Rich-media mobile advertising can help customers remember a brand more-so than static banner advertising, a study has found.

In a two-pronged trial, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) used a combination of SMS marketing and rich-banner advertising to promote the John Lewis brand.

A panel of 1,024 people were sent an SMS directing them to a website that that contained both static and rich-media advertising banners for John Lewis.

Of the half that saw the static banners, just 3 per cent could recall the John Lewis brand half-an-hour later; whereas 24 per cent of those exposed to rich-media expandable banners remembered the high street retailer. This accounts for an eight-fold increase in brand retention.

All participants were unaware that they were being tested on the effectiveness of John Lewis’ advertising, explains a Marketing Magazine report.

The IAB also found that Android and iPhone users are 50 per cent more likely to recall an expandable banner than other smartphone users.

Commenting on the findings, Alex Kozloff, senior mobile manager at the Internet Advertising Bureau, said on IABUK.net: “This research proves how effective mobile can be for driving a brand message and especially the added value emerging rich media formats can provide.

He added: “It is particularly interesting to see the stand out that the expandable banners achieved with often difficult to reach audiences like high end smartphone users.”