Mars Inc.?s Snickers is running a multichannel campaign that features a mobile game, a WAP site, banners and in-store marketing to drive consumer interest.

The Snickers mobile soccer game is available on Java phones, the iPhone and iPod touch across all of Scandinavia. Mars Inc. tapped sister companies Mobiento, an ad agency, and Adiento, a mobile ad network, to power the campaign and build the mobile site.

?We are helping Snickers spread the word about the branded mobile game in various ways in order to achieve the largest number of downloads and game sessions possible,? said Emil Salonen, country manager for Sweden at Mobiento, Stockholm.

?Snickers? primary target group is guys ages 16-24, who are out and about all of the time, coordinating their social life and activities with their mobile phones,? he said. ?A mobile game keeps Snickers top of mind and keeps them established as a youth brand, helping them engage their primary target.?

The Snickers mobile soccer game is available as a free download in the App Store and the mobile site at http://m3m.nu/snickers. The game targets soccer fans in advance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, in June.

Mobiento created the concept of the game, and the company contracted application developer Mobile Interaction to build it.

Mobiento built the Snickers mobile site for the campaign and coordinated the messaging components and the mobile ad campaign driving downloads of the mobile game.

The company partnered with McCann Worldwide?s Initiative Universal Media, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, to help with the campaign.

Mobile really satisfies
The Snickers mobile soccer game is being promoted by mobile advertising on all major carrier portals across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. The campaign includes on-deck inventory with carriers Tele2, Telenor and Three (3).

The carrier Three, which is one of the biggest in the Scandinavian youth market, is promoting the Snickers mobile game in-store. Everyone who comes in will get a mini-Snickers and instructions on how to download the game.

Mobiento is also collaborating with Sony-Ericsson.

?Their market share is so high in this region, so ads are running across their mobile ad networks to reach the gaming and music-oriented target groups that Snickers is going for,? Mr. Salonen said.

The campaign will include off-deck inventory targeting Java phones and the iPhone. In addition to Adiento?s publisher partners, the campaign will run ads in iPhone applications via AdMob?s network.

One major publisher used in the campaign is Aftonbladet, the biggest tabloid media company in Scandinavia. Snickers ads promoting the mobile game will run on its mobile Web sites and iPhone-optimized sites.

Multichannel approach
Mobiento is also sending out targeted text messages to people who have downloaded games before.

?We have found SMS to be very effective?we?ve done that in previous campaigns, and gamers are very likely to click on the link,? Mr. Salonen said. ?We take a multichannel approach, launching the campaign in as many channels as possible, including mobile.

?The mobile game keeps Snickers top of mind, and they use the game in their in-store marketing,? he said. ?They have a lot of material that we?ve developed together with them, printed materials and signs within the stores, and they get good spots in the stores.

?This is a good story to talk about their brand when people are in the store?a lot of people buy Snickers as a last-minute decision when they are in the store, so letting people play the mobile game is a fun and interactive way for consumers to engage with their brand.?

Snickers is hoping that the buzz around the upcoming World Cup will help fuel viral word-of-mouth spread and lead to more downloads.

Per Mr. Salonen, Mars believes that mobile can be a differentiator for the Snickers brand.

?For a brand like Snickers, it?s really difficult to stand out from the crowd, because so many brands are trying to sell chocolate to this target group, young males,? Mr. Salonen said. ?By using mobile, they show that they?re an innovative brand.

?They are giving something away to people that is fairly valuable,? he said. ?A well-built mobile game can cost anywhere from $1 to $10, and it?s seen as a generous giveaway to the specific target group.?