Footwear and accessories retailer Aldo is pairing Facebook’s popular carousel ad format with shop now buttons to inspire fall shoppers while driving impulse purchases.

The ad, which appears in the Facebook news feed on mobile devices, is part of the retailer’s fall campaign, Inspiration is Everywhere. The Facebook effort reflects the popularity of multi-page ads for telling a story on mobile while the shop now buttons addresses consumers’ growing ease with shopping from their mobile devices.

“Ideally, carousel ads should be used to incorporate the store browsing experience into the ad itself,” said Shuli Lowy, marketing director for mobile at Ping Mobile. “Aldo did just that.

“The fall ad campaign, which showcases four different authentic styles provides various images of inspiration throughout its carousel,” she said. “Consumers browsing through the images can decide which style speaks to them and follow up appropriately.”

Finding inspiration
Aldo’s carousel ad consists of five panels highlighting some of the imagery from the Inspiration is Everywhere campaign.

Each panel has a different muted color background, such as gray, beige and pink and showcases a different accessory, including a handbag, hat, pair of sunglasses and jewelry.

The copy on the first panel sets up the experience, informing viewers that the brand promises eye-catching accessories.

Underneath each image is one of several taglines, such as Bright Ideas, Inspiration is Everywhere and Cool Basics, along with a shop now button.

Tapping the shop now button takes users to the Aldo mobile-optimized Web site where they can shop fall accessories.  The use of deep links might have provided a better user experience by enabling viewers to go directly to the items on view in the ad instead of having to search for these items once they get to the Web site.

Telling a story
Facebook’s carousel ads were introduced in the summer of 2014 and continue to gain steam with marketers because the multi-panel format enables them to tell more of a story, something that can be a challenge on mobile’s small screens.

Shop now or buy buttons as a big trend on social networks right now as competition grows for consumers’ time. While the buying sometimes takes place directly on the social network’s site, in the case of the Aldo effort, shoppers are being directed to the retailer’s site to complete a purchase.

The Facebook ad is part of Aldo’s fall campaign, encouraging consumers to find inspiration everywhere. The campaign consists of portraits of people known for their individual style paired with a still life photograph that brings their inspirations to life.

The integrated global marketing campaign appears across a variety of channels including print, digital, out of home and social media extensions.

The theme that fashion inspiration is increasingly being found throughout a person’s day and from the fashion establishment is a reflection of how consumers are engaging with mobile and social media to explore and inform their personal style.

“Carousel ads also gives brands the opportunity to provide more targeted deep linking,” Ms. Lowy. “Instead of bringing consumers to a general shopping page, retailers can bring customers to the specific product set they clicked on.

“Aldo did not take advantage of the deep linking feature provided in carousel ads,” she said. “Instead of using the click as an opportunity to learn what the user is interested in and provide better content, Aldo is instead lumping everyone into one bucket and sending them all to the same page.

“Ultimately sending everyone to the same page adds another step when people are trying to find what they want. That will lead to fewer completed purchases.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York