Posts Tagged ‘Apps’

Apple Clamps Down On Incentivized App Downloads

Posted: April 20, 2011 in Developers, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Developers, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology
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My Comment on the below:

It is understandable that Apple are taking this approach but I do feel for the likes of Tapjoy and others of that ilk.  In the end, discoverability is a big issue for app developers and publishers.  However, there are channels to promote your app beyond incentivised downloads.  Incentivised downloads do not necessarily deliver the right user or indeed a user that has any interest in your product at all.  BUT (and a big but) it does push you up the App store listings which helps with discoverability.  This will only continue in the future and I do not see how Apple will come up with a solution better than Search.  As after all we can only compare this to the model of search online and how effective it is.  As more and more apps are developed the quicker they become part of a big pool of unknown services lost in the App store black hole.  This is a big challenge the industry is faced with.

Posted by ] Jason Kincaid

Bad news for Tapjoy, Flurry, and numerous other mobile advertising platforms that cater to iOS developers: Apple is clamping down on incentivized downloads. In other words, it’s now much harder to buy yourself popularity on the App Store. Developers who submit applications with these offer walls are having their applications rejected, on the grounds that they are violating section 3.10 of the developer guidelines (printed below).

If you’ve used many iPhone apps, there’s a good chance you’ve come across an incentivized download offer. These usually say something like “Install one of these apps, and you’ll get ten free gold coins!”, giving you a chance to acquire whatever virtual goods or currency you’re after without having to shell over real cash. And the process is as easy as they come: tap on one of the promoted applications, download and install it, then open it once, and you’re ten gold coins richer.

It’s a win-win situation for developers. The application that’s being promoted pays a fee to Tapjoy or one of its competitors, and the application that features the offer gets a cut. But these offers have apparently caused headaches for Apple.

Incentivized app installs are used on such a large scale that they are likely impacting the coveted Top Apps listings — pay a lot of money for a bunch of promotions, and you may be able to get your app in the top 10 on launch day. Hitting those lists leads to a huge surge in downloads that can make the initial promotional investment well worth it. In other words, they give well-funded developers a way to nearly guarantee traction (at a cost).

Apple also probably doesn’t like these systems because it doesn’t get a cut. Unlike in-app purchases, for which Apple gets 30% of every transaction, all of the money in these systems changes hands behind the scenes, between the developers and offer distributors.

Apple’s clampdown is a big deal because incentivized downloads have become a big business, and plenty of big-name iOS developers have integrated incentivized downloads into their applications, including Tapulous (maker of Tap Tap Revenge), Groupon, Playdom, and Pinger (which has a massively successful free texting/voice app). Tapjoy just raised $21 million, and there’s little doubt the success of their system played a big part in that.

It’s no coincidence that the news comes just a day after reports that Apple is now using different algorithms to decide how applications are ranked (and is presumably placing a higher emphasis on metrics other than downloads).

It isn’t particularly surprising that Apple is shutting this down, but the fact that it’s happeningnow, as opposed to months ago when these offers first took off, must be infuriating to developers and advertising platforms alike. Apple has to approve every application on the App Store, so it’s been aware of these offers from day one. And it’s not like Tapjoy and its ilk have been keeping them a secret, either.

Tapjoy says it was given no advance notice about the apparent shutdown.

Here’s Tapjoy’s statement on the news:

As you may have heard, a number of applications submitted for update have very recently been rejected from the Apple App Store based on the fact that they were running incentivized app installs within their apps. This is something new from Apple and we, along with every partner we’ve talked to, were unaware of this prior to these notices of rejection. Like many application developers, we have reached out directly to Apple and look forward to clarification.

To be clear, there is no new Apple policy that we are aware of. It seems there may be a new interpretation of the existing 3.10 clause, which is a bit surprising, as Tapjoy, AdMob, iAd, Flurry, W3i and others all power various forms of app install advertising. Many of the brands that promote their apps via Tapjoy also do the same on other major ad networks across the mobile advertiser ecosystem, and all of the apps we promote on iOS are Apple-approved. 3.10 reads:

3.10: Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the iOS Developer Program

Unfortunately, we believe much of this is caused by misconceptions around pay-per-install, the free-to-play model, cross-app promotion and their collective value to the ecosystem. We believe there are significant benefits to the advertiser (only pay for what you get), the publisher (monetize users who otherwise wouldn’t pay), and perhaps most importantly to the users, who not only get to discover new, exciting applications, but receive what is essentially a coupon for ad-funded virtual currency inside one of their favorite apps. All of this, of course, adds up to value for Apple as well, by creating a viable and thriving ecosystem.

