Northern Virginia Community College

Ping Mobile

It is no surprise that currently four out of every ten mobile phones in the U.S. are smartphones. 

Additionally, consumer reports show that nearly 45 percent of smartphone users are aged between 18 and 34, presenting an enormous opportunity for companies and organizations who seek to connect with young adults. 

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), the second largest multi-campus community college in the United States, wanted to capitalize on this tremendous opportunity in the lead-up to the new academic year. 

NOVA devised a campaign that would use mobile to generate buzz amongst young adults in NOVA?s local area. 

Consumers 18-34-years-old

A clickable banner was designed which lead to the NOVA mobile Web page. 

Ping delivered the banner only in the relevant counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William. 

The targeting was further refined in real-time by the Ping technology and delivered to applications and sites likely to reach the target audience (adults aged 17-25 with college related interests). 

The built in algorithm in Ping Mobile?s platform automatically optimized the campaign ? concentrating ads on applications which were triggering more consumer interaction with the banner.

Any marketer will admit that it is easier to generate excitement about a spiffy new car than a local community college. Academia is a much heavier topic?particularly for casual mobile surfing. In addition, the ad itself was purely informational, with no enticing promotion, discount, or other clear call to action. 

Ping?s system gauged the mobile traffic within the predetermined location and promised to evenly deliver at least 20,000 clicks over a two month period. 

Ping delivered over 120 percent of the bold number of promised clicks. 

Ads were targeted not only based on location, but also on the displayed interests of the end-users? mobile activity. 

The combination of Ping?s sophisticated platform combined with the dedicated and experienced Client Services Managers ensured that the campaign was not only well-planned but also well-managed. 

Shuli Lowy, marketing and client services manager, Ping Mobile

?When I first heard what Ping promised they could deliver, I thought there was no way they would come close to the target.? says Chris Herring, director of digital media at Barkely REI (NOVA?s marketing agency).  ?We were doubtful they could actually provide that many clicks within such a small location range, and with no ?offer? or incentive to the user.?

?We were really impressed with the campaign?s performance in terms of delivery potential? he said. ?The click volume was well paced and even through the entire campaign, neither front-loaded nor back-loaded; everything ran smoothly.? 

?The goal of the campaign was focused on branding. And there was a definite boost in mobile Web traffic during the campaign window.  We sense a substantial increase in local engagement with the brand on mobile platforms.?