Jaguar is promoting its XF car model with mobile banner ads within ESPN?s Fantasy Football 2009 Draft Kit iPhone application.

Banner ads are running at the bottom of the iPhone application’s screen. The ESPN application is the latest component of the sports network’s overall multichannel portfolio and the company?s mobile strategy will only grow in importance going forward (see story).

?Over the last couple of years, the emergence of the iPhone and the App Store has really raised the bar as to what people can do with mobile devices, said John Zehr, senior vice president of digital video and mobile productions at ESPN, Bristol, CT. ?More and more people are using mobile data services and downloading apps, which has turbocharged the marketplace.?

The Jaguar banners are running within the application as a result of Jaguar’s relationship with ad network AdMob, which serves ads in the ESPN application.

Mindshare is Jaguar’s agency.

Consumers that click on the Jaquar XF banner ads are routed to a landing page where they are asked to enter their email address to receive a free brochure about the XF.

Upon entering their email address, consumers are opting-in for future marketing communications from Jaguar.

The new XF is Jaguar?s customizable four-door, 420-horsepower supercharged luxury vehicle.

Since 72 percent of iPhone users are male, Jaguar realized the potential of reaching out to consumers via the device. Additionally, ESPN?s application users are likely to skew male as well.

Fifty-eight percent of iPhone users completed college and the average age of buyers is 31. IPhone users? average household income is $75,600.

Priced at $499 the iPhone 3G is a steep purchase, so these demographics are not surprising and neither is the fact that Jaguar is targeting a segment of this audience.

?IPhone users have an affinity for new technology and a certain willingness to spend for that,” said Neil Strother, analyst at Forrester Research, Kirkland, WA. “And many luxury car brands tout things like GPS navigation systems, advanced sound systems, or other high-tech features. So, these users make for a good target audience for these automakers.?

The XF is being promoted via a mobile WAP site at http://www.jaguarxf.mobi. Mobile has fared very well for the Jaguar XF.

According an interview between this publication and interactive agency Global Beach in May 2008, Jaguar ran a campaign to promote the XF model and that campaign delivered more than 15 million ad impressions, delivering 85,000-plus unique visitors to the Jaguar XF WAP site (see story).

The XF mobile ad campaign has appeared on mobile Internet sites such as Pandora, Yahoo Mobile and AdMob.com.

There is a world of opportunity in mobile for luxury brands like Jaguar, as the automaker is focused on appealing to consumers on an individual level. 

Jaguar has invested heavily to create and maintain its brand and mobile is about accessibility and personal attachment. 

The carmaker realized that luxury brands need to use mobile to reach their target consumer. It is a natural fit.

In June, Jaguar ran a multichannel marketing campaign to drive traffic to its mobile sites and get consumers to opt in to its SMS database.

For this campaign Jaguar?s strategy was to integrate mobile into other media channels by deploying short codes for print, television and outdoor.

The marketing message was focused towards driving foot traffic to dealerships by helping consumers find their nearest dealer (see story).

?Brands are attracted to the app space on the iPhone, and other devices, because they are able to flex their brand creativity to drive unique, on-going engagement with their consumers,? said Marcus Startzel, senior vice president of sales at Millennial Media, Baltimore.