The first brand to make use of the new ad-format will be Barclaycard via their digital agency Walker Media. The campaign goes live this week and runs until the mid August and will feature at m.guardian.co.uk.
The iSlide expandable format is similar to online formats where users can click on the banner which expands the advert to deliver a full screen rich media display.
The ad format can also integrate with the iPhone feature set such as maps to enable, for example, ‘find your nearest' functionality and video so that a direct connection can be made to a full blown above-the-line advert.
Other features such as downloadable mobile coupons that can be redeemed in retail outlets, click to call and user data capture provide marketers with a full tool set to engage consumers and connect mobile advertising to any aspect of a marketing campaign - way beyond the standard static ad-banner.
iSlide also minimises user drop off by keeping all the associated links and new page views within the same session, rather than opening up a new browser.
The ad-format has been developed to serve into applications for the growing non-iPhone smartphone market so that the same features are available to applications based on the Andriod OS and Nokia's OVI store.
With Barclaycard, 4th Screen Advertising will be serving iSlide banners initially to The Guardian's iPhone application and will add other premium publishers over the coming weeks.
The banners, once expanded direct the user to the iPhone app store to download the specially created Barclaycard Waterslide game.
Zac Pinkham, agency sales director at 4th Screen Advertising said: "With over one million iPhone users in the UK, this is a prime opportunity for brands, such as Barclaycard, to own this space and to really engage with a receptive ‘tech savvy' audience.
"Consumers expect and need to be presented with engaging sticky content to keep them interested and the ‘iSlide' provides the ideal format to do just that."
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