mobile apps / index / p.02
INDEX /
MOBILE APPS
CHAPTERS
01 / pages 3-4 06 / pages 26-30
01 /
INTRO INTRODUCTION APP STORES
02 /
TIPS 1 02 / pages 5-6 07 / pages 31-34
03 / TIPS FOR BRANDS / PART 1 LANDSCAPE / DEVICES
TIPS 2
by John Cecil-Wright
04 / 08 / pages 35-36
CONSUMERS
03 / pages 7-9 LOOKING AHEAD
05 /
CASE STUDIES TIPS FOR BRANDS / PART 2
09 / pages 37-38
06 / by Alexander Fairfax
APP STORES NUMBER CRUNCHING
07 / 04 / pages 10-14
10 / pages 39-40
DEVICES
LANDSCAPE / CONSUMERS
08 / REFERENCES & LINKS
FUTURE
05 / pages 15-25
09 /
STATS
BRANDED APPS / CASE STUDIES 11 / page 42
CREDITS
10 /
REFERENCES
11 /
CREDITS
mobile apps / introduction / p.03
01 / pages 03 - 04
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTERS Over the past 10 years, the mobile phone So – how to engage, without spamming? How to
has become the one gadget that nobody, sustain interaction without constant redevelopment?
01 /
How to apply the creativity for which the advertising
INTRO from media mogul to suburban school kid,
industry is so well known to location-based technolo-
02 / can do without: the undisputed winner of the gies and teeny tiny screens?
TIPS 1
‘battle of the bulge’, the race for the space in
03 / your pocket. As trend researcher Sean Pillot Step forward the humble application, or app for
TIPS 2
de Chenecy once remarked, ‘No-one’s ever short. Opt-in, flexible, and considerably better looking
04 /
going to commit suicide because they left than your average SMS, applications can fulfil all the
CONSUMERS
requirements of a successful and engaging branded
home without their iPod.’
05 / utility, carrying with them a disproportionate emotional
CASE STUDIES
clout. They can be useful. They can be relevant. They
06 / can be entertaining. The best ones are all three. The
To date and to their credit, marketers have shown
APP STORES other unexpected benefit of a branded app on a mo-
an almost preternatural reticence to get stuck in to
07 / bile device is privacy for the user. Social networking
mobile, perhaps noting that email as a marketing me-
DEVICES sites such as Facebook have been labelled ‘an apps
dium is only just staggering to its feet after a series
graveyard’ due to the low rates of uptake amongst
08 / of sucker punches dealt by spam marketers. This in
FUTURE user communities. This has been attributed to several
addition to the fact that the advertising industry’s col-
factors, not least the way in which social networking
09 / lective ego has been bolstered over the years by the
STATS apps tend to be best experienced when tied to one’s
production of cinematic films for TV, artistically craft-
desktop computer, and a degree of embarrassment
10 / ed print ads for glossy magazines, and latterly, flash-
from consumers in associating themselves so publicly
REFERENCES heavy microsites designed to enthral and bedazzle.
with what is still, to all intents and purposes, advertis-
11 / Small wonder, perhaps, that the charms of the mobile
ing. Mobile phones are not only portable, they’re per-
CREDITS phone’s small screen size, restrictive price plans and
sonal – meaning that a useful branded app concealed
a preponderance of entry level handsets designed at
discreetly in the privacy of one’s pocket could prove
most for SMS marketing have taken a while to engage
more appealing.
our attention.
Following the debut of Apple’s iPhone, with its revo-
However, with 4.1bn handsets now in circulation
lutionary touchscreen interface™ (not actually a trade-
and countries such as China, Brazil and India appear-
mark, although it may as well be), sales of the device
ing to leapfrog the desktop stage of technological
swiftly claimed Apple a 11% share of the global smart-
evolution and head straight for the mobile web, the
phone market, dominated by Nokia at 40%. However,
potential for targeted, practical brand communica-
the iPhone’s creative, social and technological potential Illustration: Chellie Carroll /
tions via the cellular device seems assured.
