Ready to get inspired by some top mobile advertising examples?
Since mobile devices now play a key role in the overall growth of marketing spend worldwide, mobile advertising has become a primary mode of digital advertising. It’s both cost-efficient and conversion-oriented.
In this post, you’ll find 11 mobile ad examples that proved to be a hit with their target audience and a big success for their brands.
Their expertise has helped Nextiva grow its brand and overall business
The Benefits of Mobile Advertising
Before we get to our list of mobile advertising examples, let’s take a quick look at the benefits:
👍 Reach a Wider Audience: Data from GlobalStats shows that mobile boasts a larger market share (54.46%) than desktop (43.67%). Meanwhile, mobile accounts for over half of global internet traffic. The takeaway is simple: Mobile advertising gives you the potential to reach a much broader and diverse audience compared to other types of digital advertising.
👍 Reach a Younger Audience: If you’re targeting a younger market, mobile marketing will ensure that your ads are seen by the right crowd. People between 18 and 34 years are far more likely to access the internet on their mobile phones than on a desktop or laptop computer. This means that mobile advertising can be a more effective method for connecting with your target audience demographic.
👍 Precise Ad Targeting: Even in an age where privacy is a top priority, mobile phones are intimately linked to their users’ behaviors and online identities in a way that other devices and media platforms just aren’t. This allows you to draw on a wealth of valuable data to target your ideal customer with pinpoint precision.
👍 Use Personalization to Your Advantage: The aforementioned user data can make a big difference when it comes to delivering personalized offers directly to your users’ devices. Ad messages can be tailored to pre-defined preferences and behaviors, and as we discussed in this guide to personalizing the customer journey, this can have a positive impact on your ability to generate greater brand loyalty and revenue.
👍 Optimize Your Ad Spend: Compared to traditional advertising channels like TV or print, mobile marketing can be more cost-effective. Mobile ads allow for precise targeting and real-time adjustments, meaning you can allocate your advertising budget more efficiently by consistently investing in those campaigns and ad creatives that produce the best ROI.
👍 Encourage an Immediate Response: The convenience of smartphones removes all the friction between your ads and your customers’ actions. Whether it’s downloading an app, making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, your ads can include CTAs that compel audiences to take action right away. Ultimately, this can mean faster results and better conversion rates than other types of advertising.
👍 Use Cross-Device Targeting: In today’s digital-centric world, it’s not uncommon for users to switch between smartphones, tablets and other devices depending on their current circumstances. With mobile ads, you can maintain a consistent and cohesive advertising presence across all these devices, ensuring that your messages reach users no matter which one they’re using, ultimately reinforcing that all-important brand recognition.
The Various Types of Mobile Advertising
Ok, almost there! Before studying the following mobile advertising examples, it’s worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the different ad formats:
📲 Banner Ads: Banner ads are one of the most common types of display ads found on websites and apps. Typically positioned at the top, bottom or sides of a page, these ads are designed to attract the viewer’s attention and encourage clicks.
📲 Interstitial Ads: Interstitial ads are immersive, full-screen ads that demand attention by occupying the screen during transitions between content; for example, during app loading screens or when navigating between app pages.
📲 Native Ads: Native ads blend seamlessly with the content of the platform they appear on, matching the design and style of the surrounding content to create a non-disruptive and more natural advertising experience.
📲 Video Ads: One of the most self-explanatory ad types, video ads are the kind of short video clips that can appear before, during and after multimedia content (such as YouTube videos). That said, you may find video used for stand-alone display ads on websites, social media and apps.
📲 Rich Media Ads: Rich media ads are perfect for creating interactive ads that foster a sense of urgency in your audience and encourage them to take immediate action. Going above standard text and images, these dynamic ad types will often incorporate elements like animations, videos and interactive features to encourage maximum engagement.
📲 In-App Ads: This essentially refers to any type of advertising a user sees while using a mobile app, whether that’s the standard banner display ads, interstitials or reward ads.
📲 Rewarded Ads: Rewarded ads are a type of in-app ad that offers users a reward, like in-game currency or content, in exchange for engaging with the ad. This strategy can prove highly effective for incentivizing users to take action.
📲 Gamified Ads: Not too dissimilar from reward ads, gamified ads are based on game-like elements or interactive challenges that can be used to engage audiences. This makes them a great choice for mobile gaming apps, though it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that you could use a creative gamified ad to promote your e-commerce business.
