With all the talk about how valuable it is to add mobile to a brand?s multichannel mix, it is no surprise that Dreyer?s is using the channel to enhance the concept of its ?Share the Love? campaign.

The Share the Love mobile game uses characters that are part of a larger integrated campaign including print, consumer promotions materials, billboards and online video ads on Hulu. The game extends and enhances the campaign concept by bringing the characters to life in this virtual environment.

?The strategy is to create brand awareness for the Skinny Cow brand and engage consumers through a fun game,? said Kristin Rasmussen, interactive marketing associate at Dreyer?s, Oakland, CA. ?The aim is to prominently weave in the products, educating consumers on the key product attributes and drive trial through coupon distribution and high score competition giveaways.

?Additionally, the strategy is to convey the clever, optimistic, whimsical fun that is integral to the Skinny Cow brand and the 2010 Share the Love campaign,? she said.

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc. is a division of Nestle USA.

The Spread the Love mobile game is available on iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. It features a courageous dachshund delivering tasty Skinny Cow snacks to her Skinny Cow-loving animal friends.
Players maneuver a friendly dog who feeds her animal friends as she moves upwards among the clouds.

The goal of the game is to evade potential obstacles and collect points (and lots of love) for every tasty treat successfully shared with the dog's friends along the way.

If the player is unable to navigate and deliver new snacks, the balloon will deflate and the player will take a ride back down to the ground and the game starts over.

Players are invited to join the Skinny Cow Spread the Love community network, where they can post directly to Twitter or to Facebook and interact with fellow gamers to Spread the Love even further.

Players can also post scores to the Skinny Cow high score leader boards and compare their all time high-score with friends.

?The Share the Love game utilizes the iPhone's unique accelerometer capability to create an immersive and fully interactive game,? Ms. Rasmussen said. ?We?re considering branching out to other smartphones in the future but would have to re-work the game to work in that format.

?We?re tapping our fans on Facebook and members of our email database, asking them to spread the word by sharing their scores with friends,? she said.

Mobile marketing specialists have long been touting the effectiveness of adding mobile to a multichannel spectrum.

Because the Dreyer?s campaign targets a broad array of women ? ages 25-54 ? a multichannel initiative was the sure way to reach a large amount of females.

The campaign targets women who are active and always on the go. The Dreyer?s consumer is known for spending time with her friends, is up to date on the latest trends ? both for fashion and technology ? and has an overall zest for life.

The Skinny Cow consumer is all about living a healthy, balanced life and likes to indulge in sweets without feeling guilty.

Adding mobile to the mix
John Deschner, client services director at AKQA, has a lot of experience working with brands and helping them incorporate mobile into their marketing mix.

Although AKQA did not work with Dreyer?s on this particular campaign, Mr. Deschner was able to explain the value of complementing existing campaigns with mobile.

?What are we seeing in terms of company?s using mobile as part of multi-channel efforts,? Mr. Deschner said. ?With few exceptions, like finance and banking, a lot of companies are at stage where they believe they have to have an app, but they?re not sure why.

?We are at a stage where the Web was in 1999,? he said. ?Brands know they need to be there.?

Making a multichannel campaign successful means that there is an explicitly stated and understood value-exchange. Otherwise it is hard to get a consumer to download and use, say, an application.

At the same time, there needs to be a marketing component, because after all, the application is meant to complement a marketing initiative.

?The key is that it is a good game,? Mr. Deschner said. ?And that?s the key. I think the days of releasing just any game are over. To get the brand affinity and the sales you have to create something valuable.?

Why mobile for Dryer?s?

?The Skinny Cow brand online marketing initiatives have seen great success by being contextually relevant and engaging the target where they live,? Ms. Rasmussen said. ?Mobile marketing is the ultimate extension of this, targeting on-the-go consumers on their personal mobile device wherever they happens to be.

?Delivering content for mobile devices can no longer be ignored ? more and more, consumers are expecting to do it all on their hand-held device,? she said. ?Mobile provides another way for Skinny fans to interact with the brand and stay connected to the Skinny community.?