mobile apps / introduction / p.04
was only fully realised in March 2008 when Apple, a got off to a slow start due to the absence of compatible STATS /
company not normally known for encouraging post- handsets to rival the iPhone’s sleek design. However,
launch tinkering from their rabid and willing fan base, the steady introduction of Android-friendly models, a
broke with tradition by releasing a Software Devel- more ubiquitous open platform that promises to de-
CHAPTERS opment Kit for the Apple App Store – the hub from liver content regardless of manufacturer, the fast take
which all iPhone compatible apps could be down- up of Android phones over the costlier iPhone in Asia, • There are an estimated 30 million
01 /
INTRO loaded. The explosion of user-generated content fa- and a backer with a track-record in the establishment combined iPhone and iPod touch
cilitated by the internet was no longer confined to the of successful online hubs could make this a surefire users around the world
02 /
TIPS 1 production of ‘content’ such as video and music. The winner. Meanwhile, Nokia’s Ovi – a content-sharing
• The Apple App Store had more
App Store had expanded Apple’s development team service linking phones and the internet – is indicative
03 / than 35,000 applications at the end
TIPS 2
to include everyone with an interest in technology and of a larger move towards convergent services for the
of April 2009
an idea. The store now numbers some 30,000 apps manufacturer at a troubled time in its 144-year history
04 / and passed its billionth download in April 2009. This (the company announced a 90% fall in profits for the
CONSUMERS • iPhone owners download an
is proving lucrative for independent developers and first quarter of 2009). average number of 37 apps in total
05 / Apple alike, with iPhone apps only available through to their devices, while G1 owners
CASE STUDIES
iTunes. The man behind the iShoot game is reputed In this Contagious Special Report, we’ll be looking download an average of 40
06 / to have netted $600,000 in the first month of avail- at how the mechanisms work. Who’s taken the plunge.
APP STORES
ability. As for Apple: with one billion downloads, of Who’s succeeded, and who has failed. What benefits • Apple posted second quarter 2009
07 / which 30% are estimated to be paid-for at an average there are for brands in engaging with this emerging profits of $1.21bn and $8.16bn in
DEVICES price of 99 cents each – we’re talking revenues of space, and how to build an app worthy of consumer sales
08 / some $297m through the App Store, 30% of which is attention. We’ll provide an overview of the consumer
landscape and mobile usage before exploring some of -
• Nokia has 41% share of the smart
FUTURE retained by Apple. And that’s not including the listing
the case studies we like best. We’ll look at the meteoric phone market
09 / fee charged to developers.
STATS rise of Apple’s App Store and its foremost position in • The iPhone generates 33% of all
An oft-quoted statistic of unknown provenance yet this retail space, as well as the devices that are leading smartphone traffic worldwide
10 /
REFERENCES extreme credibility states that ‘98% of creative direc- the way. We’ll also take a longer-term view on where
tors have an iPhone. 1% of actual people have one’. apps are headed – from m-commerce and augmented • 3G subscriptions rose 300% in the
11 /
CREDITS
As with any new marketing medium, there are contro- reality to their potential to improve our health. US in 2008
versies. At a time in which economic adversity sees
advertisers less willing to take risks, especially when The rise of the application represents a land grab • Mobile internet penetration is at
they cannot be guaranteed scale, the benefits of un- for the hugely valuable real estate in all of our pockets. 17% in the US, 16% in the UK,
charted territories such as mobile applications are still Once we have an app for bar-hopping, recipe shop- 14% in Italy and 12% in France
somewhat hazy. Is the target audience large enough ping, or blood pressure monitoring, it’s going to take
• India and China add an average of
to justify the technological investment? an awful lot to have us switch. And if the internet has
10m and 8m mobile subscribers
proven that ‘pull marketing’ can engage and stimulate
per month, respectively
Thankfully, the arrival of several other big players in communities of loyal brand enthusiasts, mobile repre-
this space looks set to confirm the app as a medium sents a chance to apply those principles to more per-
worthy of investment. Google’s Android Market has sonal relationships between brands and consumers.
mobile apps / branded apps / case studies p.15
05 / pages 15-25
BRANDED APPS / CASE STUDIES
CHAPTERS The burgeoning popularity of apps is providing a fertile
01 / playing ground for advertisers. They are a new channel
INTRO for highly targeted, interactive content that resides on the
02 / one device that no one leaves home without. If done right,
TIPS 1
apps offer an opportunity to build an ongoing dialogue
03 / with your customers and can potentially increase loyalty.
TIPS 2
04 /
CONSUMERS
But how to do it right? Given the huge numbers of available apps
05 / (most of which are non-branded), and the ever-increasing compe-
CASE STUDIES tition for the valuable screen real estate, how can brands stand
06 / out? Getting a top ranking in Apple’s App Store requires a lot of
APP STORES downloads in a short space of time, according to a study by Pinch
07 / Media. Six months ago, 10,000 downloads got you into the top
DEVICES 25; today it takes twice as many.
