Spearheading the programmatic revolution: How Cadbury, Maruti Suzuki, Panasonic, LGI and others are engaging users with advanced, interactive mobile ads

In their bid to unlock the full potential of mobile ads, marketers are exploring programmatic display advertising, a relatively new, yet rapidly growing discipline in India. Offering diverse tools and services, programmatic ad platforms have enabled marketers to create and deliver campaigns with an automated and data-driven approach.

Hailed as the ultimate solution to streamlining the ad buying process, Indian marketers have been quick to take note of programmatic ad spending and with good reason. Enhanced targeting, access to real-time data and insights, transparency and efficiency in achieving business goals, along with increased control over ad spends has made programmatic solutions a viable and cost-effective option for them.

While benefits are aplenty, the fact still remains that technical knowledge in this area is lacking, but this has definitely not stalled brands from exploring its capabilities. mCanvas launched the first ad platform in India, making rich-media mobile ads programmatically available.

Here are the top 10 brands that mCanvas created, that are spearheading the adoption of programmatic interactive ads on small screens.

1. Cadbury Chocobakes – Meetha Chupar Rustom

Cadbury promoted its Chocobakes Cookies with an enriching ad experience that seamlessly tied in its campaign tagline ‘Meetha Chhupa Rustom’.

Users were encouraged to answer the four questions within the ad to find out who is the ultimate ‘Meetha Chhupa Rustom’ of their life. The experience could be shared on WhatsApp and Facebook and was also extended to a microsite.

2. TATA AIA Life Insurance – #RakshakaranHero

TATA AIA Life Insurance created noise about its corporate social responsibility activity of planting trees each time an insurance policy is purchased with an out-of-the-box, gamified mobile ad.

Stepping away from an otherwise basic way of promoting an insurance policy, the ad prompted users to tap on the screen to plant as many trees as possible within 5 seconds, to be a protector of both their family and the planet.

3. Panasonic MirAle App

In an effort to elevate user engagement on mobile, Panasonic promoted its MirAle app with a programmatic mobile ad, in a bid to appeal to its target market efficaciously.

Prompting users to physically walk forward to reveal the future of connected living, the brand showcased how its range of air conditioners could be remotely controlled with its newly launched mobile app.

“Even though programmatic advertising holds a small piece of the overall advertising mix in India, it is growing rapidly, owing to more relevant targeting opportunities, access to a greater pool of publishers / audience buckets resulting in better measure of return on investment (ROI). Brands are able to target more and more consumers based on their interest preference to increase product awareness, market penetration and sales. For our recent launch of connected ACs equipped with MirAIe App, we ran a successful programmatic campaign with mCanvas that helped us to efficiently reach out to the relevant audience and saw an engagement rate of close to 0.65%,” commented Shirish Agarwal, Head- Brand & Marketing Communication, Panasonic India. 

Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult added, “There is no doubt about the fact that programmatic advertising has a plethora of benefits, enabling the brands to leverage a well-enhanced targeting, access to real-time data, and much more. With the help of mCanvas we were able to reach these audiences while implementing a creative innovation using the phone’s gyroscope and accelerometer which helped enhance user’s ad experience.”

4. Skagen – Holi Celebrations

 The premium watch brand, Skagen celebrated Holi by engaging users with a tech-enabled mobile ad while promoting its Aaron Kulor watch collection.

Prompting users to blow into the phone’s microphone to reveal how they could wear the colours of celebration on their wrist, the mobile campaign displayed the watch collection innovatively.

5. Maruti Suzuki Celerio

In order to showcase the high-end features of its newest car – Celerio, Maruti Suzuki was on the lookout for an equally innovative ad concept that would create a lasting impression.

The rich-media, mobile-led ad prompted users to pan their phones to the right to learn about the features of the car in an engaging manner.

6. Liberty General Insurance – #DriveLessPayLess

One of India’s most-trusted insurance companies, Liberty General Insurance intended to promote its ‘Pay for the Distance’ feature under the Motor Insurance Policy with a distinct rich-media mobile ad.

