Reebok is using mobile advertising to bolster sales of three different sneakers. The mobile ads are running within the Accuweather iPad application and incorporate both in-store and online components.

“Giving the consumer the option to buy online or purchase in-store is a good idea,” said Randy Ferree, senior account manager at SiteMinis, Atlanta.

“The primary objective of the ad is to inform the user that their brand or service has something of value to offer and limiting the number of options the user has to purchase doesn’t make much sense,” he said.

“If that ad creates awareness and drives traffic to the store where a purchase is made that’s a win. If the ad creates awareness and drives traffic to their ecommerce site where a purchase that’s a win. Either way the ad has created awareness and generated revenue for the company.”

Mr. Ferree is not associated with Reebok. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Shop on mobile
Copy for the mobile ads reads, “Live White Hot.” A picture of the Reebok shoe appears next to a call-to-action that prompts users to click-through to see the styles.

Additionally, the banner ad shows consumers how far away they are from the nearest Foot Locker location.

When consumers click-through, the ad expands to a landing page where users can pick one of the shoes to get a better view of the shoe.

Once a user chooses a shoe is picked, the ad uses a device’s built-in GPS to pull up in-store inventory at nearby stores.

Mobile is all about speed and convenience.

Therefore, letting consumers quickly flip through in-store inventory via a mobile landing page makes the Foot Locker ad stickier and will likely drive more engagement than an ad unit that solely shows nearby stores.

Contact information for each store is listed below as well as directions via Google Maps.

A call-to-action to shop online on Foot Locker’s Web site is also promoted. Users are redirected to the product page on Foot Locker’s site where they can learn more about the shoe, add the item to a wish list or check-out.

Loading a location-based ad with commerce is a smart way to take an ad to the next level because it gives Reebok another opportunity to drive sales.

Mobile kicks
In this case, Reebok is smart to leverage both in-store and online elements into its campaign, especially on a tablet ad.

Given that tablets are closely associated with lean-back activity while on the couch at home, consumers are likely to be split between how they want to shop from their devices – either by visiting a store or checking-out through a Web site.

“According to a Google study on tablet usage, desktop usage can decrease by more than 75 percent after a user purchases a tablet,” Mr. Ferree said.

“The report also states that, ‘the majority spends at least an hour a day browsing the Internet on one and that 43 percent of tablet owners spend more time on their tablets than they do with their desktops,'” he said.

“When you take the portability advantages that tables have over desktops/laptops into consideration, it’s apparent that tablets are quickly replacing older, less portable devices as the primary computer screen.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York