Organizational firsts at Citigroup: Mobile

Citi’s first mobile advertising exploration (Apple iAd platform)

In order to further express the innovation heritage of Citi and to gain a competitive advantage on this exciting new platform, we became only the 3rd company to launch on Apple’s new proprietary mobile advertising platform. I led the ideation and technical development of our iAd experience, managing resources across two agencies and integrating with Apple’s production team.

The ad experience included calls to action to download Citi’s mobile apps, find ATMs and “stories around you” through a partnership with Frommer’s travel guides. Video vignettes inside the ad tied back into the integrated marketing campaign and balanced utility (find an ATM) with more emotional engagement (life stage videos). Results were very positive with users engaging with the Citi iAd for an average of 50-55 seconds, much higher than typical online advertising interactions.