Cable channel Nat Geo Wild is using a combination of mobile, social media and video to drive consumers to tune into a week-long premiere of TV shows.

Nat Geo Wild has partnered with the mobile video application Socialcam to get the word out about Big Cat Week ? a week of four cat-related TV show premieres. Mediahub/Mullen is the agency behind the campaign.

?To drive tune-in to Big Cat Week on Nat Geo Wild, we wanted to bring big cats into pop culture, where sharks have typically been more top of mind,? said Laurel Boyd, vice president and digital media director at mediahub/Mullen, Boston.

?With mobile photo and video sharing apps playing such a prominent role in current media usage, a platform like SocialCam enabled us to capitalize on a trending behavior,? she said.

?The app allows users to easily create and share a video with minimal steps, so  asking them to upload a video of their most ferocious roar to share with their social network was an easy way to initiate.?

Viral videos
The week-long campaign promotes Big Cat Week on Nat Geo Live. The cable channel aired four premieres of cat-related TV shows this week.

The goal behind the campaign is to make big cats top-of-mind when consumers think about wildlife programming.

Therefore, the campaign is banking on Socialcam to create viral buzz that will encourage users to tune into the show.

Consumers who download the Socialcam app, which is available for iPhone and Android devices, can upload short video clips. The clips then can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube, email or SMS.

Nat Geo Wild then leveraged one of SocialCam?s most popular users ? The Roxie ? to spread the word about the campaign.

The Roxie has uploaded two videos that encourage users to upload their own videos and tag them with the hashtag #BigCatWeek.

For each video uploaded on Socialcam with the hashtag, $1 will be donated to National Geographic?s Big Cats Initiative, which is a conservation program that raises awareness for big cats. Up to $10,000 will be donated.

Additionally, users can upload their video with a branded filter with National Geographic's famous yellow border and a cheetah print.

To further drive awareness of the premieres, Socialcam promoted short clips that featured content from the shows in users? feeds.

The branded camera filter

User-generated content
Marketers are increasingly looking to connect the dots between social and mobile marketing.

In particular, photo and sharing apps are being embraced by consumers because they let users quickly upload and edit content, which is then instantaneously shared via social media.

In addition to the growing number of these kinds of apps, Facebook?s purchase of Instagram for $1 billion earlier this year points to the likely growth that the industry will see.

?Consumers are accustomed to creating mobile videos as developments in technology have simplified the process and mobile devices are in their possession 24/7,? Ms. Boyd said.

?With mobile app usage rising and developments like open graph allowing for seamless integration with consumers? social networks, mobile apps with large scale are now and will continue to be a part of the consideration set when evaluating partners for a social campaign, where in the past traditional social platforms like Facebook and YouTube played a primary role,? she said.

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