Warner Bros. is banking on photo sharing as a way to build anticipation around the upcoming film, ?The Hobbit.?

Warner Bros. is running a campaign inside the GoldRun mobile application to promote the film. Warner Bros. is also working with OMD on this initiative.

?Warner Bros is using our virtual photobooth to bring their brand to life by encouraging a dialog with their fans that truly lets them express themselves through photos,? said Vivian Rosenthal, founder/CEO of GoldRun, New York.

?Instead of serving up traditional mobile ads that don't encourage interaction, they're choosing to create an opt-in experience for their fans that is around participation and photo sharing,? she said.

?A film needs to engage fans outside of the two hours that they're sitting in a theater. The photos taken on GoldRun with the Hobbit characters in them can then be reused by the studio as secondary marketing collateral, on their Facebook brand page or on Pinterest, causing a secondary wave of interest in the film and a way for fans to connect with each other over shared photos.?

How it works
In order to participate in the campaign, consumers need to download the GoldRun mobile app, which is available for free download on iPhone and Android devices.

When consumers open the app, The Hobbit campaign is promoted on the homepage. Alternatively, consumers can click on the campaigns tab at the bottom to find the Warner Bros. content.

The app then uses a mobile device?s built-in camera to let consumers pose next to characters from The Hobbit.

Consumers can personalize their picture by shifting the size and placement of the characters.

Additionally, a call-to-action in the bottom of the screen promotes the premier date of the movie ? Dec. 14.

Users can then snap a picture of themselves and send it to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and email.

The campaign is being promoted on Warner Bros. social media sites as well as through paid media.

Photo sharing
Mobile and social go hand-in-hand.

Entertainment brands in particular have been active in mobile to target entertainment fans and build up hype around new releases.

However, the majority of campaigns from film studios are aimed at driving pre-sale tickets for films.

By taking a different marketing approach, Warner Bros. is showing that it is thinking outside the box on how to connect with its users.

According to GoldRun, Warner Bros. is the third film studio to partner with the company. Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures have also worked with GoldRun on campaigns.

?Photo apps and photo sharing are the biggest way that consumers are expressing themselves in the social ecosystem,? Ms. Rosenthal  said.

?GoldRun uses photo sharing in a completely new way by offering brands the ability to insert their product or characters into a user-generated photo, essentially letting the user become a brand ambassador and promote the brand through their own voice,? she said.

?Each photo shared by a user becomes a trackable and personal ad, which opens up an entirely new way for a film studio, sports team or brand to market themselves.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York