Book retailer Barnes & Noble is running an exclusive two-month mobile advertising campaign within HopStop?s new application for Google?s Android to promote its Nook ebook reader. 

HopStop, a provider of pedestrian navigation and mobile transit services, launched its new Android application last week and began running Barnes & Noble Nook banner ads within it. The book-seller is partnering with HopStop to target the company?s audience of 4 million-plus monthly commuters and business travelers, one-third of which earn $100,000 or more.

?Barnes & Noble is very interested in the on-the-go mobile user, the person who is taking trains and planes, walking around the city, active and engaging with mobile devices,? said Joe Meyer, CEO of HopStop, New York. ?That is the epitome of our user, using our smartphone app to get where they need to go.

?B&N knows we have a large share of voice among commuters and people who use transit,? he said. ?A fairly large portion of our users earns $100,000 per year or more, and an ever larger portion earns $70,000 or more?that is a segment that large advertisers such as B&N are very interested in.

?Mobile is a really strong growth area for HopStop?we are a location-based, location-aware navigation and routing service, which is very conducive to engaging with when you?re out and about looking to get directions in real time.?

Barnes & Noble has launched Nook applications for Apple?s iPad and iPhone, Google?s Android and PCs.

In addition to the Android application, HopStop has an SMS program via the short code 67404, a mobile Web site and an iPhone app.

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Barnes & Noble?s No. 1 objective for its advertising campaign within the HopStop?s new Android application is to drive downloads of its own Android app.

The mobile banners say ?Nook for Android. Read What You Love. Anywhere You Like. Get the free app!?

When HopStop uses tap on the Barnes & Noble ad, they are taken directly to Nook application download page in Android Market.

Now available in major markets including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and several international hubs such as London, Paris, Moscow, Toronto and Montreal, HopStop provides brand marketers such as Barnes & Noble with a platform to create unique hyper-local advertising experiences.

HopStop?s top executive said that location-targeted mobile ads are 20 times more effective than online ads during a panel discussion at Borrell Associates Inc.?s Local Online Advertising Conference (see story).

Brands are working with HopStop to develop sponsorship programs and advertising campaigns that reach commuters when and where they need information the most ? while they are on-the-go making real-time decisions.

HopStop is promoting its Android application with house inventory, text messages and email blasts.

The company often sells its in-app inventory on an exclusive basis.

At the end of last year, the Hertz Corp. partnered with HopStop for a major online and mobile advertising campaign spanning both companies? operations in London, Paris, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington (see story).

?Barnes & Noble gets exclusivity?100 percent share of voice?at a time when we are experiencing a ton of downloads,? Mr. Meyer said. ?Our Android app has been getting close to a 1,000 downloads a day since it launched in beta in December?we just took it out of beta and we are closing in on 50,000 downloads.

?The Android app is growing at an even faster pace than our iPhone app,? he said. ?B&N is smart enough to know that we are going to see a lot of momentum for this coming-out party, and they will benefit from that.

?We?re seeing 30 percent of overall usage traffic via mobile, and we don?t see any slowdown in that trajectory?local advertising dovetails well with our geotargeting capabilities.?

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