A clever new mobile phone-based advertising campaign has been launched this week by Fiat UK.

The six-week campaign, which aims to drive potential customers to the company’s WAP, or ‘mobile internet’ site, is the first of its kind and sets new standards in terms of mobile phone advertising.

The new marketing initiative is part of a move to promote Fiat’s popular 500 city car and the company’s eco:Drive fuel saving technology, launched by Fiat in October.

The heavyweight campaign sees Fiat linking up with on-line communications portal MSN and media giant Sky, along with SnapNow, the mobile visual search service, for three marketing firsts:

    -Fiat is the first automotive company to use picture recognition technology, allowing customers to take a photo of Fiat’s national press adverts on their mobile phones and send it to receive details of the Fiat 500 and eco:Drive via text link to the mobile internet;
    -The first-ever advert to run on Sky’s mobile site: this banner will route customers directly through to the Fiat 500 WAP site;
    -The first animated banner seen on the mobile internet, displayed on MSN.

“This is an exciting development for us,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat UK. “We will be making more of the Fiat 500 and eco:Drive with these interactive adverts, and the technology we are offering in our products is reflected in the technology of the marketing methods we are using.”