Apps as Marketing Tools: An In-Depth Guide for Businesses
The Apps World event , taking place on November 29th and 30th at the Olympia convention center in London will feature 150 leading mobile and app industry experts under one rooftop, to discuss the current state of the app industry and its significant future beyond mobile devices.
4 simultaneous tracks will run over the course of two days, including; The role of apps in shaping new businesses amongst operators, marketing and promotion to support your app launch as well as apps as marketing tools, which I will be on the panel for.
Apps as Marketing Tools
The most pressing question has to be, are apps an important marketing tool for brands and business? To put it lightly, the rapid acceleration of mobile smartphones globally, marks a major shift on internet use. Consumers are making the switch from researching in the confines of their homes and in their spare time, to mobile connectivity anywhere and at any time. With mobile apps growing in leaps and bounds, there is no doubt that an app can play an important part of a customer’s decision making process.
Brands Diving Into The App Marketing Deep End
Apps as marketing vehicles for brands isn’t a new concept. In fact, several well known brands have already launched their own brandvertising initiatives. Some of the apps out there are ‘novelty’ applications with fairly short-term downloads and usage peaks, while other utility type apps have shown longer term usage duration. For example, the MasterCard ATM Hunter provides users with the ability to find the nearest ATM. Each time a user needs to find an ATM, they’ll open up this application and all of a sudden MasterCard’s brand is in front of them.
Zippo - The Virtual Zippo Lighter app brought the look and feel of Zippo’s iconic lighter to the iPhone and Android devices. On a side note – Skyrockit, the development studio behind the Zippo and Romplr apps received 2.6M in funding. Names like Zippo (obviously), GAP, VitaminWater, Kraft Foods, A&E, NBC and more utilize Skyrockit to create engaging mobile products, expanding outside the app realm, for their campaigns.
BMW Z4 – An application that allows users to customize a BMW Z4 and then test drive it on the screen, while at the same time creating artwork that can be saved to the phone.
Lipton Brisk – The app allows users to discover their inner artist. The application provides different sized and colored brushes, various backgrounds, and stencils that allow users to create artwork that can be saved on their phone. It also allows users to upload their art creations to Brisk, or to use the art as an e-greeting.
Zipcar – This application allows customers to find a nearby Zipcar, to make a reservation, and to use the application to actually unlock the car they have reserved as well as sound the car’s horn.
MasterCard ATM Hunter – this application allows users to find the ATM’s within the vicinity of their current location or a specific address. It allows the user to filter the search results based on various criteria as well, and also displays the various features available for each ATM.
Apps for Brands – Decision Making Questions
If your brand is seriously considering the opportunities that branded apps can deliver, here are a few questions you should answer before embarking on your mobile journey.
- What are your goals?
- What platform are your customers most likely to use?
- What core device features are essential to make your app a success?
One of the best cases of high quality branded apps to hit the app store just in time for the holiday season is Starbuck’s Cup Magic, which brings iconic coffee cups to life by blending animation, augmented reality and interaction on iPhone and Android devices.
Not only does the application also work well with the curved surfaces of the cup, it also recognizes wall graphics and other branded Starbucks items in-store.
The ROI of Branded Apps
Measuring ROI directly related to mobile devices can be tricky. There’s no way to tell if Zippo lighter purchases occurred as a result of a user downloading the application. However with that being said, it’s important to keep in mind that the objectives for most branded apps is to increase brand awareness and engage potential clients into the sales funnel. In that respect,, each of the brands mentioned above have been successful in reaching these goals.
The Bottom Line
The key word for apps is: relevance. Brands will have to come up with relevant applications that underline their mission and corporate values. It will be important to develop an app that rises above the clutter and genuinely offer value to their core customers.