📲 Push Notifications: Push notifications are short messages sent directly to users’ mobile devices. While not traditional ads, they can be a great way to reengage lapsed users of your app or send targeted offers.
📲 Location-Based Ads: Location-based ads use a user’s geographical location, like when they are near a specific location, to deliver relevant content or special offers via push notifications or ads. This can be done via GPS technology or beacons in physical stores.
📲 Social Media Ads: Like video ads, social media ads require little explanation. They appear within social networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. The unique thing about social media ads is that they’re perhaps the most versatile, expanding the number of advertising options available to include things like sponsored posts or short-form video stories that can be highly targeted based on users’ demographics.
📲 Mobile Search Ads: Search ads appear at the top of search engine results pages when users search for specific keywords or phrases. They’re commonly one of the most popular forms of digital advertising thanks to their unique targeting and budget management features.
📲 SMS/MMS Marketing: SMS/MMS marketing involves sending promotional text messages or multimedia messages to users’ mobile devices. These messages can include offers, updates or other mobile marketing content. MMS is similar to SMS, but allows the inclusion of multimedia content like images, audio, and video clips.
📲 Pop-Up Ads: Perhaps the most intrusive and maligned types of advertising, pop-ups are exactly what they sound like: small windows that pop up on website pages and in mobile apps, often to promote a special offer or encourage mailing list sign-ups. While they can certainly prove effective in demanding users’ attention, using them without restraint can often be to the detriment of your overall user experience.
📲 Voice Search Optimization: Optimizing content for voice search to target users who use voice assistants on their mobile devices.
📲 Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Ads: These innovative ads offer immersive experiences through mobile devices, often used in gaming, retail and real estate.
📲 Email Marketing: Optimized for mobile devices, these campaigns are designed to be easily readable and engaging on small screens.
📲 QR Codes: Our final mobile advertising example format is the QR code. Quick Response codes that users can scan using their smartphone’s camera to access specific content, offers or websites, often used in print marketing.
Different Types of Mobile Marketing Campaign Goals
Mobile marketing campaigns can have a variety of goals, depending on the overall strategy and objectives of a business. Some common goals include:
✅ Increasing Brand Awareness: Using mobile channels to introduce a brand or product to a wider audience and create brand recall.
✅ Driving Sales: Encouraging immediate purchases through promotions, special offers, or exclusive deals available only on mobile devices.
✅ Lead Generation: Collecting contact information from potential customers for future marketing efforts. This can be achieved through sign-up forms, contests, or downloads.
✅ Enhancing Customer Engagement: Using interactive content, social media integration, or personalized messaging to increase customer interaction and loyalty.
✅ Boosting Website Traffic: Directing users to a website or landing page to increase traffic and engagement with more detailed content.
✅ Improving Customer Retention: Engaging existing customers with loyalty programs, personalized offers, or customer service initiatives to encourage repeat business.
✅ Gathering Customer Insights: Collecting data on customer preferences, behaviors, and feedback to inform future marketing strategies and product development.
✅ Location-Based Marketing: Targeting customers in a specific geographic area to drive foot traffic to physical stores or to offer location-specific promotions.
✅ Enhancing User Experience: Providing a seamless and enjoyable user experience on mobile apps or websites to strengthen brand perception and customer satisfaction.
✅ Social Media Engagement: Increasing followers, likes, shares, or interactions on social media platforms through targeted content and campaigns.
✅ Event Promotion: Using mobile marketing to promote events, webinars, or workshops, including registration drives and reminders.
✅ Cross-Selling or Upselling: Encouraging existing customers to purchase complementary or premium products through targeted recommendations.
Each goal requires a specific approach and strategy in terms of campaign design, content, and target audience. The effectiveness of a mobile marketing campaign in achieving these goals is often measured through key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, click-through rates, engagement rates, and return on investment (ROI).
11 Mobile Advertising Examples from Top Brands
Now that we know all about ad campaign formats, benefits and goals, let’s get to our list of mobile advertising examples!
1) Domino’s
With over 91% of sales coming from digital channels, Domino’s Pizza is a leading brand that considers itself to be a “truly digital-first business,” so it’s no surprise that the company knocked it out of the park with its Points for Pies campaign:
One of the first brands to demonstrate how effective rewards-based mobile advertising can be, Domino’s initially launched its campaign for a limited 12-week period, timed to coincide with the annual Super Bowl.
