3 Unique ways mobiles engage consumers, employees, brands

For example, AvatarLabs recently created a series of mobile sites to help Plantronics train retail sales associates. The site offerings allowed employees at partner stores like Best Buy and AT&T to engage in training and branded materials so they, in turn, could help consumers in their stores. View an example site here. Through the sites employees accessed real-time information about Plantronics products, resources to help clients on the sales floor and could also take part in quizzes and polls.

Meanwhile, a new release from iBuildApp could help build buzz about brand's mobile offering. Their new widget, currently in Beta, previews a brand's app on a website - so potential users 'see' how the app will look and the types of information offered. This could help their decision making in downloading the app - more informed decisions mean a higher likelihood those apps will be used rather than downloaded and deleted or ignored.

"It's a great way to reach your customers and fans - and get your brand in their pocket," said Rafael Soutanov, iBuildApp CEO. "Simply grab the HTML code provided and insert onto a web site to show an iFrame of the app on any web site."

Finally, in an effort to help all those New Year's fitness resolutions, and engage Olympic fans, a new augmented reality program from HipCricket and Bloomberg BusinessWeek which offers athlete's training tips, sports and information. Through the AR campaign, consumers use their smartphone/device up to an interactive training card featuring an athlete. That card 'comes to life' offering the user training tips, athlete and sports information. QR codes from HipCricket then direct users to the app store where more information is available through an app.

"This campaign incorporated a number of channels to provide readers with a truly interactive and engaging experience," said Jordan Hyman, Custom Publishing's Project Manager at Bloomberg Businessweek. "By leveraging a multichannel approach with innovative mobile content, BP America and Hipcricket created what we believe is an unforgettable ad campaign. We look forward to rolling out the second phase of the campaign in 2012."

Tags: appvertising, AvatarLabs, HipCricket, iBuildApp, mobile apps, mobile content, mobile marketing, mobile trends, Plantronics