Mondel?z International has inked a significant mobile-only media deal as part of the brand?s mission to become a mobile powerhouse.

Mondel?z has partnered with Google on a global initiative to focus on mobile sites, search and display advertising for brands such as Oreo, Trident and Cadbury. The deal essentially gives Mondel?z tools for marketers to beef up their own mobile marketing initiatives in select markets.

?As to the scope of the deal, it goes beyond a traditional media impressions partnership ? this includes creation of branded mobile Web sites, training and mobile capability building, analytics and an opportunity to opt in to Google?s mobile beta programs,? said Richard Buino, spokesman for Mondel?z International, Deerfield, IL.

?We feel this provides us with a competitive advantage, particularly in emerging markets, which are a growing part of our company?s revenue,? he said.
 
?Second, we?re doing this because mobile is right for our business. Consumers spend more than 23 percent of their daily media consumption time with mobile, but marketers allocate less than one percent of their overall budgets to this medium.?

Mobile-exclusive media
Mondel?z?s media buy is part of the company?s ongoing plan to invest 10 percent of its marketing budget to mobile.

The deal was brokered with Starcom MediaVest and stretches across 16 countries. In particular, the media spend will be allocated to emerging markets and BRIC areas.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The one-year deal is already being rolled out to regions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

The media buy will let Mondel?z create branded mobile sites, training and analytics to the markets.

Additionally, Mondel?z will be able to opt-in to beta programs from Google as part of the deal.

Mondel?z claims that the Google media buy is the company?s first outcome that looks at the entire customer journey and expects to strike up other partnerships as a result of the deal.

?At the end of the day, it?s all about tapping into this media ecosystem that surrounds consumers ? not any one channel ? because consumers have become very fluid in how they engage across many different media,? Mr. Buino said.
 
Jumping into mobile
Focusing exclusively on mobile for a media spend makes sense for Mondel?z since consumer-packaged goods tend to be impulse buys.

Mondel?z also claims that mobile has higher engagement rates than traditional display ads.

The deal points to the growing interest from consumer-packaged-goods brands to embrace mobile as a way to influence consumers in-store and in shopping mode.

Most recently, Mondel?z and Nabisco rolled out an augmented reality app that works with product packages to create interactive content (see story).

Store displays and merchandising are slipping in grabbing a consumer?s full attention as more consumers are glued to the screens on their mobile devices as they shop.

For example, a general mobile ad could be targeted to consumer by geo-fencing around a store.

Then bits of information, such as purchase history could theoretically be layered in to make an offer more targeted and relevant to a specific consumer.

?I think this is an obvious and significant step in helping harmonize the vacuum in the traditional spend between packaging at shelf and the advertising world,? said Dyfed ?Fred? Richards, worldwide creative director for consumer branding at The Brand Union, London.

?It is refreshing to see such a move and a company acknowledging that the world has not only changed, but so has the manner in which consumers engage, recall brands and in turn consume,? he said.

?What will be interesting to see is how each of the brands within the Mondel?z portfolio will adapt to the format??

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