Tapjoy has been and continues to be very supportive of the Apple app ecosystem, and we were not surprised about the Top Free & Paid rankings algorithm changes – we’re all for incremental changes that add to the user experience and keep the environment dynamic. But banning the largest and most effective channel for application distribution, engagement and monetization has a significant and long-term negative impact on the user experience, developer innovation and advertiser utility.

As the market leader in application distribution and monetization of free-to-play games, Tapjoy is currently coordinating with a number of our developer partners, as well as others in the market, to get a clear understanding of the issues and to continue to partner with Apple to meet their needs, along with those of app advertisers, developers and users.

Via: http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/19/apple-clamps-down-on-incentivized-app-downloads/

News Corp’s calls its app newspaper ‘The Daily’ – backs with $30m budget

Posted: November 17, 2010 in Digital Marketing, Industry News, Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Publishing, Publishing Industry
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Posted by] @gordonmacmillan, posted on 17 November, 2010

Things are reported to becoming together for News Corporation’s app based newspaper, which is to simply be called The Daily, as a string of staff are hired to write content and a budget of around $30 million has been assigned.

The project is expected to launch before the end of the year and Rupert Murdoch is said to be personally heavily involved in the development of The Daily, which at one time was rumoured was going to be named The Daily Planet.

News Corp is said to giving The Daily a budget of $30 million for the first year far outstripping the resources of any editorial start-up. That will pay for a large headcount, which according to Forbes, is said to be around 150 with a string of freelancers also being lined-up.

Earlier this year, as News Corp readied the launch of its new specialist app unit, News Corp boss Murdoch said:  “we can deliver our content to our readers when, where and how they want it. It’s cheap, convenient and constantly up-to-date.”

In the summer it hired Jesse Angelo the New York Post executive editor who will run The Daily alongside Greg Clayman, the former head of Viacom’s digital division.

You can get a flavour of the kind of app paper that News Corp is building from the people it is hiring.

What’s so interesting about this development is that not only will it be the first original app newspaper, but it echoes the earlier development of the web.

It sort of reminds me of Slate and how that launched in the early days of the web back in 1996. That helped to kick start things and show how new digital brands could be developed. We’re kind of at that stage again.

The New York Times reports that Sasha Frere-Jones, a music critic at The New Yorker, is to be culture editor.

Other hires on the editorial side include digital news editor and writer Mike Nizza, who has worked at AOL, the Atlantic, and The New York Times.

Also on-board is Elisabeth Eaves as opinion editor, according to the Cutline. She is a former contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and funnily enough Slate. She is also the author of the first-person book about stripping: “Bare: On Women, Dancing, Sex, and Power.” Racy.

Avi Zenilman is joining to report on business having previously worked for Politico and with Frere-Jones at the New Yorker where he was online news editor.

News Corp is also pulling top talent from in-house and hired the longtime Page Six editor, Richard Johnson, at the The Daily’s sister News Corp title the New York Post. Johnson has hired another Page Sixer – ex-Maxim editor Chris Wilson. Together they will develop The Daily’s celebrity and gossip coverage.

The development comes as elsewhere in newspaper app land Poynter Online reports that The Oklahoman, which launched a new iPad app last month, won’t be handing the revenue it generates to Apple. Equally, the newspaper will retain a direct relationship with every consumer who buys either a single copy or a subscription.
Via: http://wallblog.co.uk/2010/11/17/news-corps-app-newspaper-the-daily-takes-shape/

Behind BBC Trust’s Apps Decision: Paid Apps Are Screwed Anyway

Posted: July 23, 2010 in Digital Marketing, Industry News, Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Phones, Mobile Technology, Smartphones
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By Robert Andrews
twitter @robertandrewsJul 23, 2010 7:22 AM ET

A market assessment commissioned by the BBC Trust to help it decide whether the BBC should release smartphone apps came to a view many will find surprising: that the paid apps goldrush will be extinguished by the mobile web in a few short years.

According to the report from consultancy Mediatique…

“We conclude that the availability of content for free online, which is increasingly accessible via web browsers affording re-purposed content via mobile devices, will make it harder over time for content suppliers to charge for apps that provide access to content available online for free; the advantages of apps (bespoke mobile-purposed content, findability, novelty) will therefore reduce over time.

“Only 25% of apps on Apple’s App Store are free, but these generate 77% of usage. Not all analysts expect the market for apps to continue growing and see mobile web browsing as a more effective consumer proposition over the longer term.”

