»  bytes from the bird

In the past several months, companies such as Burger King Holdings Inc., Zippo Manufacturing Co. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. have experimented with promotional software applications that can be downloaded onto the iPhone, or they have created ads that are placed within other popular applications for the device. So if you work at a Charlotte ad agency or a Charlotte marketing agency, please take note.

At the most basic, marketers are taking advantage of the iPhone's advanced video and screen capabilities by creating streaming video ads. But some are taking things further by offering ads disguised as apps. The latter allow users to do such things as play games or manipulate images by touching the phone's screen.

CKE Restaurants Inc., based in Carpinteria, Calif., recently tried iPhone advertising. To promote the Western Bacon Thickburger at its Hardee's fast-food chain last month, CKE launched an iPhone application called iBurger.

People who download iBurger can tap on the iPhone's screen to open a Hardee's box containing a burger photo. They can also take "bites" out of the burger by making lipsmacking sounds into their device's microphone.

Steve Lemley, CKE's vice president of media and field marketing, says he thought of the iPhone as a new way to target 18- to 34-year-old men who "are difficult to reach on television but spend a lot of time on gadgetry." He adds that it is too early to gauge the effectiveness of the ad, which was launched April 27.

Industry executives estimate that the iPhone could help push overall mobile advertising spending this year to as much as $200 million, excluding search ads and ads sent via text messages. That would be nearly double last year's $100 million.

Many marketers find advertising on the iPhone attractive because the device's audience has grown so quickly since it was introduced two years ago. The iPhone now has more than 20 million users, and more are likely to buy in because Apple is widely expected to unveil a new model in coming months. Analysts estimate that Apple's iPod touch, which can also run downloaded apps, adds at least 15 million more users to the market.

In addition, many iPhone users are young, have high incomes and spend more time with their device than users of other types of smartphones. According to Mobclix Inc., which analyzes iPhone usage, iPhones generate more than half the total Web traffic from smartphones. The average iPhone user has installed five to 10 applications on the device, compared with fewer than two apps for the overall smartphone market.

As someone who owns an iPhone (and who has worked in marketing in Charlotte, NC for over a decade), I'm excited that iPhone advertising is also relatively inexpensive. CKE said it spent $12,000 to create its hamburger application. That's much less than the millions of dollars it might have spent for a quality TV spot.