At the time, customers could open the Domino’s app, upload a picture of a pizza (even one from a competitor such as Pizza Hut) and receive points that were later redeemable for free pizza. The campaign was hailed as a “brilliant idea,” and helped the company improve customer loyalty and app sign-ups.
Takeaway: By integrating gamification, user-generated content and a competitive reward system, along with genius timing with the Super Bowl, Domino’s strengthened customer engagement and loyalty with an innovative approach to enhancing brand loyalty and digital sales.
2) Netflix
Netflix has often garnered just as much attention for its outside-the-box approach to marketing as it has for the shows it markets.
Such was the case with the way it incorporated mobile advertising into an integrated campaign for its hit show Wednesday:
Promoting the permanently pessimistic title character, the company launched an “anti-marketing” campaign, with darkly humorous creatives running on Uber, mobile videos and display ads.
The result was not only a bronze Clio Award, but also a successful campaign that resulted in Wednesday becoming the second-most popular English-language show on the streaming service, with over 1.02 billion total hours viewed across 150 million households in just three short weeks.
Takeaway: Netflix’s mobile ad campaigns for its hit show “Wednesday” showcased an inventive “anti-marketing” approach, blending dark humor and unconventional creatives. This strategy, applied across various mobile platforms, effectively captured the show’s unique tone and the character’s pessimistic persona.
3) Ruffles
Ruffles is the world-renowned potato chip brand that has been marketed by Frito-Lay since 1961.
Thanks to a strong partnership with the NBA, the brand has taken major strides to integrate itself into the sports market as a means of targeting a young, male demographic. To achieve that objective, the company launched its #RoughLife campaign, taking a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek look at “first-world” problems:
The campaign happened in two key stages: First, the company partnered with the New York Jets wide receiver, Eric Decker, to increase awareness and social media engagement among sports fans. Then, it launched a series of tongue-in-cheek ads placed entirely on mobile and digital platforms.
The campaign reaped significant rewards for the popular chip manufacturer, including:
- 8% increase in sales
- 121% increase in brand mentions
- 1,300% brand engagement boost
Takeaway: Ruffles’ clever approach, humorously addressing “first-world” problems, demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted, platform-specific, and relatable advertising in driving significant commercial and engagement outcomes.
4) Starbucks
Whether you’re a coffee aficionado or not, there’s no denying that Starbucks has always led the way when it comes to keeping up with the times and giving its customer base what it wants.
It launched its mobile app years ago, and at one point, it was the most successful payment app on the market, with more active mobile users than Apple’s and Google’s own payment apps:
Sales from the app account for 25% of all the company’s transactions, and this will continue if Starbucks maintains its efforts in providing customers with deeply personalized advertising experiences.
The global coffee brand harnesses the power of AI to power an algorithm that generates in-app ads and recommendations based on a user’s purchasing habits and preferences, all while tying them into the brand’s current mobile marketing objectives.
The ROI on its personalized mobile marketing campaigns has been so significant that the brand referred to it as the single biggest factor influencing an increase in spend per customer.
Takeaway: The success of this mobile advertising example is largely due to their focus on delivering deeply personalized advertising experiences. By using AI algorithms, the app generates targeted in-app ads and recommendations based on individual purchasing habits and preferences, aligning with the brand’s current mobile marketing goals.
5) Hopper
Hopper is a mobile travel app, akin to Booking.com and Expedia for the younger generation of travelers. Knowing that its audience is skewed toward the younger demographics, the platform opted to create a unique mobile advertising campaign with user-generated content on TikTok:
Its agency partnered with top creators on the social media platform, who created their own short videos promoting Hopper.
By tapping into the authenticity and sense of social proof that influencer marketing has to offer, Hopper was able to increase conversions while simultaneously lowering ad spend.
Takeaway: Hopper’s mobile advertising strategy smartly targeted younger demographics by harnessing the power of TikTok’s influencer marketing. By collaborating with top content creators on the platform, Hopper leveraged user-generated content to promote its services, showcasing the impact of influencer-driven, platform-specific advertising in the digital age.
