The studio is running the full-page mobile ads within Pandora’s iPhone application. Mobile advertising plays a key role in Sony’s overall marketing strategy. The company has ran mobile ads for its past films.

“This sort of commerce-linked mobile marketing is very smart,” said Wilson Kerr, Boston-based mobile marketing consultant.

“Sony can use the unique tools mobile offers to deliver their ads in a way most likely to convert ticket sales,” he said. “Proximity to movie theaters, day of the week, local weather, keyword search, and other real-time behavioral prequalifications can sharpen response rates to drive results in the form of tracked mcommerce transactions.”

Mr. Kerr is not affiliated with Sony Pictures. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Sony Pictures did not respond to press inquiries.

The vow
The mobile ads read “Make a Date for Valentine’s Day. The Vow Now Playing. Get Tickets and Showtimes.”

The Sony full page mobile ad

The full page mobile ad also features the film’s stars Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.

When consumers tap on the mobile ad, they are directed to Fandango’s mobile site.

Consumers can buy tickets via the mobile ad campaign

Fandango then asks users if it is OK to use their current location to find the nearest theaters playing the movie.

If consumers agree, they can then browse the showtimes playing at the nearest theaters, view the plot for the film, see what other fans are saying about it and buy tickets.

Tickets galore
In the past year Sony has been bolstering ticket sales for its films via mobile advertising.

In November, Sony drove sales for its “Bad Teacher” film via mobile ads. The company ran the expandable mobile ad within Pandora’s iPhone applications. Consumers had the option of buying or renting the film via their mobile device (see story).

Most recently, Sony let consumers check showtimes and buy movie tickets for its movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

The company also used Pandora to run the mobile ads (see story).

Running targeted mobile ads is a smart move for Sony.

Consumers are always on the go and have their mobile devices on hand.

Additionally, using a service such as Fandango to let them buy the tickets right then and there is key to driving sales.

“Film-specific transactional mobile-optimized landing pages should be designed to smoothly convert mobile ad click-throughs into ticket sales that can, in turn, be used to judge campaign effectiveness in terms of both brand awareness and, more-importantly, ROI,” Mr. Kerr said.

“Mobile commerce and mobile marketing should no longer siloed as separate, and smart brands will use mobile-optimized transactions to judge mobile campaign effectiveness,” he said.