“The BBC would be entering a market that is already trending toward free apps (in news, sport and long-form video content) and is likely to trend further in that direction over time, irrespective of the BBC’s entry.”

No-one’s denying the trend toward free consumer content on the desktop web. It’s been possible to charge for mobile app versions, in my view, because they repackage that web content for the palm for the first time, and because there’s no pre-existing free-content culture on mobile.

Neither is anyone ignoring the likely improvements that will be made to mobile web apps in the coming years, especially on Android. But it’s stretching optimism a bit far for Mediatique to say that free content will prevail on mobile in the same way it has on the desktop.

Sure, many leading news publishers’ apps are already free, funded by some nascent ad sales or sponsorships. But, if you take Mediatique’s expectation as a rule, many app developers and publishers alike might as well pack up and go home – or else pray that someone’s working on a web apps store as commercially viable as iTunes Store is today

URL Link:

http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-behind-bbc-trusts-apps-decision-paid-apps-are-screwed-anyway/

The total fcuk-up that is ‘developer relations’

Posted: June 22, 2010 in Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Platforms, Mobile Technology, Technology
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Published by Ewan on Tuesday 22nd June 2010, 09:30

I have, for about a year or so, been witnessing nightmare scenarios all around the mobile developer relations market. From global operators to handset manufacturers and ISVs, it’s more or less the same: A total, unmitigated fcuk-up.

It is laughable.

I find it hilarious and extremely sad — at the same time.

It’s hilarious because, goodness me, the organisations and well-natured people running and contributing to these programmes still don’t seem to have a clue.

And it’s sad, because mobile developers aren’t getting the resources they crave in terms of support, market access and revenues. And it’s sad because consumers are going out and buying devices and finding them wanting.

A phone is not about megapixels, or styling or how good the box is. It’s about what it *does*. It’s about the experience. And this is largely influenced by third-party developers enabling consumers to augment the standard setup defined by the manufacturer/operator/service provider.
There are three influence segments to developer relations:

– brands
- programmers
- the wider market

Brands are companies like Touchnote, Evernote, Shozu, Ocado, Reuters, CNN, The Telegraph, EA Mobile. They are organisations who operate mobile channels either exclusively (like Shozu, who don’t do anything else) or as a part of their business. Reuters doesn’t live or die by it’s mobile apps but it is, nonetheless, part of their strategy. Likewise with Touchnote, mobile is a key business market for them. Brands are run by non-techies, generally. There’s usually a VP or Director of Mobile who is either a bit-of-a-geek, a full-geek or entirely non-geek (and thus reliant on his/her team or the design agency/consultants). ‘Market sentiment’ is heavily influential.

Programmers come in two flavours. There’s the do-ers, the ones who simply hire themselves out to make apps and then there are the entrepreneurial ones, who create apps themselves or in small teams (who then, if lucky) grow into brands.

The wider market represents everyone else. Analysts, media, the whole shebang.

One of the key problems with developer relations programmes is that they focus on developers. On the geeks. On the people who actually write code. This is useful, but there’s a real issue with this strategy: Developers need to get paid. They need demand from brands. Or they need very understanding wives who will let them blow the savings. They’ll certainly attend and listen carefully at developer conferences. But they’re attention is passive. That is, you’re not paying them and neither is the brand, so they’ll look and learn because it might-be-useful. But the 400-500 quid a day they’re getting for turning out so-so iPhone apps is keeping them warm at night.

It’s not about the programmers. They need to be educated, they need to be given swift and efficient access to development resources, but fundamentally, the people who matter are the ones with the cash and the ability to wield it — the brands.

Imagine, if you will, the Westfield shopping mall near you. Chances are it will be a fine, grand building. Thousands or car parking spaces, acres of shopping square footage — and if it’s modern, like the ones in London — the inside will resemble a palace of sorts. Bright, relaxing, welcoming.

I’d like you to equate an empty brand new Westfield shopping mall with a new mobile platform. Many of the parallels are pretty striking.

First off, as owner of the mall, it’s your job to get footfall, to get shoppers in the door. Or, in our example, to create appealing handsets, market them nicely and sell as many as possible.

Simultaneously, or, ideally before ‘launch’, you need to be talking to the anchor tenant stores: The John Lewis, the Marks & Spencers, the massive brands. Now chances are, you’ll need to do some negotiation with the big guys. You will have to hold their hands. You will need to give them money — either in terms of reduced rent or in some cases, straight forward cash sums to help with fit out and so on. In our mobile example, you need to either help fund development for your platform, give them 100% of revenues for a year or some other incentive to guarantee they setup shop on your platform.

