Car rental company Avis is banking on Apple?s iPad as an interaction tool with a new campaign that uses the device's features to drive brand awareness.

The Avis iPad campaign is part of a new national initiative that the company is running to target business travelers. Avis worked with Leo Burnett Business and Starcom Media Group on the campaign.

?We recognize that busy professionals are always on the go and as such, they rely on their mobile devices to stay connected,? said Jeannine Haas, chief marketing officer of Avis Budget Group, Parsippany, NJ.

?The 'It?s Your Space' iPad campaign visually demonstrates how these busy corporate travelers use their rental cars ? to get prepared and pumped up, or to just relax and recharge,? she said. ?The Avis campaign reinforces the customer experience in an engaging way and delivers it to our target audience in the publications they read and the devices they?ve come to rely on.?

Tablet engagement
The campaign centers on the tagline, ?It?s your space.?

Avis is running both panel and banner ads within the USA Today iPad application.

Panel and banner ads throughout the app read, ?It's more than a rental. It's your space."

When users tap on the mobile ad, it expands to feature an image of a car. From there, users are encouraged to shake their tablets to start the ad.

The ads let consumers interact with three different scenes with the lines ?Your game on space,? ?Your get amped space? and ?Your inner peace space.?

The first scene shows consumers how the rental cars can be used as a place to get pumped up. A banner ad on the bottom of the page offers Avis? services with up to 30 percent off rates.

When consumers tap on the mobile ad, they are redirected to Avis? Web site where they can make a reservation, view weekly deals, find partner offers and learn more about the company's international travel.

Another scene in the ad is targeted towards sports fans and includes a Facebook and Twitter button that users can tap. Users can add the Avis Your Space Facebook app to their profiles directly from the ad units, which lets users personalize their ad experience.

By incorporating features such as rich media and social media, the ads take advantage of the built-in features from a tablet and hook users with an interaction that keeps them in one place for a longer period of time.

A campaign inside the Wall Street Journal iPad app will launch later this week.

?Targeted at business travelers, the ?It?s Your Space? campaign is designed to drive consideration and help differentiate Avis in the premium car rental category,? said Lisa Abbatiello, CEO of Leo Burnett Business, Chicago.

Media mix
The Avis campaign includes a large emphasis on traditional media. Three new TV spots have been unveiled, which feature business professionals that use their rental car to unwind, relax or get prepared.

Other media includes print ads in business publications and newspapers, airport terminal media and online spots.

The campaign is slated to run through November.

?Travelers are using their mobile devices to make Avis reservations more than ever before. In fact, reservations via mobile devices have increased substantially over last year,? Avis' Ms. Haas said.

?This growth led us to become the first car rental company in the industry to have mobile applications on all four major mobile platforms,? she said. ?Mobile continues to be an integral part of our marketing strategy.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York