Movie campaign relies on mobile devices to spread the word

Hoping to increase buzz about their new film, producers of the movie "Side Effects" turned to mobile advertising to show the public a trailer and encourage pre-release ticket sales before the February 8 premiere nationwide.

Open Road Films ran banner ads on the Pandora smartphone application that encouraged consumers to watch a trailer on Facebook. An image from the film is on the advertisement, which mobile device users can tap to be redirected to the movie's Facebook page.

Simon Buckingham, CEO of the social media company Appitalism, said the "Side Effects" campaign made good use of images featuring the movie's stars, which include Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a single line – "One pill can change your life" - to entice viewers to watch the trailer.

"A lot of information is communicated very efficiently through the 'Side Effects' mobile ad campaign," Buckingham told Mobile Commerce Daily. "We certainly think this ad will be effective in getting consumers to watch the trailer and help build ticket sales."

If the trailer interests mobile users enough to see the movie, they could easily buy tickets with debit, credit or prepaid ACH cards through their smartphones or tablets.