In brief
A successful branded app puts service first, fits into users’ habits and receives regular updates. Include app development in long-term marketing plans and refine its functionality and design before launch to support the brand’s image.
With the rise of smartphones, alongside traditional radio, print and television, mobile app marketing has become a trend. Apps offer connectivity and multimedia capabilities, enabling greater interaction with consumers while also incorporating product promotion to achieve several goals at once. Which successful examples of app marketing are worth following? What tips should businesses keep in mind?
Provide a service; advertising should be secondary
Mobile app users can decide whether to keep or delete an app. Market performance shows that outstanding apps focus on service. Research identifies two types of mobile apps: useful and entertaining. If an app fits into users’ habits, it is much less likely to be removed. The market is full of “one-minute apps”: even if they attract downloads and installations, they are still destined to be deleted because excessive advertising, product messages and other commercial content put users off.
Keep your app updated
A particularly noticeable characteristic of branded apps is that they are often commissioned as individual projects for a single promotional campaign. They are frequently created for a specific event or activity. The drawback is that updates stop once the event ends or the promotional period is over, so the app attracts downloads only during the campaign. If you want to launch an app that represents your brand, update frequency is an important consideration. Information must be refreshed regularly and kept timely to sustain interest and reduce the likelihood of deletion.
For long-term app development, include it in your marketing plan and give a dedicated department full responsibility. Promotional activities also need processes and planning to keep consumers using the app consistently, increasing opportunities for exposure and delivering benefits for the brand.
You only get one chance
For users, a branded app is almost an embodiment of the brand itself. Its interface, design and operation all influence their perception of the brand. If an app is rushed to launch and subsequently found to have incomplete functionality or poorly finished visuals, it will fail to deliver the intended results and may even backfire, damaging the brand’s image.
Clearly, launching a successful branded app is not easy, but there are many principles to follow. The research process does require time for refinement and reflection. Yet, if you invest thought in how the app can meet customers’ needs and how its design can better reflect the brand’s spirit, a well-designed app can deliver benefits far beyond what you imagined!