by Andrew Gazdecki

As portable technology continues to simplify the lives of people, marketing teams are faced with huge challenges. Primarily, how can they outdo the completion on an itinerant platform? Without a doubt, mobile is the way to go—at least that is what the data is supporting, but what exactly can be done on mobile? Well, these nine marketing teams were able to think outside the box to take mobile—in many forms—to the next level.

Coke

Ok, so Coke got lucky because Google wanted to play too, but the result was a mobile avalanche. In brief, these advertising moguls broke mobile ground. With combine marketing genius and mobile technology, they literally made it possible to buy the world a Coke. Perhaps a bit of background information is necessary. In 1971, Harvey Gabor launched Coke’s “Hilltop” advertisement campaign where he employed a multicultural chorus who sang, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.” Fast forward to the 21st century and Google. The technology icon sought out Gabor and Coke, and launched a campaign that literally allowed people to send a Coke across the globe. A simple advertisement statement that claimed, “Send a free Coca-Cola across the world and share a little happiness with someone you’ve never met.” A button that said “Send Now” allowed consumers to work together to buy the world a Coke!

Toyota

Toyota went all out when it reframed its thinking about how to get its brand on consumers’ phones. It decided to invite kids into the game. Get the kids involved, and you are sure to have success. That was Toyota’s idea when it decided to enter the toy market by using an app as its segway. Toyota’s marketing team understood the value of making kids feel like they are involved when it designed the Backseat Driver app. The app is linked to a phone’s GPS, and it allows kids to act as if they are driving. It even has animated versions of the exact same scenery that is right out the window. Talk about genius…Toyota’s appeal to the younger generation gave it a head start on a whole new market of consumer—even if it has to wait 10 years to get a return on investment from them.

Taco Bell

Taco Bell took “call to action” to the next level with it “Happier Hour” campaign. The app actually schedules reminders about the fast food giant’s promotions, and it lets consumers invite friends to join them at the closest Taco Bell to enjoy a meal. The ad is running through the New York Times iPhone app, so it is sure to reach millions of views. The ultimate goal of the campaign was to spread the world about the restaurant’s new Cantina Bell’s menu. Using geo tracking, the service that allows your GPS to know exactly where you are, Taco Bell was able to remind customers that they were close to one of the Taco Bell’s restaurants, and it invited them in for a drink special and offered coupons to make the stop more alluring. Talk about “bells” and whistles—Taco Bell is literally using every digital bell in the phone’s repository to get visitors’ attention!

Heineken

Beer and sports go together without saying. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel using mobile, Heineken decided to use what was already there—it just used a new lens to look at things. What that new lens led to was the “Star Player”. The add takes advantage of people “dual screen” habits, where they look at TV and their smart phones at the same time. Heineken decided it should give UFEA fans, something to do on their mobile device. From that line of thinking, Star Player was born. The app allows players to chat among social media networks about will unfold in UFEA matches. The app is a game that invites players make projection about what will happen during the game they are watching on TV, and it awards points for correct predictions.

Johnson and Johnson

With so many store brand competitors, Johnson and Johnson decided that it needed an idea to put Band-Aid ahead of its store brand rivals. So, it decided to enter the app world. Johnson and Johnson’s tech crew developed the Band-Aid Magic Vision app with the goal of going the extra step to comfort scratched and scraped kids. While Johnson and Johnson has a long standing relationship with the cartoon industry to add a little comfort to kids’ aliments, its efforts in bringing real life animation to the scene of these minor bumps and bruises has put it ahead in the youth bandage market. By scanning a Band Aid brand magic bandage with the Band-Aid Magic Vision app, Kermit the Frog emerge from the bandage onto an iPhone or iPad to sing to kids. There’s nothing like a little “Rainbow Connection” to sooth a boo boo. Kids can even interact with the animated frog by making him swing back and forth, a motion often associated with soothing minor pain.

Chevrolet

Chevy outdid itself when it took on over 50 major advertising tycoons during the Super Bowl with its brilliant Game Time app. It’s no secret that the Super Bowl is the most watched event on television because of its commercials. But Chevy decided its commercials needed more attention than the rest—enter a second mobile screen. Chevy launched the Game Time app, and invited viewers to answer questions about Chevy’s Super Bowl commercials on its app. Correct answers about Chevy’s commercials earned viewers a chance to win a new Chevy. Brilliant. Not only did this app lure viewers away from competitors’ ads, it had 700,000 viewers download the app to watch Chevy’s commercials in order to compete! While the football game may have been played on the field, Chevy walked away the winner—hands down!

Ikea

There is nothing more frustrating then trying to determine how furniture will fit or look in your house. This is not the case anymore for Ikea shoppers who use Ikea’s mobile catalog app. It uses the phone’s camera feature to create a virtual reality. Simply hold your phone up to the area of the room where you wish to put a new piece of furniture. A virtual room will be created where you can then choose different pieces of furniture to place in the empty spot. The app eliminated the expensive guess work associated with furniture shopping. Ikea took saving consumers hassle and money to the next level, and thus, profited.

Fandango

Sometimes it’s just the right app for the right niche. Fandango made this clear when it developed its app. As major motion pictures continue to rock the box offices, viewers vie for the opportunity to score tickets to prime time showings. In the past, it was only the die hards who would stand in long theatre lines in hopes of making the cut before the show sold out. Fandango took advantage of these strong felt viewing desires and developed an app to sell tickets to shows via mobile technology. A push notice to say box office is open for a major motion picture reminded the fare weather fans how great a good show is, and a new fan base stated competing with the die hards for debut seats. The results, success for Fandango’s entry into the app world!

Marriott

All hotels aim to please. Concierge services offer valet parking, room service, and booking services for outings and adventures. Hotels try to give their guests the works. But in 2016, when business people and travelers are exhausted and on the fly, they don’t want to stop at the front desk and waste time. They also do not want to wait their turn to visit the concierge. Marriott took notice of these 21st century guest behaviors and developed a virtual concierge using a mobile platform. Now, using the Marriott app, guests can not only book rooms, they can also capitalize on all the amenities without having to do any talking or stopping. No waiting is certainly a great way to capitalize using the simplicity brought about by mobile.

Why Not Try It Yourself?

With so many news avenues to explore, the mobile app market is wide open. With a little creativity and some innovation, who knows…you could easily create ground breaking global change. Even if you do not have a clue about app development, you can take advantage of some of the platforms designed to make customizing your idea simple. There is no reason not to try to make your idea a reality. After all, every mobile progress started as someone’s idea. Why not yours?