There is nothing worse than firing up a new mobile device to check out the app store and finding it full of rubbish — and worse — unknown apps. We need to see familiar brands we recognise. I’m thinking, for example, Shazam, Google Mail, Yahoo, MSN, Reuters, BBC, Sky News.

Once you’ve sorted the superstar brands, you need to work on the big brands. Like the Boots chemist, the Lush soap shop, the Timberland store, the Carphone Warehouse, GAP and so on. Again, they’re big brands so they’ll expect hand holding and some kind of financial assistance.

Of course, there’s always space for the one-man-band boutique stores. They’ll get favourable terms and an opportunity to shine too — and if the customers love them, then they can be moved from those tiny aisle desk shops into bigger prominent premises.

When you view mobile platforms as Westfield shopping malls, you can almost immediately see the holes in the marketing and outreach strategies.

People often ask me ‘how do I do developer relations’ and I will sit them down, narrate this example and then put it into practical terms. They’re usually horrified when I indicate there’s quite a bit of footwork involved. They don’t believe me when I point out that, generally speaking, cash incentives will be required.

At some point, the VP of Marketing at the handset manufacturer or operator will have gone to a conference and heard about the benefits of social media. All you need to do, they’ll have been told, is knock-up a twitter account and a Facebook page and — blow me — the developers will come running.

The misconception with developers is simply shocking. How bad is it? Well, here’s one example. A global handset manufacturer to offered a pre-release handset to a well known iPhone developer — one of the superstar companies operating in the ‘new mobile sector’ (ie. iPhone only). The manufacturer was utterly shocked when the developer said ‘no, thanks’ to their offer. It’s only natural to assume that any developer would love to get a new handset to create and test their apps on, right? No. The developer in question wasn’t convinced that there was any demand and felt the manufacturer was irrelevant. Shocker.

So the developer relations teams are typically ending up staring at the wall, wondering why nobody cares.

It’s quite simple. It’s all about money.

Nobody ever got shot for developing an iPhone app that promises to make millions and fails. Thousands would be marched straight to the firing squad if they proposed developing for anything other than iPhone, Android and possibly BlackBerry.

Competitions are absolutely rubbish, generally. Look at Vodafone 360. The chap who won the hundreds of thousands of pounds prize wrote a Flickr app. A Flickr app! Not to take anything away from the chap who created it (nice one, and congratulations!) But you have to ask yourself why a) the idiots running 360 didn’t already integrate Flickr (only one of the world’s largest photo sharing communities) and why that won the prize. It’s not a new concept. It’s not, on the face of it, innovative. It’s not, I don’t believe, an app folk will be showing their friends at the pub — and it won’t, I don’t think, have hordes running to the 360 stand in the Vodafone shop.

Competitions don’t work for the developer business. Why hasn’t Touchnote created a 360 app for Vodafone 360 (despite both sharing the same PR company)? Simple. They won’t make money from it. At least, they don’t think they will. Ergo they won’t. And since they’re not present on the platform, they definitely won’t! If Vodafone had offered 20k cash subsidy? I wonder if Touchnote would have taken a second look.

“Why should Vodafone stump up cash?” I hear outraged 360 executives screaming, “When Apple doesn’t give anyone a penny?”

Because that’s how the market is configured right now. It’s like trying to buy a new Range Rover for 5 pounds when the market wants 75k for it. You can scream all you like, you can try holding competitions, parties or tweeting like crazy, the market still wants 75k for it.

So distort the market.

What you want, as a manufacturer or operator, is ambivalence. You want the previously hostile developer chap to think, “You know what, since they’re offering to fund/support/sponsor the app on their platform… Yeah, screw it. Let’s do it.”

Just like how the Westfield mall does it. Get your anchor tenants in. Get your big brands in, any which way. Find and curate the best stores and services — and if necessary, go to market with a wad of cash to make it happen.

It’s important not to have numbskulls running the team and making the decisions though.

It’s also important to have the right technical and business evangelists. The technical evangelists should — more or less — be able to write code on the platform. The business guys should be entirely switched on people, capable of joining the commercial dots and knowing how and when to influence and with the appropriate resources. And they should be giving handsets away like sweeties, to the right people at the right times.

Polyester suits bearing a slide deck and a disinterested detachment are not popular with developers.

The sad reality is that most developer relations strategies are adjuncts to the marketing plan. 2 people, a dog and a desk at the back of the 5th floor that nobody ever goes to. Or, 50 people trying to execute five different strategies.

