Tylenol PM "Sleep Tracker" iPhone application

The Tylenol application is available as a free download in the App Store and is promoted with the tagline "See how beneficial a good night's sleep can be."

The Tylenol PM Sleep Tracker iPhone application lets users track their sleep hours and moods, see their sleep history over time, add notes and customize their icons and get tips to help them sleep better. Tylenol is promoting the application as part of its "Get Ready for Bed" campaign.

A click-to-download banner ad campaign that ran across iPhone sites and applications drove close to 3,000 downloads and increased Tylenol's ranking in the App Store from No. 120 to 14, which in turn drove additional organic viral spread of the application. "With tens of thousands of apps in the App Store, promotion is crucial to getting your app highly ranked, which is critical for discovery," said Tony Nethercutt, vice president of sales at AdMob. "Consumer discovery is difficult with 50,000 apps, so being ranked in the top 25 most popular apps in your category is critical to getting more downloads.

Tylenol PM Sleep Tracker ads across AdMob's network issued a call-to-action urging consumers to click through to the App Store to immediately download the application. While specific click-through rates weren't revealed, AdMob claims its clients see conversion rates between 5 to 20 percent, with the average being closer to 10 percent. From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/MLFRs

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Chipotle Mexican Grill enters Mobile Commerce

Burrito giant Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched an ordering application letting iPhone and iPod touch users place customized orders at the location of their choice.

The quick-service-restaurant brand’s first foray into mobile, Chipotle’s iPhone application leverages the device’s GPS functionality to find the location closest to the user and enables mobile ordering. A key feature of the application lets customers pay for their food directly from their mobile device.

“We wanted to create a user experience that is similar to what we offer in our restaurants, but using the iPhone platform,” said Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver. “It allows time-starved customers another way to access Chipotle in a way that’s relevant to them.
“Our core customers skew young, educated and more affluent than a typical fast-food customer,” he said. “It’s probably a close match to iPhone users. “Having the app lets us deepen relationships with these customers by giving them a way to interact with us that is meaningful to them.”

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Globe & Mail newspaper goes Mobile

“By launching multiple apps on different platforms, we're trying to reach new and existing readers wherever they might be, and also learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each platform,” said Matthew Ingram, communities editor at The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada.“We're trying to reach younger readers and users as well as digital influencers – those who are most likely to try new devices,” he said.

The Globe and Mail application is available to download for free from the Apple App Store, the BlackBerry App World and soon, the Palm Pre App Catalogue.

“Mobile platforms are a way to reach readers quickly and easily when a news event occurs, since most people have their mobile device with them wherever they are,” Mr. Ingram said.

“One of the big potential benefits of mobile news is the ability to allow readers to provide valuable feedback and content through comments, reader-submitted photos and videos and etcetera – something we hope to incorporate in all of the apps soon,” he said. From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/ic7Cw

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Jaguar Sinks Teeth into MobileAds

Jaguar is promoting its XF car model with mobile banner ads within ESPN’s Fantasy Football 2009 Draft Kit iPhone application.Banner ads are running at the bottom of the iPhone application's screen. The ESPN application is the latest component of the sports network's overall multichannel portfolio and the company’s mobile strategy will only grow in importance going forward.

Consumers that click on the Jaquar XF banner ads are routed to a landing page where they are asked to enter their email address to receive a free brochure about the XF. Upon entering their email address, consumers are opting-in for future marketing communications from Jaguar.

Since 72 percent of iPhone users are male, Jaguar realized the potential of reaching out to consumers via the device. Additionally, ESPN’s application users are likely to skew male as well. There is a world of opportunity in mobile for luxury brands like Jaguar, as the automaker is focused on appealing to consumers on an individual level.

Jaguar has invested heavily to create and maintain its brand and mobile is about accessibility and personal attachment. The carmaker realized that luxury brands need to use mobile to reach their target consumer. It is a natural fit. From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/NSlKP

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91% Moms Don't Leave the House without their Mobilephone

A report from BabyCenter showed that 91 percent of mothers surveyed say they never leave the house without their mobile phone, meaning the majority of this demographic are dependent on mobile technology to manage their lives. BabyCenter is Johnson & Johnson's, an online resource for parenting supplies and information, which has launched a new iPhone application called "PhonyPhone" to help moms on the go. BabyCenter is an online resource for parents, fostering 78 percent annual reach of online new and expecting mothers and more than 16 million visitors on a monthly basis.

Fifty-five percent of moms today let their children play with their mobile phone regardless of handset model or price, according to “BabyCenter’s 21st Century Mom Report.” With this in mind, BabyCenter came out with the PhonyPhone application, which provides for an educational experience for the child and a mother’s uninhibited ability to let children play on.

“Moms today are using their mobile devices for more than just making phone calls,” said Linda Murray, editor-in-chief of BabyCenter, San Francisco, CA. “The PhonyPhone marries the digital device that moms can’t live without with a child’s never-ending curiosity and delight around handheld gadgets.”

BabyCenter’s first mobile initiative consisted of getting helpful pregnancy tips to one's mobile phone, a program called Booty Caller. Also, BabyCenter created a mobile Web site, which is accessible from any from Web-enabled mobile device. Subscribers receive weekly texts chock full of pregnancy advice. Once the baby arrives, the Parenting Tips service sends new parents helpful parenting tips twice a week till three months.

“As consumers spend more time on the phone, there is great potential to engage them further and create opportunities for advertisers,” Ms. Murray said. “In the developing world there are billions of consumers who own mobile phones but are without Internet connection. “We see mobile as a way to greatly extend our reach to a new audience,” she said. From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/cGEgh

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Discovery Channel debuts ad-supported Mobile-video App

The Discovery Channel has debuted an ad-supported application for Apple’s iPhone, providing consumers with new videos, daily news, quizzes, photos and television schedules. The application enables users to get full-length episodes of Discovery Channel programming and providing Discovery with another monetization method in addition to advertising. Footwear giant Puma is among the brands running pre-roll video advertising within the application.

“With increasing consumption of entertainment on smartphones, we wanted to enable our fans to stay connected to their favorite programs wherever they go,” said Doug Craig, senior vice president of digital and home entertainment at Discovery Communications, Silver Spring, MD. “The launch of our Discovery Channel iPhone app is a natural extension of our mobile strategy, which offers consumers engaging mobile Web and video content through multiple carriers and services,” he said.

“The app serves as another touch point to engage Discovery Channel fans across demos by providing an immersive experience that includes videos of Discovery Channel's top programs, quizzes, photos, Discovery News and more.” From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/LvwNP