Mobile video is increasingly being incorporated in mobile initiatives and entertainment advertisers are continually using the medium to drive user engagement, according to a new study from Millennial Media.

According to Millennial Media?s latest Mobile Intel Series report, 71 percent of all entertainment campaigns on its network gave consumers the option to watch a video as a post-click action. According to the company, the percentage is significantly higher than the overall mobile average of 24 percent.

?Entertainment advertisers are using mobile to achieve a variety of different campaign goals, ranging from TV Tune In, to mcommerce DVD sales, to driving awareness ahead of a film?s release date,? said Marcus Startzel, general manager of North America at Millennial Media, Baltimore.

?Entertainment advertisers are some of the most creative marketers in mobile today, and this is one of the key reasons they have seen so much success in the space.?

Highly entertaining
The study focused on how the entertainment industry uses mobile, as well as how users consume mobile entertainment. 

Of the campaigns running within Millennial?s network, 27 percent used mobile commerce to drive sales.

Additionally, the amount of entertainment content accessed on mobile devices increased 82 percent from December 2010 to December 2011.

Millennial found that Hispanic consumers are 39 percent more likely to view mobile entertainment content than the overall smartphone audience.

African-American consumers are 10 percent more likely.

Moreover, entertainment was the third leading mobile advertising vertical on the Millennial network, which was ranked by spend. From 2010 to 2011, ad spend in the entertainment industry grew 133 percent.

Of the campaigns running, 43 percent promoted theatrical releases. Mobile campaigns that promoted television shows and DVD releases were the second and third most popular campaigns, respectively.

In addition, 55 percent of all entertainment campaigns had the goal of promoting a launch or release. Across all verticals, only 18 percent of campaigns had this goal.

Millennial also found that the top audiences entertainment advertisers targeted were movie buffs, entertainment fans and music fans.

Driving awareness
The entertainment industry is obviously seeing the big effect that mobile has in engaging new and existing users.

By incorporating the medium into its day-to-day campaigns, entertainment marketers are able to reach a vast amount of people.

?Consumers are using their mobile phones for activities like checking show times, which previously were only available in more traditional forms of media, like newspapers,? Mr. Startzel said.

?As this shift in consumer behavior occurs, advertisers are taking notice and shifting spend into mobile to follow suit,? he said. 
 
?Entertainment advertisers are often looking to reach specific audiences, such as romantic comedy enthusiasts or reality TV Fans and mobile provides them a unique opportunity to reach these real-world consumers.?

Final Take