Some of the key trends observed during the MMF:

1. Mobile is becoming a key part of the marketing mix – Companies like Kodak and MGM Grand shared their experiences in Mobile. While there is still a lot of experimentation going on the reality is that more and more established brands are using mobile as a key part of their marketing. This is a trend that will grow and continue in the future.

2. Mobile advertising is growing – Click-through-rates on mobile ads are higher than online (although we have yet to observe how sustainable they are). Mobile advertising is beginning to show a track record of results – both on click-through and in leading to purchase.

3. There are still lots of barriers for mobile going mainstream – Issues with carriers and screen size are the greatest barriers facing the industry. The fragmentation of mobile is not unlike the early days of the internet – as devices and carriers continue to create standards mobile will become an easier platform for marketers to play in.

4. Location is the key opportunity – The opportunity to target people based on location is the biggest opportunity for marketers in mobile. MGM grand shared an example of targeting people as they drive to Las Vegas with discount codes for the hotel. They also have the opportunity to target people when they are physically in the hotel – providing discount codes and deals to keep people in the hotel longer. By knowing the location of the phone SMS campaigns can be directly targeted.

5. The iphone is over-hyped – The iphone gets a lot of publicity and buzz, but in reality it is a really small fragment of the total mobile market. SMS and display based ads provide broader reach and follow the “no phone left behind” policy. The iphone market is still small, yet it gets a disproportionate amount of attention from advertisers.

6. SMS campaigns have potential – There is a lot of potential with SMS campaigns and a number of companies have shown real success with them. The key to a good SMS campaign is to integrate it into the rest of your marketing campaign; highlight the shortcode across other forms of advertising. SMS is also highly measurable, so the results can be tracked and campaigns modified over time.

7. Apps face challenges – While apps get a lot of hype there are a number of challenges in launching a successful app. There are now over 50k apps in the iphone store (and growing) and discovery of apps becoming an issue. There are not a lot of brands that have had success with iphone apps.

]]> http://bootcampmobile.com/2009/07/06/mobile-phone-apps/7-trends-from-the-mobile-marketing-forum/feed/ http://bootcampmobile.com/2009/06/25/mobile-phone-apps/quality-equals-dollars-in-mobile-app-world/ http://bootcampmobile.com/2009/06/25/mobile-phone-apps/quality-equals-dollars-in-mobile-app-world/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:57:26 +0000 Mark Homer http://bootcampmobile.com/?p=146 The 2009 Apple Design Awards were announced recently.  It is interesting to note that all the iPhone winners were ‘paid’ applications.  Here is the breakdown

• MLB.com At Bat 2009 - $9.99
• Postage - $2.99
• Topple 2 - $2.99
• Tweetie - $2.99
• Wooden Labyrinth 3d (best iPhone Student App) - $3.99

Compare these amounts with the average price for iPhone paid apps of $2.52 and we see that these are all priced higher than average.  We can assume that being seleted an Apple Design Award winner shows that these are all ‘Quality’ applications.  Being that they are quality applications, how has that affected sales even though these apps are priced higher than the average?  Well, quality does equal success in all 5 cases.

Looking at current app rankings, ALL of these apps appear in the coveted top 100 ranking for at least their category in one measured region (as defined by Apple).  Here is a highlight:

