Nestlé is tapping into the hot mobile photo-sharing market with an application for Nesquik that makes the photo upload process more interactive.

The chocolate milk brand has rolled out a new app called Bunny-fier that uses a device?s built-in camera to let consumers upload and share photos. The brand has a significant opportunity to hook consumers, but may find it challenging to persuade consumers to download it without additional features.

?Nestlé is a successful and renowned brand," said Bill Aurnhammer, CEO of Aurnhammer LLC, New York. "It is exciting to see them stepping forward into mobile marketing through a fun app.

?However, we are not very positive about the success of this app,? he said. ?Although photo-sharing is one of the most popular functions on social media, having this function alone will not provide more value-adding features that smartphone users expect.?

Mr. Aurnhammer is not associated with Nestlé. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Nestlé did not meet press deadline.

How it works
Nestlé launched the Bunny-fier app to support National Bunny Ears Day, which took place yesterday.

The app leverages a mobile device?s built-in camera to let consumers either take a photo or pick one from their camera?s roll.

The photos can then be cropped and resized to fit within a frame.

Each photo can then be customized with the Nesquik?s bunny?s famous ears as well as other branded pictures. In total, 17 different graphics can be added to a photo.

Once a picture has been created, a landing page pulls up that shows the customized photo next to three buttons that let consumers share the image via email, Twitter and Facebook.

Additionally, there is a product placement along the bottom of the page that shows a picture of the Nesquik product.

The Bunny-fier app is available for free download in Apple?s App Store.

In addition to the app, Nestlé is expanding the campaign to Instagram and Twitter with the #NationalBunnyEarsDay hashtag.

The brand will then post some of the best uploads to its ?Breaking Out The Bunny? photo gallery on the brand?s Facebook page.

Mobile opportunity
Although it is simple, Nestlé?s Bunny-fier app points to the broader trend of marketers tapping into mobile to catch on with consumers that are increasingly taking and sharing photos primarily through their mobile devices.

Other brands have used similar techniques with campaigns that include both photo-sharing apps and social media.

For example, Kate Spade recently launched a photo-sharing campaign that included Instagram and the third-party mobile app Snaps (see story).

Getting a consumer to download a campaign-specific mobile app can be difficult, but could potentially be useful for Nestlé to build up a group of consumers that have shown an affinity for the brand.

On the other hand, Instagram gives marketers scale and reach to attract a wider group of consumers and is one of the social networks with the highest engagement levels.

In fact, a recent study from L2 Think Tank found that Instagram posts register engagement levels 18 times greater than Facebook (see story).

?Branded apps make sense because consumers now channel their attention increasingly to their smartphones,? Mr. Aurnhammer said.

?The traditional methods of communication cannot compete with mobile marketing in terms of flexibility and personalization,? he said.