Kraft Foods-owned Jell-O is mixing up its marketing this holiday season with mobile banner ads that inspire consumers to whip up their own sweet treats.

The Jello mobile ads are running within Entertainment Tonight's mobile site. With the holiday season quickly approaching, consumers will undoubtedly be relying on their mobile devices more than ever. 

?The mobile platform is the most sensitive platform in the sense of being aware of the users state of mind,? said Adel Jalili, chief experience officer at Interface Human, Los Angeles.

?As the most user-centered platform, mobile should be integrated with the most research on the target audience and their state of mind,? he said. ?That is the key to success for any interactive campaign.?

Mr. Jalili is not affiliated with Jell-O. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Jell-O did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile recipe
Creative for the mobile ad includes the company?s logo and a picture of the meal. Users are then encouraged to tap to get a recipe.

The ads expand to include a bigger picture of the Jell-O meal and step-by-step directions that let consumers achieve their own creation.

Jell-O is promoting five different seasonal recipes and users can flip through to view all of them.

Each recipe directs users to Jell-O?s Web site. However, the pages are not mobile-optimized and thus, may lower the user's engagement.

Although mobile users hate to pinch-and-zoom to read content, Jell-O is aiming to keep the majority of content within the ad units.

The Jell-O mobile ads

Virtual cookbook
Jell-O is smart to incorporate mobile into its overall marketing, especially around the holidays.

Consumers are relying more on their mobile devices for quick access to recipes and cooking information.

In addition to serving a utility function, promoting recipes and brand products can be particularly effective for Jell-O in driving impulse sales for consumers looking for recipe ideas.

Jell-O is not the only brand using mobile to drum up product awareness this holiday season.

For example, Butterball also recently launched an app that lets consumers browse recipes and set virtual timers and digital tools to streamline the cooking process (see story).

?I believe, browsing products, reviews and comparing sites are still done best from the comfort of a desktop,? Mr. Jalili said.

?That said, if the target audience is aligned with the benefits of this product, then the conversion rate will increase,? he said.

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