• MLB.com At Bat 2009 - $9.99 - the most expensive app in the list, is the number 1 sports app in the USA and the number 79 ranked app against ALL paid apps.  Very impressive numbers.  Hopefully those dollars are supporting the production of the great video and streaming audio that comes along with all the other geat features of this app.
• Postage - $2.99 - out of all the photography apps, this cool electronic postcard app is ranked 33 in the US, 25 in the UK, and it is interesting to note that it is 45 in France and 9 in Germany and it only supports English language right now.
• Topple 2 - $2.99 - following up on the great success of Topple, Topple 2 is currently the #98 game in Canada and it was only released in late March.
• Tweetie - $2.99 - This great iPhone Twitter client (and the one I personally use) is the number 1 or 2 social networking app in US, Australia, Germany, UK, and Canada and in the top 70 of ALL paid apps.
• Wooden Labyrinth 3d (best iPhone Student App) - $3.99 - This app created by Finish student, Elias Pietilä, entered into a crowded genre of Labyrinth games, but the quality use of OpenGL truly gives the game a 3D feel.  This plus an available level editor (with over 100+ user generated levels contributed so far)  has pushed his product into the top 100 games in Germany and Italy and it has almost bumped into the top 100 games in the US.  The free version is in the top 50 games in most regions.

The analysis of these 5 quality apps shows that quality apps can garner a higher price and be very successful.

There you have it, congratulations to the winners, and to those of you working on the next great app idea, remember that quality = $$s.

The enterprise readiness concerns from 2007/2008 have been allayed with a host of new security features and the Push syncing introduced with the 2.1 software updates.  One analyst at Forrester thinks the iPhone is as good an option if not better than Blackberry for enterprises and  talks about how companies like Kraft and Oracle support the iPhone.  IBM Lotus Notes, which is often billed as a much more business oriented mail/collaboration tool, now supports push syncing with the iPhone.  So the basic tools are there and the audience is growing.  Why are only 2% of the apps business apps?

If you are an independent developer, here is a good niche to look into.  If your are a provider of software for businesses (especially software as a service apps) then you should consider extending your footprint to support mobile iPhone users.

If you already have a good business app on the blackberry, consider porting your app to the iPhone.  Here’s why: 32% of Blackberry users have NEVER downloaded an application, and only 21% have downloaded more than 5.  Compare that with 80% of the 30+ million Iphone/iPod touch users that have downloaded more than 5 apps.

If you need help with the the strategy and marketing around your mobile applications we are always here to help.

In this crowded market, people always ask us “What is the number one way to jumpstart our sales?”  Like most marketing answers, there is no simple ’silver bullet’ solution.  That being said, we have found ONE sure fire way to increase app sales and jump into those coveted top 100 spots.

Get featured on an Applie iPhone commercial!

According to the few lucky developers that have had this happen, getting featured on an Apple iPhone commercial is second to nothing else.  In a good article recently in the New York Times, they describe how Mitchell White’s iBird application went from an average app to number 1 in the reference category after being shown for less than 7 seconds in an iPhone commercial.

Unfortunately, it seems there is no secret or magic formula for getting your app into a commercial.  The best way to make it happen is to build a great app that resonates with a solid target audience.  So while getting featured in a commercial is key, at the end of the day you need to build and market a great app first.  That is a more attainable goal.  All the basic app development rules apply.

1. Identify and understand your taret audience
2. Design an app that solves a problem or provides the right entertainment for your target audience
3. Test the idea with your target audience - before you spend all the time developing!
4. Be sure the design mirrors the Apple human interface guidelines, in other words,  make it look and act right.  In our opinion, good designers are as important as good developers when it comes to app store success
5. Build word of mouth capabilities or features into the app as much as possible as word of mouth is the number one way people learn about new applications
6. Market your app to your demographic in the most appropriate way.

All these things will ensure you have a good quality app that just might become noticed by the Apple iPhone Marketing team.  According to our understanding, the iPhone App marketing team goes solely by what apps they think will resonate with the target audience they are going after.  As the article says, they are very democratic about the process, whether you are one developer or a company with one hundred developers.   If Apple is looking to create a general commercial played on prime time network TV, wide reaching apps are going to fit the bill, if it is a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal then business apps are going to get the focus.

So, if you want a simple answer for how to jumpstart your iPhone app downloads, our answer is “try to get your app in an iPhone commercial”.  Of course,  if you don’t then at least you will have taken 6 solid steps to building the best possible app for your target market.

