspired by Liberty Mutual?s ?Anthem? television advertisements, which depict a series of people doing small acts of kindness for others, the iAd creative is a continuation of the personal responsibility discussion from Liberty Mutual?s online community The Responsibility Project.

?Mobile rich media has taken mobile advertising to the next level by tapping into the power of curiosity,? Mr. Bagdasarian said.

?We made sure we incorporated the Liberty brand, stressing its reputation as a responsible partner and showcasing different ways that the ad could display its products contextualized into a larger responsibility message,? he said.

Liberty Mutual has partnered with several nonprofit organizations to engage users in the concept of ?giving back? to their community.

With national partners such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Goodwill Industries International, One Laptop per Child and Petfinder.com, users have the opportunity to participate in ?acts of kindness? such as becoming a mentor, adopting a stray animal or donating a laptop.

With a tap on the ?I?ll Do This? button, users can become involved in their community and locate nearby organizations.

Once the Liberty Mutual iAd is tapped, users can view highlighted moments from the ?Anthem? TV ad or move on to a series of interactive options, including ?This Week in Responsibility: What Have You Done??, ?Random Acts of Responsibility: What Can You Do??, ?Great Moments in Responsibility: Acts that Changed the World?, and ?Liberty Does Responsibility: Move on After an Accident.?

Apple's iAd represents the future of mobile advertising, per Liberty Mutual. It provides another platform in which the brand is able to initiate a dialogue about responsibility and hopefully encourage others to participate.

Through these interactive ad units, users can take a short survey letting them share responsible acts they have or have not done that week and find out how other iAd users responded to questions such as ?Did you hold the door for someone?? or ?Did you pick up trash that wasn?t yours??

The ad helps users find and get involved in local organizations, as well as learn more about historical small acts that made a big difference, such as how a student body fought back against the destructive behavior that killed their classmates by starting Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).

Users will have the opportunity to tweet about their personal act and encourage others to get involved?all within the iAd experience.

The tweets will consist of a pre-populated update such as ?I just donated to my local Goodwill, you should check it out,? or users can create their own tweets.

The ad also includes virtual scenarios that visually explain some of the products that Liberty Mutual offers to responsible drivers, including "Accident Forgiveness," "New Car Replacement" and "Guaranteed Repairs"?all of which help customers figure out the best course of action after an accident.

Once the user completes the ad experience, they have the opportunity to email themselves a reminder to learn more about Liberty Mutual and its offerings.

Liberty Mutual?s target demographic and psychographic are well-educated, affluent, curious- minded individuals.

?The play we have in responsibility aligns with the early-adopter smartphone crowd?the heightened technology experience has really resonated with our audience,? Mr. Bagdasarian said. ?Apple has been leading the mobile space with touch tech and the natural experiential relationship that mobile can provide?there?s a natural fit there, a perfect alignment.

?The iAd campaign is able to provide to a boost in unaided awareness among our Liberty demographic, which is heightened by the experiential nature of the touch devices that Apple has brought to market,? he said. ?The big thing for us and what is fascinating about iAd and rich media is to create engagement.

?There had been a stigma for mobile that there wasn?t much you could do with it, but that is really starting to transition with the ability to immerse people within rich-media content.?

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