The company is running the expandable mobile ad within Pandora’s iPhone applications. Consumers have the option of buying or renting the film via their mobile device.

“With mobile ads, the reach to consumers is there,” said Steve Timpson, chief operating officer of Siteminis, Atlanta. “Now the offer and how the ad is presented are all factors in click-through rates for conversion.

“But the cost for mobile ads is very low and media and entertainment as a product has some the most significant stickiness in mobile advertisement,” he said.

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

Sony Pictures did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile campaign
When the expandable Sony ad pops up, consumers can tap on it to buy the film.

Consumers can buy the film via their mobile device

Users are then redirected to an iTunes page where they can buy the film, preview it and read other reviews.

Consumers can also check out the rating on Rotten Tomatoes to see what critics said about it, as well as read a synopsis of the film.

Additionally, consumers can tap on the ad to view the trailer.

Many efforts
This is not the first time that Sony used mobile ads to engage consumers with its films.

In August, the company let consumers buy tickets and view showtimes for its “30 Minutes or Less” film via a mobile ad.

The company ran the expandable mobile ad within Pandora’s iPhone application. In addition to buying tickets, consumers had the option of watching the trailer for the film (see story).

“This type of ad would be right in a sweet spot of mobile users, especially smartphone and tablet users and would be something, that as a marketer, I would try and try in several channels and modes to see where the responses were most significant,” Mr. Timpson said.

“Again, cost to conversion with mobile is really not that costly to continue to refine as a marketer, especially in the entertainment, media and shopping categories in mobile,” he said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York