08 /
FUTURE The key is to add value to your audience by providing a relevant
and targeted service or piece of entertainment that, ideally, creates
09 /
STATS
a viral effect. It’s about leveraging your content (and brand) to en-
hance your customers’ lives – whether through functionality or fun.
10 /
REFERENCES
In this section we take a look at some of the brands that we think
11 / have been doing it well. We’ve divided the case studies into those
CREDITS
that are service-based, and those that have more of a social remit.
In this respect, we see in apps the convergence of marketing and
product development; marketing and entertainment; marketing and
information. And the brands that are getting it right are those that
are embracing these new roles.
Service-based apps /
Kraft / iFood Assistant
The world’s third-largest food and beverage company, Kraft entered
Kraft / iFood Assistant
the application fray towards the end of 2008 with the iFood Assis-
mobile apps / branded apps / case studies p.16
tant. The app quickly went to #2 in the Lifestyle cate- There’s a similar app available for Betty Crocker.
gory of the iPhone app store - impressive considering A mobile version of the world-famous Betty Crocker
there is a one-off 99-cent charge for downloading it - Cookbook, this iPhone app – which is free to down-
and in April 2009 remains in the top 100 paid applica- load – provides 4,000 recipes. As well as searching
CHAPTERS tions. What’s more, it also features advertising which for specific dishes, you can type in ingredients of left-
users are clearly happy to sit through in exchange for overs in the fridge, and the app will return recipes to
01 /
INTRO the service which it provides. match. You can also tag favourite recipes and email
them direct to friends via your phone’s email function.
02 /
The iFood Assistant furnishes consumers with tips,
TIPS 1
recipes and consequent shopping lists (obviously GoodGuide /
03 / including Kraft products), aiming to make cooking
TIPS 2 Launched in September 2008, the idea behind inde-
quicker for those with less time on their hands, be it Betty Crocker /
pendent ‘for benefit’ start-up GoodGuide’s website is
04 / busy mums or professionals with hectic lifestyles. The simple; an online database of products that are rated
CONSUMERS
7,000 recipes are broken down into various catego- on the basis of how healthy, environmentally friendly
05 / ries including meal time, ingredients and preparation and ethical they are.
CASE STUDIES
time - there are even step-by-step instructional videos
06 / covering techniques from chopping to seasoning. As well as the comprehensive web-based database,
APP STORES
GoodGuide extended the reach of the service by cre-
07 /
In order to access these recipes, users must first ating a free iPhone/iPod Touch app that consumers
DEVICES log in, meaning that at any given time Kraft can see can use while out shopping.
how many people are going after what content - a
08 /
FUTURE useful tool for gathering targeted information. The app lets you search and view information and
ratings for over 70,000 products, check the facts on
09 /
This is a real masterclass in branded utility from the product as well as its manufacturer, and browse
STATS
Kraft - proving that if you make something useful top rated products by category. Users can also cre-
10 / enough, consumers will be happy to not only be mar-
REFERENCES ate, access and share shopping lists either online or
keted to, but what’s more, pay for the privilege AND on the go.
11 / exchange personal information. Of course, there is the
CREDITS
chance that users may embark on the recipes using With household budgets being squeezed by the
non-Kraft products. However by covering every detail economic slowdown, consumers are making more
from shopping lists to store locators, even specifying considered decisions about what they buy; price,
which aisle to buy the ingredients from, it literally be- while a factor, is not the only criterion by which these
comes more effort not to tow the line and buy Kraft. choices are made. GoodGuide provides vital reassur-
While Kraft won’t reveal financials or total number of ance to shoppers who simply want the facts about
downloads, the estimated revenues for the iFood As- what they are buying and this app is a neat piece of
sistant are in the seven figures. utility for those wanting to make the right choices
GoodGuide /
while out and about.