I’m constantly surprised at the budgets too. Enough to hold a party for 25 developers each having two drinks. Once a quarter. I’m exaggerating, but I’m not far off it.

So if you’ve been wondering why most platforms you look at seem to have next to no decent apps — and if you’re wondering why nothing seems to be as good or have as much variety as the iTunes App Store, it’s because the platform owner didn’t think like a shopping mall.

They thought like a platform owner.

URL Link:

http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2010/06/the-total-fcuk-up-that-is-developer-relations.html

Mobile Agencies Look Beyond Apps as Market Evolves

Posted: May 13, 2010 in Digital Marketing, Display advertising, Industry News, Information communications technology, Internet, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Industry News, Mobile Internet, Mobile Search, Mobile Technology, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications, Trade Associations, Uncategorized
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Posted By ] Jack Marshall, ClickZ, May 13, 2010

Agencies say branded apps aren’t the be-all, end-all for mobile marketing. Despite the hype surrounding the application space thanks to app-centric devices such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, mobile agencies suggest new technologies like HTML5 and Apple’s iAd product could help turn marketers’ attention away from the crowded branded app space.

At OMMA’s mobile event in New York City yesterday, agency execs discussed the evolution of the space, and offered up views on how the fledgling channel may evolve following the introduction of technologies such as HTML5 and Apple’s iAd mobile advertising product.

During a session titled “Mobile Planning in the Age of Apps, the Mobile Web and the iAd,” panelists warned advertisers not to dive into the app space, and instead placed emphasis on formulating clear mobile strategies before deciding which channels best suit that activity.

“Our initial conversations with clients always start with them getting excited about applications,” said Jared Hopfer, marketing manager at mobile agency Mobext. “As an agency we have to calm them down and talk about the types of functionality that an app would offer that other experiences wouldn’t, and weigh the relative benefits,” he added.

Courtney Renaud, who looks after Paramount Pictures’ account for mec:interaction said the agency was finding particular value in integrating brands with existing apps, rather than building from scratch. “An app isn’t going to be suitable for every movie, so we explore other possibilities such as app sponsorships and takeovers. That way you know the audience is already there, and it risks less for the client,” she said.

Many of the panelists spoke fondly of Apple’s new iAd mobile ad offering, for which agencies say Apple is asking upwards of $1 million dollars for initial buys. Patrick Collins, CEO of agency 5th Finger expressed little doubt the iAd network would provide a superior solution to ad formats currently available in mobile marketing arsenals. “I think we all know that when the iAd is launched we’ll see a lot of very interesting stuff coming through that will really excite brand marketers,” he said.

Though agreeing that Apple’s iAd product showed promise, Renaud said the effectiveness of the channel in comparison to branded applications and other in-app ad solutions was yet to be seen. “It looks like a really robust ad experience, but if we’re talking about an app versus an iAd it will come down to what is most cost efficient,” she said.

Meanwhile, with Apple attempting to corner the market for both applications and the ad offerings within them, other agency executives suggested mobile marketing efforts might well revert to a browser-based medium, with developers adopting HTML5 for mobile-focused sites that function across a range of handsets.

Apple devices do not support Flash, which has prompted developers to accelerate their uptake of the HTML5 programming standard. “HTML5 is very much on our radar. I predict the mobile browser will make a big comeback over the next year or so,” said Dan Rosen, managing director of AKQA Mobile, during a keynote address.

That sentiment was echoed by Publicis Groupe’s head of mobile, Alexandre Mars, during a session on the fragmentation of mobile platforms and the headaches the trend is causing for mobile agencies. “Mobile growth is coming from the mobile Web, and that’s what our clients need to think most about,” he said.

Likewise Paul Palmieri, CEO of mobile ad network Millennial Media, said he too believed growth in mobile use was coming from within the browser. “We see a lot of ad impressions [across the Millennial network], and I think the winning platform is HTML5. It’s going to take three years or so, and there’s no doubt applications are all the rage today, but I think the browser platform will win in the end,” he said.