Prompting users to ‘Press & Hold to clear the confusion’ button on the screen, the wiper started clearing the windshield, revealing the brand’s messaging, along with the benefits of its policy.

Sriram Naganathan, President – Liberty General Insurance commented, “Selecting the right insurance cover for your car is an arduous task, and we wanted to ease this process for our users with an interactive Ad that would help us stand out from the crowd and etch our mark in a competitive industry, such as ours. The mobile-led ad innovatively informed users about our insurance policies, fulfilling our objective.”

7. Rummy Passion Mobile App

India’s most loved rummy site, Rummy Passion wanted to promote its mobile app with a programmatic ad that would resonate well with users.

Encouraging users to swing their phone with a jolt, the ad creative displayed the brand’s messaging, along with a bonus code and the CTA ‘Play Now’, that directed users to the brand’s landing page for more information.

“It was important for us to find a creative solution to promote the RummyPassion mobile app. Partnering with Logicserve Digital and mCanvas enabled us to leverage mobile’s interactive elements to engage our audiences distinctly,” said Himanshu Chandel, Head of Growth, Passion Gaming Private Limited.

Manoj Shokeen, Account Manager – Client Servicing, Logicserve Digital added, “Coupling storytelling and interactivity in the ad, we were able to provide users with an engaging experience that not only etched a mark for the brand in the competitive mobile gaming industry, but also established strong brand recall.”

8. Indian Oil – Cashless Payments

Indian Oil wanted to showcase the availability of cashless payments from its retail outlets with a novel mobile experience that would help to build strong brand recall.

Encouraging users to connect their phone’s charger, the ad then revealed how they could supercharge their fuel with cashless payments, using battery status data.

“Promoting our cashless payment facility in an innovative manner was key in order to etch a mark for ourselves in the noisy mobile ad space. Partnering with Madison and mCanvas has given us the opportunity to engage our audiences using advanced technology,” commented Pallvi Gupta, Digital Marketing Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Nimesh Shah, Deputy General Manager, Madison said, “By creating an industry disruptive ad for Indian Oil, we efficaciously enabled users to engage with the brand’s narrative, creating a lasting impression.”

9. Durex – Wild Berry Flavored Condoms

Adding a creative twist to its Wild Berry flavored condoms, Durex, the well-known condom brand, engaged users with a unique programmatic ad on small screens.

Using the accelerometer and gyroscope motion sensors, users were instructed to physically walk forward to reveal the product and its message.

Nikita Bansal, Group Head – Digital, Performics commented, “The Durex Flavour Campaign aiming to capture the eyeballs with its exotic new range of Flavoured condoms delivered on the standard of Wild, Raunchy, Classy and Durable. Managing the campaign with mCanvas with their style of Communicating through Rich Media helped in establishing the Brand Recall and Positioning of the new range of flavoured condoms.”

10. Voot – Khatron Ke Khiladi

In an effort to engage users creatively, Voot unveiled a campaign that encouraged users to physically interact with the ad, while promoting its TV show ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’.

Putting the action in action-packed, users were asked to hold their phone and punch the air multiple times to destroy the wall in the ad, thereafter, revealing the show’s messaging in a distinct manner.

“In a space where users are exposed to countless advertising messages, it’s important to create unique ad experiences for brands to help them stand out from the competition. With mCanvas, we could deliver an interactive mobile campaign that boosted user engagement, while fulfilling the brand’s objective,“ said Vishal Shrivastava, Business Director – Digital, Madison.

Due to its reach and scale, programmatic ad spends are on the rise and it is evident that brands are partnering with some of the best programmatic advertising platforms to scale their mobile ad campaigns. Leveraging these tools and services, we are curious to see the extent to which brands will incorporate programmatic solutions in their marketing mix, and how it will revolutionize the delivery of ads on mobile.