General Motors Co. recently ran a mobile video advertising campaign that points to the effectiveness of using the medium for brand awareness and recall.

The automaker used mobile video to promote its Terrain SUV in a campaign that ran from October to December last year. GMC worked with Tapjoy on this campaign.

?The purchase of a car or a truck is largely fueled by emotion ? it is a reflection of what kind of person a consumer sees himself or herself as or what kind of person they aspire to be,? said Jim Jones, vice president and general manager of sales at Tapjoy, San Francisco.

?To tap into that aspirational emotion, it requires a rich-media format like video ads,? he said. ?That is why automotive brands have always been among the most innovative in terms of video advertising. 

?Television commercials can be fast-forwarded or tuned out, or consumers can change the channel entirely. With online videos, consumers often switch to a new tab on their browser while the video is playing or do some other task while they wait for it to end. But with mobile videos, not only are consumers more attached to the device, but it is less likely that they are multitasking while a video ad is playing.?

Mobile road map
The GMC video was included as an option for consumers to receive in-game rewards in Tapjoy?s marketplace.

The case study results are split into two surveys. 

Nielsen conducted one survey on consumers who watched the GMC video ad. The other control group sample was comprised of consumers who had not seen the video.

The 42 percent brand recall rate represents the number of users who watched the GMC video.

Per Nielsen?s findings, this is significantly higher than the brand recall rates of TV and Web for the cars and trucks industry. TV ads for cars and trucks average a 27 percent brand recall rate, and online videos generate a 17 percent brand recall.

Consumers who were exposed to the mobile video also generated a 33 percent higher brand awareness rate than the control group. 

The campaign generated more than 800,000 video views with a 80 percent completion rate. 

The video lasted 67 seconds, which is long for mobile. Generally mobile video is used most successfully in short clips, but the GMC case study points to longer content also working on smartphones and tablets if the video is compelling enough to consumers.

Once the video finished, consumers could redeem either in-game currencies or premium in-app content. For example, users could redeem free songs in the Magic Piano app or access free texting in the Pinger app.

The campaign generated a 9.4 percent click-through rate.

The campaign also claims to generate more than 71,000 clicks to GMC.com. After watching the video, consumers had the option to click-through to the automaker's mobile site.

The GMC Terrain is one of the car brand?s mid-size crossover SUVs with prices starting around $26,000. 

Drive on mobile
GMC has dipped its toes into multiple mobile mediums over the years to increase brand awareness and purchase intent.

For instance, another recent case study between GMC and GoldSpot Media found that a rich media mobile advertising campaign resulted in a 1.31 click-through rate (see story).

Additionally, a Microsoft executive at the 2010 Mobile Marketing Association?s Mobile Marketing Forum presented a case study from GMC. By sponsoring the MSNBC mobile app with banner ads and media, the campaign generated a 44 percent increase in purchase intent (see story).

?The biggest takeaway from this campaign for marketers should be that mobile video ads provide an extremely effective way to not only reach massive audiences, but to engage them more deeply than they engage with ads on TV or online,? Mr. Jones said.

?Part of this deeper engagement is because mobile devices are simply more personal than the television or our PCs,? he said.

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