URL Link:

http://www.clickz.com/3640325

Findaproperty.com: iPhone app review

Posted: February 13, 2010 in Digital Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Industry News
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My Comment on the Findaproperty iphone app:

They really need to consider a mobile internet site.  I can appreciate they have done their research on their core demographic and for sure I believe the iphone fits well.  However, mobile internet is at the heart of using mobile as a marketing and communications channel.  This will create the continuity from their online offering and can be the destination for driving traffic from traditional media activity.  The iPhone apps and other apps can be an added benefit to their customer base.  This way they will reach a much wider audience and can run trageted ad campaigns on mobile internet sites which will produce much better ROI than simply trying to drive traffic to download their iPhone app. Only recently I published a press release on my blog from the IAB who conducted research with Nationwide showing  that using mobile and online advertising in combination can significantly increase brand awareness and purchase consideration:

http://wp.me/pxxzu-6R

Nonetheless, I do like the look and feel of the app and have downloaded it and will definitely use it.  It is a shame they have not taken use of GPS as this would be a cool/useful function to have whilst looking at property whilst out and about. Similarly it would be great to have image recognition/augmented reality built into the app. So when the user is driving around they can simply hold up the device to the sign to get more information, rather than open the app or internet site and search for the property.

I am also a fan of the rightmove app but again the same points above apply here.

Posted 12 February 2010 08:59am, by Graham Charlton @ Econsultancy

Rival Rightmove released an impressive app last year, so I’ve been comparing to the new Findaproperty app.

I’ve also been asking Findaproperty.com Product Manager Chris Boorman about the development of the new iPhone app…

Tweet this

Homepage/search

the main screen is simple enough, providing the option of searching for properties to buy or rent, or to find an estate agent. Users can either type in a postcode or place name, or else use GPS to search from their current location.

Rival Rightmove released an impressive app last year, so I’ve been comparing to the new Findaproperty app.

I’ve also been asking Findaproperty.com Product Manager Chris Boorman about the development of the new iPhone app…

You can also quickly skip to saved or recent searches using the menu options at the bottom of the app.

Filtering and refining searches

If you search straight from the homepage, especially if you are looking in London, you will probably get more search results than you can handle:

There is an option to refine your search results, though this is something that was made clearer on the Rightmove app, and should be here, sine it is an essential feature.

In fact, it may be an idea to provide filters at the beginning of the property search and save a few ‘clicks’ for users, since most searches will need to be narrowed down,

Also, the ‘Refine’ button should be given more space. At the moment, it is too close to other links, and users could easily press either the save or map links instead.

The filtering options are good enough to narrow down your search and be more precise. The slider tool is good, but when selecting the minimum and maximum price, especially for rents, it is difficult to get it to the nearest £200, so it is easier to type the amount into the box.

Property pages

These pages look good, and depending on the quality and quantity of photos provided by the estate agent, can be useful to get an idea of how the house looks inside and out.

You can scroll through multiple photos:

The information provided on the property pages, and this is also true of the Rightmove app, is only as good as that submitted by the landlord or estate agent.

This means that potentially useful information about things like the number of rooms or dimensions of rooms is often missing.

Other features on the property pages include a map function to show the property location and get directions via Google Maps, and links to either call or email the agent.

Conclusion

The Rightmove app does seem to have a few more properties on offer, at least in the areas I searched for, but Findaproperty seems to work more quickly, and the fact that it saves recent searches is a useful feature.

The two apps are very similar in functionality, both deliver a decent user experience, and both have their faults.

Product Manager Chris Boorman on the new app

Why did you decide to go for an iPhone app rather than a mobile site?

We are always surveying our users and following brand trends. The iPhone is very popular amongst our core user base and it therefore made sense to create an app for the iPhone first. We also wanted to make full use of the accelerometer for images and search results which an app allowed us to do.

Do you have plans to create apps for other phones? Do you see mobile an an increasingly important channel in future?

Yes, we are currently looking at our demographic and those of other mobile platforms to define our next steps. Our users will expect to be able to get more and more information from their phones and we need to be able to meet those expectations (and hopefully exceed them)

What are the challenges in developing an iPhone app?

Getting all of the features that users expect from the website in a simple package. Understanding that users don’t have a mouse and a keyboard and are using their finger to navigate. Making sure that the app feels intuitive and effective, much like the iPhone itself.

How have you approached the issue of usability? Have you tested it on users?

We have an in-house usability consultant who was involved in the process. We also partnered with a well established agency who have a clear understanding of iPhone requirements and journeys. The app was user tested as part of the development process. We currently have over 100 ratings on the App store and an average overall rating of over 3.5 stars:

What was the App Store process like? Did it take long to get approval?

It was pretty simple – the app was approved in a week. We are currently sitting at 14thoverall for free apps so the take up has been amazing. A big thank you to all the people that have downloaded it so far.

What other plans to do you have around mobile?

We have a lot of ideas and a lot of elements to consider – watch this space!

URL Link:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/5412-findaproperty-com-iphone-app-review?utm_medium=email&utm_source=topic

Location-Based Advertising Dead on the iPhone?

