Tiffany eyes affluent New Yorkers via geo-targeted mobile banner ads

Jeweler Tiffany & Co. is looking to direct affluent New Yorkers to its new SoHo property through geo-targeted banner ads on the Weather Channel mobile application.

Consumers checking out the map section on the app can see the banner ad on the top of the page. The app allows consumers to call the store and gives directions to the property.

“The greatest thing about geo-advertising is that it is bringing in traffic that would not have been otherwise,” said Jarvis Mak, vice president of analytics at Rocket Fuel, Redwood Shores, CA.

“Luxury marketers can create brand awareness in the spur of the moment that may prompt a purchase decision,” he said. “It’s different for luxury marketers because, usually, you are thinking about buying a $1,000 or $10,000 item and it’s not spur-of-the-moment, but it could happen.”

Mr. Mak is not affiliated with Tiffany, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Tiffany did not respond before press deadline.

The ad campaign was put together by PayPal Media Network.

New crown jewel
Upon opening the Weather Channel app, consumers can see the Tiffany banner ad on the top of the page.

Under brand name, Tiffany shows the new property address and how far away the nearest Tiffany store is from the user.

Map with the banner ad

When consumers click on the ad, a “SoHo” logo made entirely of Tiffany jewelry comes up.

Consumers can call the store or get directions to the location. Choosing the latter option connects to Google Maps for easy direction.

Tiffany ad landing page

Tiffany’s ad does not allow a link to an optimized site nor a chance to see any Tiffany products.

However, this may not be a problem if Tiffany’s main focus is just to drive foot traffic, Mr. Mak said. This may be the  case, since the jeweler is putting major emphasis on the newly-opened SoHo location.

In fact, it just mailed out a catalog to its customer base inviting them to the new digs (see story).

Location, location, location
Tiffany has used banner ads in the past in a few different apps.

For example, Tiffany maintained the push of its “What Makes Love True” microsite and mobile app by including banner ads that linked to Apple’s App Store in The New York Times iPhone app (see story).

Also, Tiffany boosted the lifestyle flaunt of that same site and app with a sponsorship on Internet and mobile radio service Pandora.

Consumers were served an advertisement for the Tiffany-customized “Love is in the Air” station in a banner ad when listening to different stations on Pandora.  When listeners tapped on the ad, it took them to a landing page for the What Makes Love True site on their mobile browsers (see story).

Additionally, last year, Tiffany looked to draw attention to its Some Holidays are Unforgettable campaign with a partnership through Pandora that allowed consumers to watch a video and see the new holiday collection (see story).

Because Tiffany already had a handle on mobile banner ads, it seems as though the next step was geo-advertising.

This is especially important for luxury marketers because they are targeting such a specific group of people. However, testing is crucial, per Mr. Mak.

“People have often viewed geo-advertising as something for smaller brands to drive traffic and it’s not too often that larger companies do something like this,” Mr. Mak said.

“However, it is very important to validate the effectiveness and to measure foot traffic when using geo-targeted ads,” he said. “This could be a great opportunity for luxury marketers to see how something like this works out for larger brands.”

Final Take

Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York