Many digital marketers are considering whether they should deploy mobile applications to help extend their brand and provide cross-sell opportunities. But does a mobile application make sense for your brand and audience?

A mobile application frenzy has gripped the mobile industry and spread to brands not normally associated with mobile technology. Witness toilet paper brand Charmin and its bathroom finder application (no, really), Kleenex’s lotion app, the virtual Zippo, or Kraft’s food assistant. Heck, even Betty Crocker is cooking up a storm with her mobile cookbook iPhone application.

Mobile applications such as those for the iPhone are proving to be an increasingly effective way to reach customers in a format that’s both familiar and fun. The problem is that while the large number of apps — more than 200,000 — ensures a rich pool of choices for consumers, it presents a new challenge for brands trying to stand out from the crowd.

Some companies, like Proctor & Gamble, have taken to sponsoring existing mobile applications from third-parties, while others like Geico and ING Direct have created their own purpose-built apps that aim for a softer content focus. Let’s take a look at a few of the most effective branding examples in the mobile space.

Charmin

Proctor & Gamble has partnered with a bathroom-finding service to promote its “Charmin” brand. Yup, it’s a toilet finder for when you gotta go while on the go. The sponsorship consists of branding on the SitOrSquat website and SitOrSquat iPhone application.

Proctor & Gamble is one of the first companies to sponsor a mobile application in this way.

“Our goal is to connect Charmin with innovative conversations and solutions as a brand that understands the importance of bringing the best bathroom experience to consumers, even when they’re away from home,” explained Jacques Hagopian, Brand Manager for Charmin. “Helping people find a bathroom that is clean and comfortable is exactly what the SitOrSquat project is all about.”

SitOrSquat boasts that it has more than 90,500 bathrooms in its database covering 35 countries. It styles itself as “a place to find and record bathrooms anywhere in the world.”

“SitOrSquat is a perfect partner for Charmin,” says Charmin’s Hagopian.

Proctor & Gamble has typically promoted its brands across television, print and in-store advertising. Mobile sponsorships like this are designed to keep the brand in front of its target audience of moms and families.

So far, the mobile app and website have recorded a total of 7.2-million searches, giving the Charmin brand strong visibility.

Geico

Geico has opted for a softer sell, putting out a branded iPhone application called GloveBox.

The branding is strong and features Geico’s popular Gecko (he doesn’t have a name like Bob or Frank. He’s just known as the Geico Gecko).

Some of the mobile application’s features include:

• Bill payment (in case you’re dying to pay your bill)
• Accident Helper – Puts you in contact with emergency services. As an added bonus, Geico gives you a place to organize photos and other tasks that undoubtedly come in handy when you’ve been in a car accident.
• Roadside Service – Find nearby tow truck services and gas stations.
• Taxi/Rental Car – Useful for when your car has broken down or you’ve been out for a night out celebrating the U.S. victory at the 2010 World Cup.
• Auto How-To’s – Tutorials on how to jump-start a vehicle, change a flat tire or check your tire pressure.
• Contact Us
• Videos – A collection of Geico commercials. Gotta love the gecko’s accent.

What makes Geico’s mobile application unique is that it’s designed for both current customers as well as the general public, making it an excellent way to provide utility while promoting its brand to prospects. This type of mobile application is an excellent value-add for customers, and capitalizes on the halo effect inherent with anything iPhone related. It’s useful and well branded.

ING Home Loan Toolkit

Dutch financial services innovator ING Direct has taken a similar approach to Geico in that it’s produced its own iPhone application designed to provide utility for current and non-customers while reinforcing brand affinity.

The ING Direct Home Loan Toolkit (available only to Australian iPhone users) includes two calculators (one for calculating borrowing costs and a second for calculating repayments) as well as a tool for looking up home prices by region.

ING describes its mobile application this way: “Whether you want to get an idea of your borrowing capacity, potential loan repayments or check out the average house prices in your suburb, the ING DIRECT Home Loan Toolkit allows you to do so – and its all at your fingertips.”

In Canada, Scotiabank has its “Mortgages” iPhone application that’s similar in vein but it’s nowhere near as feature rich as ING’s implementation. It also lacks the killer feature of allowing users to look up home prices.

Finance-related mobile applications are a hot commodity these days, and while this one is obviously from a financial services provider intent on selling you a mortgage, the application is fresh and easy to use – whether you are an ING customer or not.

Nationwide Cartopia

Insurance provider Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, wants to do its darndest to help you buy your next car. So much so that it’s built an iPhone application to help you with the entire car buying process.

The Nationwide “Cartopia” app is clever little package that packs a lot of features, including:

• Vehicle histories (this one feature alone would have been worth the download)
• Third-party pricing
• Safety information on specific models from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety
• Car specs
• Calculators
• Photo organizer (this type of feature is popular. And given that almost all smart phones have cameras, it’s a no-brainer)
• And of course, Nationwide customer support phone numbers and agent locator

“We’ve partnered with safety and auto industry experts to make sure you get valuable information to help you choose your next car,” Nationwide says on its website.

Of course, if you need a car loan, Nationwide Bank can spot you the cash, a nice cross-sell opportunity that Nationwide would have been crazy to pass up. (Note to digital marketers: Always look for a cross-sell opportunity).

Consumers pretty much know up-front that when they download an application from a company like Nationwide, Geico or ING that there’s a product pitch lurking in there somewhere. The key is to make it a “soft sell” using unobtrusive product mentions. In the end, it’s goodwill and trust that will have new customers knocking on your door.

When trying to determine if your company is ready for a mobile application, keep the following points in mind:

• Does your application provide a utility or help solve a problem?
• Is your application entertaining to use?
• Does it build engagement?
• Does your application align with your corporate objectives?

Digital marketers need to answer those questions first before deciding whether a mobile application fits within their strategy. Before proceeding, clearly weigh the pros and cons of driving brand affinity, engagement, and sales versus cost, resources and the potential pitfalls of a poorly planned mobile application.