Mobile advertising is at the center of Cartier?s multichannel ?Winter Tale? campaign, which asks consumers to follow a panther cub through a winter wonderland of the luxury brand?s seasonal offerings.

The rich-media full-page interstitial advertisement connects consumers to a video. The video follows the Cartier leopard as it reveals a selection of accessories for him and her, and eternal diamonds.

"Historically, luxury brand digital ad buys started with selecting sites they wanted their brand to be aligned with," said Ken Harlan, president of MobileFuse, New York. "With mobile advertising, not only can luxury brands still choose which sites and applicatons they want to align with, but they can also choose to just serve the ads to consumers that have a certain carrier and/or phone model. 

"For example, an AT&T consumer is much more likely to have better credit and be a potential buyer of that luxury brand than a MetroPCS consumer," he said.  

Mr. Harlan did not work on the Cartier campaign. He commented on this story based on his mobile advertising expertise.

Cartier is a renowned French jeweler and watchmaker. The brand is best-known for its wedding and engagement rings, diamond jewelry and other luxury goods.

The Winter Tale campaign spans online and mobile display advertising, a dedicated microsite at http://www.wintertale.cartier.com, a 30-second video spot and social-media marketing.

Mobile ads
The mobile ad for Cartier?s Winter Tale is currently running within the New York Times iPhone application.

Here is the full-page interstitial ad:

Consumers are asked to click to ?Follow the Panther,? which is hard to resist, since it is so cute.

Here is the 30-second spot, which consumers can watch after clicking on the ad:

"In mobile, luxury brands can create custom audiences, at scale, in a more efficient and effective way than other advertising channels," said Erin "Mack" McKelvey, senior vice president of marketing at Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD. 

"Many luxury brands utilize mobile to promote upcoming fashion lines and products, such as high-end handbags, jewelry and shoes," she said. "There is still a great opportunity for luxury retailers to leverage mobile for long-term brand awareness and to create affinity."

PC microsite
The PC microsite at http://www.wintertale.cartier.com  is promoted on the brand?s eboutique at http://www.cartier.com, again prompting users to ?Follow the Panther.?

The microsite gives users the ability to view Cartier?s seasonal items for women, which include red and white wallets, purses and datebooks. It also depicts diamond jewelry.

Additionally, in the ?precious objects for him? section there are watches, cuff links, colognes, wallets and planners that make great gifts for men.

The items are viewable as the panther walks past them.

The microsite asks consumers to join Cartier on Facebook, send the page to a friend, sign up for the branded newsletter and find boutiques near them.

Social media
Consumers can follow Cartier on both Facebook and Twitter online and via mobile.

By texting FOLLOW CARTIER to the short code 40404, consumers can get Cartier?s tweets text messaged to them. Or they can visit the Cartier Twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/cartier online or at http://www.mobile.twitter.com/cartier via their mobile devices.

There is a dedicated Facebook page for the Cartier Winter Tale campaign. It has received more than 50,000 likes from enthusiasts.

The Facebook destination includes photos of the furry Cartier leopard alongside various products.

Here are some of the photos:

Additionally, consumers can view the Cartier Winter Tale video on the Facebook page and ?like? to spread the word to their friends.

Here is the Facebook homepage for the Cartier Winter Tale campaign on PC and on mobile:

Multichannel mix
What is most exciting about this campaign is the fact that it touches consumers on multiple channels.

"We?re big believers in a multichannel approach," said Eric Harber, president and chief operating officer of Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA, who did not work on the campaign, but is an industry expert. "Use your exisiting traditional and online media. Make it work harder.

"Mobile is a great place to make your media work harder," he said. "Use mobile to measure effectiveness.

"Mobile gives you an opportunity to measure on-the-fly changes."