1. Building good apps takes time

Owen indicates in the interview what we hear all the time.  Building a quick proof of concept iPhone application isn’t that hard.  But building a polished, usable iPhone application takes a lot more effort.  Owen estimated he had a proof of concept in weeks but it took almost 6 months to produce the final polished application.

We concur, in fact, we argue that not all programming backgrounds are well suited to develop iPhone applications.  In our work, we have found that former game designers/developers have an easier time producing a quality, fun to use iPhone app than former web focused developers.

2. Think about marketing the app from the beginning

Owen also indicates that he got a lot of feedback after his release that caused him to change the gameplay a bit.  He also feels that his game is not ‘pick it up and start playing’ usable by the average consumer.  There was also no built in incentive for players to drive word of mouth, like community oriented high scores, invite a friend, etc. Owen indicates that he is working on a new game that he feels is better designed for the iPhone market.

Note the distinction, Dapple, his current game, is by all means a decent game.  What Owen has realized though is that his game might not be the best fit for the average iPhone market.  When going for volume, you need to understand the average market and design an application that will be exciting, yet can be used quickly.  He is now considering the market and how to encourage word of mouth into his next application.

As we tell our clients: The best time to think about marketing your application is when you are first imagining your application.

3. A successful launch is critical

This one may be obvious to many mobile app developers these days, but it bears repeating.  Most people know that basics like getting app to review sites, video walkthrus, press releases, and more need to be wrapped up well before the iTunes launch.

Owen indicates that as he was getting close to releasing the application, he was so focused on bug fixing and last minute tweaks that he didn’t have time to properly execute a good launch.  So even though people know they need to do marketing activities before launch, most don’t have the time to give it the proper focus.

With the volume of iPhone apps being approved every day, most iPhone applications that are released only get listed on the new and noteworthy page for minutes to a couple hours.  The launch time is critical.

There is a lot more in the podcast - Give it a listen!

In Conclusion

We wanted to call out the 3 points above as we see it often with mobile application developers.  While Bootcamp Mobile can help you after your product has been released, Owen’s story shows that you should think about working with us as early into the product design as you can.  There are close to 40,000 mobile applications in the iPhone store.  Without successful mobile app marketing, how do you expect to standout?

Popularity of Categories

• Almost 50% of the top apps are games (12 out of 25)
• Entertainment is the next most popular category (4/25 top apps)
• Social Networking is third most popular (3/25 top apps)

Social Networking Popularity

• 26% have downloaded facebook followed by 23% for myspace and 19% for aim
• Twitter apps do not appear on the list - potentially because there are a number of apps for twitter (whereas myspace and facebook have an official app).
• Iphone users are 3 times more likely than average to visit social/communication/ entertainment sites including: AOL IM, Hulu, Twitter.com, Digg.com, iMeem and MTV.com

Iphone Usage is Largely Personal, Not Business

A look at the top iphone apps underscores that iphone usage is primarily personal vs. Blackberry usage, which is primarily business related.  Games, social networks and entertainment make up the bulk of the downloads, with the remainder being entertainment related

The Comscore Top 25 List

    Top 25 Apps by Penetration of Apple App Users
    February 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Apple App Store Report

                       Penetration
                          Of
    Application         Installs Category            Developer