mobile apps / apps stores / p.26
06 / pages 26-30
APP STORES
Apple All-Time Top 20 Apps /
CHAPTERS Downloads from the App Store on Apple’s iTunes site
01 / reached a billion in April 2009, and the impact on Ap- All-Time Top Paid Apps All-Time Top Free Apps
INTRO ple’s revenues has been significant: app downloads
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Facebook
02 / along with strong iPhone sales contributed to the com-
TIPS 1
pany’s $8bn revenues posted for its fiscal second quar- Moto Chaser iPint
03 / ter 2009, up almost 9% on the same quarter last year. Virtual Pool Google Earth
TIPS 2
Cro-Mag Rally PAC-MAN Lite
04 /
CONSUMERS
Flick Fishing Touch Hockey: FS5
At the same time, competition is heating up in the app store space
Koi Pond Labyrinth Lite Edition
05 / as challenger brands aim to eat into Apple’s leading market posi-
CASE STUDIES tion. Notable launches into the consumer retail scene in the first half MONOPOLY Here & Now Lightsaber Unleashed
06 / of 2009 include BlackBerry (BlackBerry App World), Google (An- Super Monkey Ball Tap Tap Revenge
APP STORES droid Marketplace), Samsung (Mobile Applications store), Nokia PocketGuitar Flashlight
(Ovi app store) and Microsoft (Windows Marketplace).
07 / iCopter Shazam
DEVICES
‘Without a doubt other app stores can succeed,’ Alex Meisl, ceo Pocket God Backgrounds
08 /
FUTURE of Sponge, told Mobile Entertainment in April 2009. ‘We shouldn’t London Tube iBowl
forget that while Apple has made great strides, its market share is Bejeweled 2 Crazy Penguin Catapult
09 /
still pretty low. What Apple has done is raise the profile of handset
STATS Texas Hold’em Remote
apps by making the process seamless and intuitive. It can only en-
10 /
courage the others to work on their interfaces.’ Real Football 2009 BubbleWrap
REFERENCES
Blocked Audi A4 Driving Challenge
11 / While it’s possible for these competitors to be successful with Fieldrunners Darts
CREDITS
their retail offerings it’s important to keep in mind Apple’s unique
advantages: its premium brand; a single device; and a mature con-
TETRIS eBay Mobile
tent distribution platform through iTunes. Apple has also benefited iShoot Last.fm
from fixed-price data plans that encourage increased use of the iFart Mobile Movies
mobile internet. The competitive retail landscape is also likely to
create confusion for new consumers who may be unable to buy Source: Apple, iTunes, April 2009
from outlets that their devices don’t support. Advertisers wishing to
distribute their apps should assume that Apple will have the largest
audience reach for the foreseeable 12 months.
mobile apps / credits / p.42
11 / pages 42 CONTAGIOUS SPECIAL
CREDITS REPORTS /
CHAPTERS This report is part of an ongoing series of Special
Published by Contagious Communications Contagious Communications
01 / 45 Foubert’s Place Reports produced by Contagious.
INTRO Editorial Director London, W1F 7QH, UK
Paul Kemp-Robertson T: +44 (0) 20 7575 1981 The series also includes reports on Branded
02 /
TIPS 1 www.contagiousmagazine.com Entertainment, Mobile Marketing, Goodvertising
Editorial Consultant and Branded Utility.
03 /
TIPS 2 Noah Koff Published in partnership with For more information, call
04 /
Xtreme Information +44 (0) 20 7575 1886/1882
CONSUMERS Series Editor T: +44 (0) 20 7575 1800 or vist www.contagiousmagazine.com/shop
Georgia Malden www.xtremeinformation.com
05 /
CASE STUDIES
Edited by Xtreme Information is the market leader in the
06 /
APP STORES
Lucy Aitken, Georgia Malden provision of media Intelligence and competitive
advertising monitoring from around the world.
07 /
Contributors Xtreme works with the majority of FTSE 100
DEVICES
John Cecil-Wright, Icom / www.icomgroup.net and Fortune 500 multinational companies, and
08 / Alexander Fairfax, Jeanie Media / with every major advertising and media agency.
FUTURE Branded Entertainment /
www.jeaniemedia.com The company is backed by leading US media
09 / investors, Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
STATS
Illustrations By www.vss.com
10 / Am I Collective / www.amicollective.com
REFERENCES Chellie Carroll / www.chelliecarroll.co.uk
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, copied
11 / or transmitted in any form or by any means stored in any
CREDITS Design information storage or retrieval system without the pub-
lisher’s written permission. Where source material has
FLOK Berlin / www.flokline.com been reproduced the copy-right remains the property of the
copyright owner and material may not be reproduced in any Goodvertising /
form whatsoever without the owner’s prior consent.
Production
Smita Mistry, Ellie Kilburn, Dean Dorat Published April 2009
Branded Utility /