Download - iPhone as a marketing tool
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TheiPhoneasamarketingtoolWhyshouldyoubuildaniPhoneappformarketing
yourproduct/service?January20,2010SiddharthSethi
SiddharthSethi
Contact: [email protected]
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TheiPhoneasamarketingtoolMuchhasbeensaidabouttheiPhone.Itiscurvy,easytouse,pricey,eyecandy,blah,blah.Butwhatisthetruestoryandhowdoesitaffectbusiness,specifically,forthispost,marketing?Considerthesefacts
• TheiPhoneAppStorehasover3billionappdownloadsandcountingeveryday.• Therearemorethan100,000appstodoprettymuchanything• TheiPhoneleadsbyahugemarginwhenitcomestomobilewebbrowsingandmobileweb
searches• AndApplehasbeeninthebusinessforjustover2years
Whateverthepersonalbiasesare,oneneedstoknowthatitisthesinglemostimportantsmartphoneinthemarket.Noneofthecompetition,includingthemightyGoogle(NexusOne)hasbeenabletocomeanywhereclosetothereachoftheiPhone.Atleastnotyet.Andeveniftheywereto,itdoesnotseemtobehappeninganytimesoon.Formarketers,itisbesttostopignoringtheiPhoneandembraceitasanessentialmarketingtoolthatwillhelpreachtheirtargetaudience.WhatarethewaysinwhichaniPhonecanbeusedasamarketingtool?
• Advertiseonappsfromotherproviders• Advertiseonwebsitesthattargetmobileusers• Createyourownappsthattalkaboutyourproductsandservicesinaninterestingway
Thefirsttwo(advertisements)arestraight,inyourfaceadvertisements.Theyaren'tanythingnewfortheadvertisingworld.Advertisementshavelongservedasasubsidyforotherproductsandservices,andwillcontinuetodoso.Justhopethatyourintendeduserhitstheadvertisementandbuysyourproductorattheveryminimumbecomesaqualifiedleadyoucanpitchto.Whatismoreinterestingfromthemobileexperienceandspecificallythesmartphoneisthatyoucancreateapplicationsthatspecificallytalkaboutyourproductsandservices.Notonlythat,theyhavethecapabilitiestointeractwithyourpotential,andifyougothewholenineyards,youcanactuallyhavethemcoughuprightthereforyourproduct.Mobile,beingwell,mobile,alsochangesthedynamicsofinteraction,theuserbeingabletointeractwithyourappprettymuchanywhere.Thisincreasesthechancesofyourappbeingusedandinturnofyougettingmorerelevantandtargeteddataonyourprospect.TheadvantagesofcreatingiPhoneappsformarketingAsmentioned,theiPhonegeneratesinterestingopportunitiesformarketing.LetusfirstunderstandwhatmakestheiPhoneinterestingtomarketersandthenwewillseehowthosecanbeleveraged.AgreatuserinterfaceTheiPhoneoffersauserinterfacethatisunparalleledincomputing‐anykindofcomputing.Howdoesthishelpyouasamarketer?Well,ifyourappisinterestingenoughandhasthatstickyability‐youhaveleveragedtheuserinterfacecapabilities,youruserswillflockbacktoyourapplicationagainandagain.Isn'tthatwhatyouwant?
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Locationaware‐GPSintegrationThisissomethingmarketerswoulddiefor.Tryingtogetyourlocationinrealtime.Seewhatyouareuptoandwhere.Ifanappcantakeadvantageofthelocationfeatures,marketerscouldmakevaluableuseofthatdata.MultimediacontentPushoutcontentinanyformyouwish‐video,images,textoracombination.Youwantyourreadertobetotallymesmerizedbythecontent.WelltheiPhone'svideoandaudiocapabilities,enhancedbythatsuperscreenanditsorientation,allowsyoutodojustthat.Takeyouraudienceforaridebyshowingrelevantvideos,podcastsandofcourse,text.AccelerometerandcompassThesetwotoolsallowyoutoaddalotoffancy(andsticky)touchestoyourapplications.Usetheaccelerometertocreateinterestinggesturesthatdointerestingthings.Liketheshakeorthetilt.Orjustthethrow.OneofmyfavoriteappsthatusestheaccelerometerwellisUrbanSpoon.Shakeitanditgivesyouarestaurantrecommendation!MultitouchscreenNowthisiswhatisthekingofallfeaturesandsomethingthatnootherphoneinthemarkethas‐Multitouch.Multitouchhasopenedupimmenseopportunitiestocreategesturesthatareintuitiveandsimple.Alloftheabovefeaturesprettymuchpointtoonebasicidea.Thatyoucancreateappsthatextremelyeasyandfuntouseandthereforeprovideyouagreatchanneltogetyourmessageacrosstoyourusergroup.Letusseehowsomeofthiscanbeachieved.Ifyouareatoymanufacturer,creatinganapparoundyourgames/toysmighthelp.ThekidsandteenagersareheavyusersoftheiPhone/iPodTouch.Manycompaniescreatethesefreeappsthathaveproductplacementsintheapp,thatarehighlyrelevanttotheuserandderiveexcellentmileageandbrandstickiness.Ifyouareatravelcompany,createappsthatshowcontentrelatedtoyourproducts.Showsampleitineraries.Allowtheusertoplaywiththoseitinerariesandseetheeffectrealtimeoncustommaps.Ahealthcareprovidercancreateappsthatallowuserstoaccessdatarelatedtotheailmentandprovidetipstouserstomanagetheirhealth.Youcanaddinformationonhowtoreachtheprovider‐maps,phonenumbers,autocallingetc.Inprettymuchanyindustry,youcanfindwaystointeractwithyourtargetaudience.Itisallaboutleveragingthefeaturesandtoolsavailabletoyouradvantagewithoutlosingsightoftheendgoal–toputyourmessageacrossinasubtleandsuccinctmanner.Justcreatinganappthatshowsyourmarketingmessagewillnothelp.Don'texpectpeopletodownloadsuchappsandcontinuetousethem.Themantrahereistocreateappsthatareinterestingtousefirst,andthentheyshowmessaging/products/services/brandsthatmakesenseinthecontext.Yes,remember‐youneedtocreatethecontext!ifyouneedmoreinformationonhowyourmarketingdepartmentcanbenefit,[email protected].