Posted: February 6, 2010 in Information communications technology, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Internet, Smartphones, Technology, Trade Associations
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Author: Leslie Grandy
Published: February 05, 2010 at 10:19 pm

The process of getting an application approved through the iPhone App Review team and into the App Store can be a mysterious one for application developers. Many complain the app review process takes too long, the rules for acceptance are vague, and the reasons for rejection are too subjective. Apple does produce guidelines for submissions, which highlight best practices, tips, and rules to help developers successfully navigate the review process.

Earlier this week, Apple added a new tip about the use of location services for developers looking to get apps approved for the iPhone. According to the App Review team, the iPhone Core Location Framework, the programming interface that enables developers to “deliver information based on their location, such as local weather, nearby restaurants, ATMs, and other location-based information,” is not to be used primarily for targeted local advertising.

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The wording in the Apple post continues to secure Apple’s position as content editor, and not just technical reviewer, in the App Store approval process. “If you build your application using Core Location, make sure your app first asks users for permission before you use their location to provide targeted information,” the tip suggests. “Once granted, the information you provide must be beneficial.”

iPhone

What will qualify as “beneficial”? Apple goes on to clarify, “If your app uses this information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.”

This comes as important news to the mobile marketing community, although the insight was buried in a series of notes aimed at helping developers. For many advertisers who wish to use mobile applications to engage with customers, mobile location data provides invaluable targeting information.

It’s a delicate balance of providing value versus being invasive, says Pat Binkley, VP of Engineering at mobile developer, Zumobi. Zumobi produces iPhone applications for partners and then monetizes the content with advertising. Binkley goes on, “I think in the case of applications that do not have a local component, you have to balance the perception of invasion of privacy and disrupting the user’s experience for the sole purpose of delivering local advertising to them.”

Apple’s recent purchase of Quattro Wireless, a leading advertising network and mobile marketing platform, has fueled industry pundits’ and software developers’ concerns about the intent and impact of this recent tip posted on the iPhone Dev Center. On Twitter, one software developer, @Oliverbo,  summed it up this way, “That spells trouble: Apple: Core Location Off-Limits for Serving Location-Targeted Ads http://bit.ly/dtNzcC /cc @feedly.” Some, likeAppleInsider, believe that through the Quattro platform Apple intends to restrain others from using a feature it plans to keep wholly to itself. Industry analyst Greg Sterling, also known as@gsterling pondered, “Is Apple Hoarding LBS Advertising?”

A December 2009 report published by Quattro Wireless, in partnership with DM2Pro, highlighted the importance of targeting capability to advertisers. When advertisers were asked what they considered the most important criteria for choosing an ad network, the ability to target segments of consumers was listed first.

Advertisers and agencies have been trying to monetize the emerging mobile application marketplace but have yet to broadly embrace one particular revenue generation platform. One digital marketing executive, Holly Brown, SVP of IPG’s MRM Seattle office, expressed concern that Apple is attempting to micro-manage the mobile advertising eco-system. “At a time when it’s more important than ever to engage consumers with relevant value, and to build monetization strategies for application developers, Apple seems to be interfering with the natural evolution of the market created between consumers, developers and brands (advertisers).”

Research

Location targeting is not only a tool to help small regional businesses, like dry cleaners and cafes, promote services, but it also aids in the discovery of national products available locally. Location-based applications often enable national brands to target local promotions at a store level and can help customers find their favorite franchise or store nearby prompting them to visit with a coupon or in-store offer.

Because they add a layer of relevancy to the ad content, advertisements based on location can be more productive for advertisers. Brian Wilson, VP of Marketing at application developer Point Inside, which develops iPhone indoor interactive mobile mapping applications for navigating malls and airports, is supportive of the Apple position. “From our perspective, Apple’s notice only serves to reinforce the value that Point Inside is providing and the methods we’re using to provide it.”

URL Link:

http://technorati.com/business/advertising/article/location-based-advertising-dead-on-the/

Zara releases a pointless iPhone app

Posted: January 6, 2010 in Digital Marketing, Industry News, Information communications technology, Mobile Applications, Mobile Internet, Retail, Technology, Trade Associations
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My comment on the below article:

How many times have we been here before!  Start with a mobile internet site before you look at applications.  It is the wrong strategy to start with an iphone application.  Please see my previous comments in my blog ‘Cisco’s Zoe Sands’ on this topic.  Additionally I sat as part of a panel for an IAB event – Are apps more important than mobile sites?

http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/thefutureofmobile041209.mxs

Posted 06 January 2010 13:17pm by Graham Charlton

Fashion retailer Zara released an iPhone app recently, which falls well short of what a retailer could achieve with an iPhone app, in terms of promoting products and providing useful information for users.

