NEW YORK – A Havas Media executive at the MMA Mobile Automation and Programmatic Leadership Forum explained that OppenheimerFunds’ mobile-first approach is ideal, as mutual fund advisors are always on the go, which makes untethered technology a main resource in reaching them.

During the session, “The Power of Programmatic: Havas Media & OppenheimerFunds,” the executive detailed how the traditional methods of advertising for mutual fund brands were stale and ineffective, but OppenheimerFunds set out to break the mold through mobile. The financial brand was able to do so by targeting on-the-go consumers through key mobile strategies such as video without the need for sound, bright and provocative imagery, dynamic optimization for creative, automatic resizing and accelerometers.

“What is really interesting about this campaign is a couple of things,” said Kelly Leach, senior vice president and group director at Havas Media. “One is no lifestyle photos. I do not think I have ever contacted a financial advisor because I saw a couple on a sailboat after they retire.

“It is bright, beautiful imagery that does really, really well on mobile,” she said. “The second thing is we actually have a fraction of the budget that our contemporaries do.

“Our spend is very, very low. So in order to have an impact, you need to maximize your dollars.”

Breaking the mold
The executive emphasized how OppenheimerFunds went against stale advertising tropes for mutual fund brands by moving away from boring lifestyle images and focusing on eye-catching photography that boasts well on mobile. The brand shared mobile advertising through out-stream video in which the clips appear within an article on publishers’ platforms.

The success of the ad campaign came from a mobile-first strategy in which ideas from the videos stemmed from mobile, and because they were so powerful, were then adapted for television. A key factor is that with mobile video ads, users need to opt in for sound, meaning advertising spend can go to waste.

OppenheimerFunds’ videos were created without the need for sound and paired with eye-catching imagery to grab users’ attention even if they did not opt in. Another effective strategy is to serve tailored creative content based on the individual’s behavior.

Optimizing with OppenheimerFunds
When it comes to mobile and digital, optimization is key. Users will be turned off and advertising will prove ineffective if the stream takes a while to load and does not turn when the user shifts his or her smartphone.

The brand leveraged responsive ads that flip when users move their phones from vertical to horizontal.

“A lot of the financial advisors who are on the go, who are talking to their clients, where are they going to turn first?” Ms. Leach said. “Their mobile device.

“So that gives us an opportunity to reach the advisor in a way that we might not be able to on desktop,” she said. “That is the first reason that having a mobile-first strategy is really important.

“The second is that having a mobile-first strategy is just smart as a generalization,” she said. “In fact, that is something that everybody should be considering if they have not already.”