Volkswagen is running a rich-media mobile advertising campaign to raise brand awareness for its new CC model sedan.

The automotive company teamed with AKQA to place the mobile banner ads in applications and on the mobile Web sites of CBS and CNN. The campaign works on iPhones and integrates fixed-placement expandable ad units to deliver a more engaging experience for consumers. Crisp Wireless also helped with the campaign.

?Crisp's always-above-the-fold Adhesion fixed placement is the go-to format for the Volkswagen CC campaign,? said Tom Foran, chief revenue officer at Crisp Wireless, New York. ?Adhesion ads remain persistent and thus drive greater visibility and user engagement.

?From the Adhesion placement, users can tap to view a video or tap to find the nearest dealer based on their current location,? he said. ?Volkswagen is also featuring an expandable Adhesion banner with interactive hotspots on the expanded panel.?

Herndon, VA-based Volkswagen of America is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and manufactures a wide range of automobile brands such as the Beetle, Jetta and Passat. AKQA is Volkswagen?s mobile agency of record.

Volkswagen has been very active in the mobile space. The car manufacturer unveiled a quarterly interactive magazine for the iPad earlier this month (see story), and last month it launched an iPhone application to promote its Touareg SUV (see story).

Crisp Wireless provides rich-media mobile advertising services and works with advertisers like Lexus, Infiniti and Paramount Pictures.

Expandable ads give rich media experience
The Volkswagen campaign places rich-media expandable ads in applications, on http://www.cnn.com and http://www.cbs.com and on ad network Jumptap's publisher inventory.

Because the ads are fixed-placement units, they remain on the screen even as the user scrolls down the page.

The campaign uses both standard expandable banner ads and full-page expandable banner ads.

The standard expandable banner ads first appear at the bottom of the sponsored mobile Web site.

Here is a screen grab of a Volkswagen banner ad on CBS's mobile site:

When a user clicks on the ad, it expands into a 320x250 panel that includes calls to action for two mobile landing pages.

Here is a screen grab of an expanded banner ad on CBS's Web site:

From the expanded ad, potential customers can either check out the features of the CC vehicle in greater detail or request a quote.

The full-screen expandable banner ad also starts out as a regular banner featured at the bottom of sponsored Web sites.

Here is a screen grab of a Volkswagen banner ad on CNN's Web site:

However, when a user clicks on the ad, it fills up the entire screen, and includes more clickable content.

Here is a screen grab of an expanded full-page banner ad on CNN's Web site:

Like the standard expandable ads, the full-page ads also feature the same calls to action, allowing users to access more information about the CC or request a quote.

In addition, users can click on three different ?hotspots.?

Once clicked, the hotspots launch pop-up windows with additional information about the CC automobiles.

Here is a screen grab of a pop-up window from the full-page expandable ad:

Crisp uses in-depth analytics to help support and fine-tune its campaigns.

?Volkswagen chose Crisp not only because of the breadth of our ad unit portfolio but also for the detailed reporting that goes way beyond the click,? Mr. Foran said.

The campaign, which launched in June, has already achieved a high volume of impressions, per Crisp Wireless.

?Smartphone usage is exploding and major brands like VW are putting their brand message in front of the tens of millions of mobile users,? Mr. Foran said.

?They realize the importance of delivering engaging, measurable ads that transcend the simple banner,? he said.