6) Sephora
European beauty brand Sephora successfully launched an Instagram mobile ad campaign for its new fragrance line, designed to boost brand awareness for a new line of fragrances.
Sephora Collection France used a unique strategy that combined influencer marketing with augmented reality (AR) filters: Neuroscientist Jessica Herrington contributed to the development of AR filters, while 3D animator Roman Bratschi crafted captivating videos.
This collaboration aligned with the campaign’s “Smell with Your Eyes” theme that translated scents into visual experiences.
The result was a 17-point lift in ad recall and a 1.3-point lift in purchase intent compared to the brand’s standard day-to-day campaigns.
Takeaway: Sephora’s Instagram mobile ad campaign for its new fragrance line proved highly effective, demonstrating the power of integrating cutting-edge technology and creative content to elevate brand awareness and consumer engagement.
7) M&M’s
Leading candy brand M&M’s used mobile search marketing with cross-browser targeting as part of a strategic campaign designed to boost click-throughs, conversions and revenue.
To do this, the company increased its efforts in geographical targeting and deployed multi-device marketing for the launch of its MY M&M’s service, where customers could design their own personalized candies:
By creating ads targeting 150 carefully selected keywords, the company was able to produce strong results, including:
- 41% conversion rate increase
- 31% return on ad spend increase
- 22% revenue increase
Takeaway: M&M’s mobile search marketing campaign for its MY M&M’s service, where customers can personalize candies, skillfully made use of cross-browser targeting and geographical targeting alongside multi-device marketing. This strategic approach showcased the effectiveness of targeted keyword advertising and geographic specificity in driving measurable business results.
8) McDonald’s
McDonald’s may have no problems in the brand recognition department, but the iconic fast-food chain still proved that even the biggest companies in the world can benefit from mobile advertising.
The company aimed to increase engagement in its My McDonald’s Rewards app. To do that, the brand employed InMobi to develop a rich-media interstitial ad unit with an in-built game:
The game challenged mobile users to earn points by adding McDonald’s items to a takeout bag, after which they were directed to an app download landing page with details of how they could redeem their points.
The results were impressive:
- 1.01M unique users
- 400K engagements
- 12.29% engagement rate (more than 10% higher than the industry average)
- 87.82% MOAT (Measurement of Attention and Transparency) viewability
If you’re looking for proof that gamification really can work in the mobile advertising arena, the success of this particular campaign must surely be it.
Takeaway: This mobile advertising example of Mickey D’s My McDonald’s Rewards app brilliantly utilized gamification to enhance user engagement. This campaign stands as a compelling testament to the effectiveness of gamification in mobile advertising, demonstrating its potential to significantly boost user interaction and brand engagement.
9) Headspace
Headspace is a transatlantic healthcare company that can attribute the runaway success of its meditation app (70 million users and counting) to its simple-yet-effective mobile ad campaign:
Knowing full well that 85% of video ads are watched with the sound off, Headspace skipped the audio altogether to create short, silent ads — an approach perfectly in keeping with a brand that’s all about helping people achieve a calm and peaceful mindset.
Takeaway: Headspace’s ad campaign for its meditation app excelled through a simple yet impactful approach: creating short, silent ads. This strategy was informed by the insight that 85% of video ads are watched without sound, making it a perfect fit for a brand centered on promoting calmness and peace. This clever adaptation to user behavior highlights the importance of brand consistency and audience understanding in crafting successful mobile advertising campaigns.
10) The Walking Dead Chop Shop and Hyundai
The Walking Dead Chop Shop was an innovative advertising campaign designed to increase recognition and positive sentiment toward the Hyundai automotive brand by tying it in with the hit TV show.
The campaign involved creating a unique app in which users could build and customize their own vehicle that would (in theory anyway) help them survive a zombie apocalypse:
Winning multiple awards including Best of Show at the Digiday Awards, a Webby Award and a gold Clio Award, the campaign boosted Hyundai’s website traffic by 150%, while the brand became the fastest-growing car company on Facebook.
Takeaway: The central feature of this mobile advertising example was a unique app that allowed users to design and customize their vehicles, tailored to surviving a zombie apocalypse. This creative and engaging concept showcased the effectiveness of interactive and themed mobile apps in driving brand growth and audience engagement.
11) Samsung
How do you advertise to an audience that loathes advertising?
