Author: Julie Campbell

Mobile ads with interactive components are the most successful

According to recent research, this is the type of advertising that will bring about the best results.

When it comes to the number of options for mobile ads that are currently available for brands and companies, there is certainly no shortage, but recent findings have found that some are more effective than others.

The research indicate that success rates vary greatly depending on the type of advertising that has been selected.

Many brands are, therefore, opting to focus not on a single type of mobile ads, but rather on the diversification of their efforts. This, despite the fact that social media marketing has been shown to be quite effective when it comes to communication with consumers over smartphones and tablets. The issue at the moment is that brands and companies know that this channel is a vital one, despite the fact that it is very new and involves a considerable degree of inconsistency.

The multibillion dollar industry surrounding mobile ads has yet to find a standard for itself.

Interactive mobile adsThe recent report on the research was published by Celtra, a mobile advertising company. It stated that the future of this channel will be in interactive advertisements, such as those that involve quick and entertaining games.

Matevz Klanjsek, the chief product officer at Celtra, said that “Gaming ads are advertisements that use gameplay and/or gamification mechanics as a core of their user experience,” adding that “Most often, these ads look like branded minigames served into an ad placement. They typically feature standard gaming elements, such as core gameplay, scores, leaderboards, and they often allow users to share their score/result on social media.”

Celtra, itself, is seeking to secure its position in this part of the industry through its own mobile gaming commercials that are designed to provide businesses and brands with a competitive edge. The goal of this type of mobile ads is to directly and rapidly increase the engagement and click through rates being generated by advertisements displayed over smartphones and tablets. The report came to the conclusion that the billions of dollars that are being spent on marketing has made it vitally important for companies to understand their next step. The data that they have presented shows that interactive will be their chosen path and they believe that the rest of the industry will choose “to follow its lead”.

Softcard mobile wallet moves into McDonald’s USA

The largest food service retailer in the world is now accepting these smartphone transactions in about 14,000 locations.

Customers who eat at McDonald’s in the United States will now be able to use their smartphones to pay for their orders now that the quick service restaurant has teamed up with the Softcard and its mobile wallet.

This type of mobile payments transaction will be available to customers both in the restaurant and the drive-thru.

To use their mobile wallet service, they will be able to use NFC technology enabled smartphones with the Softcard app. They merely need to tap the device against the near field communication reader at any of the U.S. locations of the restaurant. This makes it the largest deployment of mobile payments via NFC that has ever occurred in a drive-thru setting.

According to McDonald’s representatives, the company is very pleased to offer this new mobile wallet service.

The McDonald’s USA vice president of media and consumer connection, Anja Carroll, said that “We are pleased to announce this national launch after a successful pilot program that began in 2013. Our work with Softcard further reinforces McDonald’s commitment to customer service and convenience.”mobile Wallet - McDonald's

Carroll went on to say that by working with leading brands within the mobile payments and m-commerce sphere, “we’re able to deliver a more meaningful experience to our customers that includes greater speed, ease and value.”

The mobile wallet app from Softcard is available for free and brings payments, loyalty, and discount offers together in one digital location. The app is compatible with over 80 different mobile devices across Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile. The service works with the contactless EMV global standard as well as with the m-commerce technology from SmartTap.

Softcard chief executive officer, Michael Abbott, called the quick service restaurant “one of the world’s most iconic and innovative brands.” He added that the reach and scale of McDonald’s will help to broaden the awareness and use of mobile payments and will bring this type of transaction one step closer to being mainstream. It will also help to demonstrate the specific value offered by the Softcard smartphone based wallet app, said Abbott.