A partnership between Columbia Records and The Weather Channel promotes a new album by rock band AC-DC by leveraging a custom native ad across mobile, tablet and Web platforms that plays off the bad-weather title of a song on the album.

The Weather Channel is leveraging local data from users to determine who receives the ad for the album, ?Rock or Bust,? which includes the song, ?Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder,? based on current weather conditions. The campaign is another example of a traditional music company turning to mobile to engage customers and of Weather Channel?s efforts to make its weather information more personal.

?It's all about reaching the right audience, at the right time, with the right message,? said Elizabeth Farrell, ad sales director for the Weather Company, parent of the The Weather Channel, Atlanta. ?TWC not only delivers a massive audience via our screens but also had the right audience who are likely to purchase an AC-DC release. 

?Then, by triggering the ad based on relevant weather conditions, we're putting the lightning bolt in context and drawing a parallel between our two brands,? she said. ?Finally, the ad itself is presented in one of our native formats so that it feels like a natural extension of the app. 

?We're seeing great response and engagement with these more organic formats.?

The Weather Channel has been using mobile to make its weather information more personal for some time.

 

Earlier this year, it began running ads for Toyota vehicles that superimposed an image of a car behind a current conditions summary amid a backdrop that reflected the exact weather. 

Similarly, the five-day AC-DC campaign lets a mobile user with rainy local conditions see the cross-platform ad under their daily forecast.

?We will see more and more of these types of ad placements as mobile apps try to monetize their available in-app space and brands look for new ways to capitalize on mobile marketing,? said Sheryl Kingstone, Toronto-based research director for Yankee Group. 

?It's not necessarily about raising mobile engagement, but using creative ad placement that takes advantage of dynamic information to target appropriate information based on context,? she said. ?As a result, it's a win-win for both the brands and the mobile app as a revenue-generating opportunity.?

Sony Music came to The Weather Channel for help promoting the new album from AC-DC, a blues-rock band formed in the early 1970s, due to TWC?s broad reach.

?The more people you reach the more albums you can sell,? Ms. Farrell said. ?When looking for partners for this campaign Sony thought TWC would be a perfect fit with AC-DC and their iconic lightning bolt.?

?Everyone checks their weather on the go via our mobile apps and everyone listens to music on the go so allowing our audience to purchase the album via their mobile device is a seamless integration,? she said.