    Tap Tap Revenge        32%    Games             Tapulous, Inc.
    Backgrounds            27%    Entertainment     Stylem Media
    Touch Hockey: FS5      26%    Games             FlipSide5, Inc.
    Facebook               26%    Social Networking Facebook, Inc.
    Pac-Man                24%    Games             Namco
    iBowl                  24%    Games             SGN
    MySpace Mobile         23%    Social Networking MySpace.com
    Google Earth           22%    Travel            Google Inc.
    Labyrinth              22%    Games             Codify AB
    Pandora                21%    Music             Pandora Media, Inc.
    AIM                    19%    Social Networking AOL
    Flashlight             19%    Utilities         John Haney
    Virtual Zippo Lighter  18%    Lifestyle         Moderati Inc. and Zippo
                                                    Manufacturing Co.
    Movies                 18%    News              Flixster
    Hangman                18%    Games             Jamsoft
    Bubblewrap             18%    Entertainment     Orsome Software Ltd.
    Lightsaber Unleashed   17%    Entertainment     Lucasfilm Ltd
    Shazam                 17%    Music             Shazam Entertainment Ltd.
    Mazefinger             16%    Games             ngmoco
    Cube Runner            16%    Games             Andy Qua
    Sol Solitaire          15%    Games             Smallware LLC
    Crazy Penguin Catapult 15%    Games             Digital Chocolate Inc.
    Topple                 15%    Games             ngmoco
    Sudoku                 14%    Games             Mighty Mighty Good Games
    Remote                 13%    Entertainment     Apple

• The app store has been open for just over 9 months.
• There have been over 1 billion apps served.
• There are over 30 million devices sold (between the iphone and itouch).
• There are over 35,000 apps available on the itunes store.
• The average iphone user downloads over 20 apps (some say more than 40)
• In the first month there was over $30 million transacted on the app store.
• The app store is growing quicker than itunes.
• Number of app users is growing at about 10% per month - Comscore

Source - AdAge

The course can be found on the Stanford University itunes site.  Whether you are already programming or a looking to refresh your skills this course can be a great resource.

With over 25,000 apps that have been downloaded over 800 million times there is fierce competition for apps.

Check out this great resource - if you have already used it let us know what you think

Wired recently wrote about app developers who went “from rags to riches” with their apps.  Take, for example, Steve Demeter - the app poster boy. His wildly popular game Trism sells for $5 (a really high price point for the app store) and it is estimated that he’ll make over $2 million from his app by July.  Steve has been featured in a video by Apple, and on CNN and a number of other news sites.  He built the app himself with some help from a friend and a designer (who he paid $500).

In a sense, the App Store, despite its corporate ties, has created an open market where developers can strike it rich with minimal resources — even out of a garage — so long as they possess the talent and the time. - Wired

What is the secret to Trism success?  According to Demeter:

1. Unique Gameplay
2. High Replay Value
3. An online leaderboard that creates community

We’d also add a few things:

1. He got in Early - When the app store launched there were only a few thousand apps; now there are over 25,000.  It is harder to stand out.
2. Already been tested - the game was launched as a free version for jailbroken phones prior to the launch of the app store - the bugs were worked out before he started selling the app.
3. Momentum early on - Gaining early momentum matters in the app store.

What do you think makes an app successful?

Neil Young, CEO of Ngmoco told Venture Beat that “Ngmoco generates more than half of its revenue from outside the U.S.”

North America

• Smartphone sales grew 69% in 2008
• In 2008 the market continued to grow, despite a down economy
• Smartphones are accounting for 20% of sales, a dramatic increase vs. 2007
• Predictions are that sales growth will slow.
• Growth will be driven by operators pushing data plans.
• Smarphones will see more competition from full-feature enhanced phones will full qwerty keyboards, which have similar functionality but are cheaper.

Asia/Pacific

• Smartphone sales recorded 2.3% sequential growth; Sales of high-end devices remained strong
• 7.5 million unit sales
• Mobile devices overall dropped by 9.2% in 2008 due to weak consumer confidence.
• Nokia lost only 2% market share to Apple.  RIM and Samsung are both gaining share.
• Touch devices are growing.

Europe, Middle East and Africa

• Smartphone growth up only 2% in Q4
• Replacement purcahses are dropping in Europe, yet smartphone sales increased by 9.6% in 2008
• Samsung’s new phone the Omnia was the major contributor to growth; Samsung share nearly trippled in the 4th quarter of 2008.

“In 2009, mobile platforms will be a major battleground as the associated user experience and role of the ecosystem grow in importance.”