Toyota and Volkswagen Rev Up Mobile Ads

This week two major car companies are speeding into mobile marketing. Both Volkswagen and Toyota are touting their mobile campaigns. Yesterday, Volkswagen of America announced the launch of their “smart phone-optimized” mobile site with detailed information on their line of vehicles along with national and regional special offers. Today, Toyota announced the “success” of its September mobile marketing campaign that drove brand awareness for its “Great Time to Shine” program.

In September, mobile marketing agency Proximity Blue used a variety of digital marketing technologies to reach New York Giants fans attending the NFL team’s season opener at giants Stadium. The campaign included a custom-branded mobile web site providing information on the promotion and streamed a clip of Giants quarterback Eli Manning explaining the program to mobile phones at the stadium.

Toyota reports the location-based marketing campaign delivered a 14 percent increase of people downloading info about Toyota’s campaign to their mobile devices including the iPhone and Blackberry.

“Being able to deliver messages at the time the consumer is interacting with the product – in this case while they are checking out the Toyota vehicles that were on display outside the stadium – creates a high level of brand affinity and awareness, ” said Alex Teplish, president of Proximity Blue, in a statement. “Mobile marketing is not just about reaching customers on the go. It’s about interacting with them when they are most likely engaged with the brand.”

Volkswagen, on the other hand, is going a more traditional mobile marketing approach with its mobile site designed by ad agency AKQA. Site visitors can also snag free ringtones and wallpapers featuring imagery and sounds from recent Volkswagen advertising.