Branding, There’s an App for That

Mobile apps digital strategy
An app a day: Software developer Scott Michaels can tell you what app your company needs (or, more often, doesn’t).

Mobile apps come into 
their own with the power 
of branding.

If you’ve got a great idea for marrying your company’s branding message to the latest novelty software on Apple Inc.’s online App Store, Scott Michaels probably is not the guy you want to talk to. 


“I hear it all the time,” says the vice-president of Atimi Software Inc., the company behind such iPhone hits as the Etch a Sketch app: “‘I want an eight-ball shaker that plays a video clip.’” 


First of all, says Michaels, that particular app, which involves posing a question to your iPhone, then shaking it to get an answer, is so yesterday. “Times have changed,” he says. “Shake now means undo. The rules have changed.” And besides, no matter how wacky the idea you’ve come up with, it’s more than likely already been done. “People are always like, ‘There’s nothing like this,’ then I go on the store and I can see five of them,” Michaels says.


You may also want to consider cost before you commission that killer app. If you hope to crack the App Store’s top 100 downloads, you’re looking at a minimum of $150,000, according to Michaels, whose company has developed mobile applications for such clients as the Vancouver Canucks, Best Buy Co. Inc. and the New York Times, in addition to Freeze Tag Inc., holder of the digital rights for the Etch a Sketch toy.


Apps have matured considerably since the App Store opened in July 2008, says Michaels, and a novelty app is no longer likely to draw hundreds of thousands of eyeballs to whatever it is you’re selling. “The need to have an app is no longer just to have it and have it out there,” he explains. “Usually, it’s tied to a bigger push or a campaign that the brand is doing.” For example, Atimi developed a Boardwalk Empire app this fall for HBO that tied in with a broader publicity campaign for the TV network’s series of that name.


And while having your own app carries considerable bragging rights, you may want to consider whether an app is what you really need. “Right now brands are doing a lot of apps because it’s the shiny object and there’s lots of great things you can do with the app,” says James Riley, partner and vice-president of client services at Engine Digital Inc., a Vancouver agency specializing in mobile web strategy. “There are also lots of great things you can do with mobile web.”


For one thing, mobile websites are searchable, Riley points out, while a Google search isn’t going to turn up an app. They’re also accessible across multiple platforms, he adds: whether you’re using an iPhone, a BlackBerry or an Android phone, you’re going to be able to view a company’s mobile website.


However, it’s not an either/or choice; apps and mobile web are increasingly integrated components of any well-thought-out marketing campaign. That’s why Atimi and Engine Digital recently formed a partnership combining Atimi’s expertise in app development with Engine’s mastery of mobile web. “Getting clients to understand the difference is not easy,” explains Atimi’s Michaels. “Together we cover both.”


The bottom line in digital marketing is that mobile is the new reality, says Eric Weaver, director of digital strategy at DDB Canada: “With something like 26 per cent of all new phones in Canada smart phones, people will have a rich browsing experience wherever they are. Companies must pay attention to that.” And what users are looking for on their smart phones is utility. Before you plan on linking your brand to a jiggling eight ball or a pouring beer glass, Weaver advises, you should ask a simple question: “Does it really do anything? Or is it just a waste of money?”