If you’re electronics giant Samsung, you flip the whole process on its head, making your ads so rare and exclusive that even the most anti-advertising young people want to actively hunt them down:
That’s precisely what the company did with its Flipvertising campaign, which saw it promote the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 by giving away a free one to those who saw its short pre-roll ad placed on video apps.
There was just one catch: The company had deliberately used targeting options that would make it incredibly difficult for anybody to be served the ad.
Like the hunt for Willy Wonka’s golden tickets, this sparked something of a frenzy as Gen Zers (the most skeptical audience when it comes to advertising) set off on a digital scavenger hunt in the hopes of landing a free mobile phone.
This involved users making search after search for Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 related terms in the hopes that the algorithm would serve them the elusive ad.
With each search, users would be shown more and more organically produced, unsponsored Flip 4 content, like product reviews, unboxing videos and tutorials, none of which cost Samsung a penny of its ad budget.
By figuring out this clever way to draw an advertising-cynical Gen Z audience to its brand, Samsung netted a 34% sales increase on the Flip 4 and enjoyed engagement rates that were 600% higher than industry benchmarks.
Takeaway: Samsung strategically limited their ad’s reach through precise targeting, spurring Gen Zers, known for their skepticism towards advertising, on a fervent quest. This clever strategy not only drew a traditionally advertising-cynical audience to the brand, demonstrating the power of creative and unconventional advertising approaches in capturing the attention of challenging demographics.
Last Word on Mobile Advertising Examples
Mobile advertising is one of the best options to get the word out about your brand, and essential as part of an overall effective mobile marketing strategy. There are numerous ad formats for mobile phones that easily allow you to reach your current and potential customers like never before.
The ad spend on mobile (and subsequent conversion rates) is way higher than any other digital advertising platform, so if you want to reach a wider range of demographics, from Boomers and Gen Xers to Millennials and Gen Z audiences, then mobile should be your preferred platform for advertising.
The list above showcases some of the best mobile advertising examples delivered by some of the best brands around the world. Let these ideas for different types of mobile ads inspire your own mobile marketing efforts and take your business to the next level!
If you’re ready to maximize your conversion rates with mobile ad campaigns, Single Grain’s mobile advertising experts can help!👇
Additional content contributed by David Borgogni.
Mobile Advertising FAQs
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Are mobile banner ads effective?
Banner ads — also known as display ads — are one of the most common types of mobile advertising examples. They are popular in digital marketing because they are indeed very effective at driving more clicks and conversions.
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What is a mobile advertising strategy?
A mobile ad strategy is simply a digital marketing strategy aimed at mobile device (smartphones, tablets, etc.) audiences. Some differences from desktop ads include the ability to leverage push notifications and location-based advertising.
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What are the examples of mobile advertisement?
Mobile advertising examples include banner ads on smartphone apps, video ads on platforms like YouTube, interactive push notifications, and social media campaigns on Facebook or Instagram. These mobile ads are designed to reach smartphone users through various channels, offering engaging content directly on their mobile devices.
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What is mobile marketing with examples?
Mobile marketing involves promoting products or services via mobile devices. For example, a mobile ads campaign may use video ads within a gaming app to promote a product, or it might utilize SMS marketing to send special offers to smartphone users. These strategies are designed to leverage the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices for marketing purposes.
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What is the most common form of mobile advertising?
The most common form of mobile advertising is banner ads. These ads are widely used due to their simplicity and effectiveness in reaching a broad audience of smartphone users. They can be easily integrated into various apps and websites accessed on mobile devices, making them a versatile tool in mobile marketing campaigns. Read the full post for more mobile advertising examples!
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How effective is mobile advertising?
According to Agility, mobile advertising is the most effective form of advertising on the internet, with a response rate of 2.72%–11%. SMS mobile marketing sees some of the most impressive engagement rates, compared to other channels, with open and read rates at about 98%. No one can resist opening a text message!
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How do you advertise on mobile?
There’s a tried-and-tested approach to getting started with advertising on mobile, which includes:
- Defining the outcomes and objectives for your campaign
- Allocating an ad spend budget
- Using data analysis to define the most appropriate target audience demographics
- Determining the type of mobile ad and the length of your mobile ad campaign
- Designing your ad creatives
- Running split A/B testing to determine your most effective mobile ad campaigns
