The company is running expandable mobile ads within Pandora’s iPhone application. The initiative is helping the company build its mobile database.

“The Groupon campaign is quite well designed- its visually interesting and users have the ability to select the type of offers they look at,” said Simon Buckingham, CEO of Appitalism, New York.

“There is simple call to action to enter an email address but the offer incentive is vague- just general daily offers and nothing specific,” he said. “Mobile users should be given clear incentives to sign up on the move.”

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

Groupon did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile offers
The expandable mobile ads feature deals on goods, travel and those offered by local places.

Consumers are able to browse ongoing deals, as well as see what other offers are out there.

The ads also let users sign up to receive deals ever day.

Consumers can sign-up for Groupon

Consumers can enter their email address and location to sign-up.

The mobile ad is a great way to not only drive awareness of the company for new consumers, but existing ones as well.

Consumers are constantly on-the-go, but never leave anywhere without their mobile device on hand.

Therefore, by running a targeted mobile ad campaign, Groupon is able to get new customers to sign up for its service, as well as let them browse ongoing offers.

Past efforts
Groupon has been invading the mobile space for a while now.

Most recently, the daily deals giant reported that nearly 30 percent of its North American transactions were completed on mobile devices, up from 25 percent in December 2011.

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason wrote about the company’s strong showing in mobile in a recent letter to shareholders.

The executive also reported that the company sold more than 170 million Groupons to more than 33 million customers by the end of 2011 (see story).

“Groupon is leading the mobile ad pack with the ad they have placed on Pandora, taking the landing page within the ad and making sure they are capturing data is an action that other marketers should take note of,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

“Of course they also have a great smartphone mobile presence and an active audience,” she said. “This mobile ad from placement to delivery is what mobile ad marketing is about, non-intrusive, relevant to the consumer based on music choice and captures the consumer with an action that allows them to keep the consumer ongoing – not just in the moment.”

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