The company is running the campaign within Pandora’s iPhone application. It is smart for the retailer to dip its toes in the mobile advertising space to promote its products, as well as use its mobile site as another revenue driver.

“The Armani Exchange mobile ad campaign is solid without being great,” said Simon Buckingham, CEO of Appitalism, New York. “We recommend
that mobile banner ads go beyond words and include a product or people photo shot to attract the viewer’s attention.

“The ColorFlash wording is quite difficult to read,” he said. “The reference to ‘Sun’ isn’t immediately clear that this means sunglasses.”

Mr. Buckingham is not affiliated with Armani Exchange. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Armani Exchange did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile shopping
The Armani Exchange mobile ad reads “Armani Exchange. Color Flash. The New Sun + Watch Collection. Shop Now.”

When consumers tap on the mobile ad, it expands to the company’s mobile site where they can check out the latest products, view prices and ultimately, purchase the items.

Furthermore, the ad lets consumers find the nearest stores, check out current offers and view their cart.

Customers can also shop the company’s entire inventory, with categories such as men’s, women’s, denim and accessories.

The mobile site includes PayPal checkout functionality, which lets consumers log-in to their PayPal account and complete their purchase.

The campaign is a great way for the company to educate consumers about its mobile site, as well as let consumers learn and shop its May collection.

Consumers are more tech-savvy nowadays, and by using mobile advertising, marketers are able to reach them at a larger scale.

Past efforts
Armani Exchange is no stranger to mobile.

In 2010, Armani Exchange upgraded its mobile commerce site to bring more immediate service and style to on-the-go customers (see story).

Later that year, Armani Exchange geared up for the launch of Apple’s iPad, with a device-optimized version of its site and content tailored specifically for iPad users (see story).

“When it comes to mobile advertising, sometimes it’s better to say on the banner ad ‘Browse Now’ or ‘Explore Now’ rather than ‘Buy Now’ as the later is a hard sell and may put some people off from clicking on the banner ad,” Mr. Buckingham said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York