McDonald?s is branching out to new opportunities with mobile via a campaign that rewards consumers for playing their favorite games.

The ads are running within a set of music apps on Kiip?s network of mobile applications, such as the Songpop iPhone app. McDonald?s is a brand that has continually relied on mobile advertising in the past few years to build engagement with consumers and drive in-store traffic.

?I don't want to speak for McDonald's, but it is important for new generations of customers to learn and feel brands as they evolve,? said Brian Wong, CEO of Kiip, San Francisco.

?McDonald's has a desire to connect with many different demographics, and the app demographic that was interested in music is one that is difficult to reach with traditional advertising,? he said.

?We've proven across many verticals and brands that moments-driven rewards are very key for campaign success in mobile, so the mobile question is a big one here as well that is being answered.?

McDonald?s did not meet press deadline for a comment.

Mobile achievements
After users finish a turn and win a Songpop game, a message pop ups at the top of the screen that features the McDonald?s logo and reads, ?Awesome job. Tap to redeem your reward.?

When users click on the message, they are directed to a landing page that shows a picture of a Big Mac and offers users a reward for winning their game.

From there, consumers are encouraged to type in their email address to get a free song download from Amazon?s App Store that is linked to a landing page.

The email that consumers are sent contains a link to redeem the song download.

Consumers can then copy a code that is good for $2 on MP3 downloads from Amazon?s MP3 Store. Users can click-through the landing page to Amazon?s Web site, enter the code and download music.

The marketing campaign is part of a bigger push that McDonald?s is using to promote its Big Mac products.

Earlier this year, McDonald?s ran a mobile display campaign with similar creative that showed off an Instagram effort where consumers were encouraged to snap pictures of their meals with the #Instafestival hashtag (see story).

Rewards-based and native mobile advertising is proving to be a hit for brands such as Hasbro, Mond?lez International and Old Navy.

The ad units give marketers a different canvas to work with and are often placed within apps and mobile sites with similar content.

McDonald?s newest mobile campaign fits into a much bigger advertising strategy that the company is constantly evolving.

Most recently, McDonald?s used a mobile audio campaign within the Spotify iPhone app to promote its blueberry pomegranate smoothie (see story).

Additionally, the company ran a mobile advertising campaign that leveraged rich media in April to push its chicken wrap products (see story).

?Music is a key part of this campaign and making it very real for people is something that we both wanted to accomplish,? Mr. Wong said.

"Music is very much a common fabric that helps brings many brands to life,? he said.

?We wanted to be able to make that happen in a very relevant set of apps. This campaign is running in our new music vertical, which finds achievement moments in music related apps that brands can reward and reciprocate.?

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