The app offers a few pictures of its clothing range and new arrivals, but little else. Having looked at the app, I do wonder why they have bothered at all…

What does the app do?

While several retailers have been releasing mobile commerce apps recently, others are dipping their toes in the water by releasing apps which provide info on the latest products, and the Zara app falls into this category, allowing users to browse through some of its collections:

What doesn’t it do?

The problem is, once you get to a product, all it does it show a single picture, with no other information at all:

If I was interested in the jacket in the screenshot above I might want to know the kind of material it is made from, what sizes it is available in and, oh yes, the price.

There is also no store locator tool or even a contact number, which is a big missed opportunity, as customers who decide they like an item would surely appreciate this information. Indeed, a recent survey put finding the local store at the top of the list of mostpopular shopping activities for smartphone users.

If I did persevere and go to my local Zara store and decided to buy the jacket, other information might be useful, but this is missing too.

For example, why not provide the product name or item code so I phone or go to an assistant in store to check prices and availability? Why would this crucial information be so difficult to add to the app?

Retailers are supposed to make it easy for people to buy from them, but Zara is making its customers work far too hard to find and buy anything from this app. While I suppose I should applaud it for creating an app in the first place, it seems to have missed an opportunity to promote its products more effectively.

User reviews of the app

A quick look at the App Store tells me that many of the people who downloaded the app, presumably people with an interest in Zara and therefore potential customers, are pretty disappointed with the app.

Over 1,500 people have reviewed the app, so the interest is clearly there, but the reviews are overwhelmingly negative, making the same complaints I have just outlined about lack of prices etc, as well as the instability of the app.

Zara’s Flash-heavy website

More than a year ago, I included Zara in a list of well-known retailers who were yet to sell online in the UK and, while some like H&M and Clarks have launched transactional sites, Zara has still not taken this step, which is a huge missed opportunity.

Worse still, the Zara website is pretty poor, and commits the usability crime of hitting users with sound when they open the website, something which is intrusive, and an instant turn-off for many web users.

It is Flash-heavy, difficult to use, and like the app, doesn’t give any information on prices, products titles, codes and more:

Zara product page

There is at least a store locator tool on the site, but it could hardly be more difficult to use. First of all, you will only see the link to the store locator if you move your cursor over the bottom 10% of the page, then you have to select your continent and country from a long, tricky to scroll list.

After this, rather than making it easier for users by allowing them to search by town or postcode, or even pinpoint the area on the map, you have to scroll up and down a list of 40+ UK stores, before attempting to click on the one you want (the site scrolls so fast, this can be tricky).

Then, when you do find it, the information provided is the bare minimum; no opening hours, no description of where it is or map for directions, just an address and telephone number:

The continuing refusal (if that’s what it is) to sell online seems like a huge missed opportunity to drive extra sales, but Zara is not even using its web presence, and its mobile app, to drive sales to its stores.

Simply by providing some basic information and tools, such as prices, products codes, effective store locators, it could at least make more of its website to at least help customers browse online and find local stores. At the moment, it is doing all of these things either very poorly, or not at all.

Graham Charlton is Senior Reporter at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin.

URL Link to Econsultancy:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/5192-zara-releases-pointless-iphone-app

Q&A: Cisco’s Zoe Sands talks about mobile marketing

Posted: January 5, 2010 in Customer Relationship Marketing, Digital Marketing, Display advertising, Information communications technology, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Gaming, Mobile Internet, Mobile Phones, Mobile Search, Publishing Industry, Search Marketing, SMS Advertising, Technology, Telecommunications, Trade Associations
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My Comment on the below article:

I found this thoroughly refreshing to read.  Zoe has demonstrated a really good attitude to take toward the mobile channel.   I do not doubt Cisco will be successful in their approach.  I highly recommend this article.

I would add one thing with reference to Zoe’s comments, quote ‘Often brands make the mistake of going straight to creating the app first without testing the other approaches. The app market is very competitive and you need to stand out from your competitors and other apps’.

As previously mentioned: Mobile Internet is at the heart of Mobile Marketing campaigns. The key to this is to remember mobile works best when integrated into traditional media whatever the format.  Mobile applications are just one element to utilise as a marketing channel. At present only iphone applications are offering the rich levels brands would expect and the experience consumers would hope for. The others are some way behind.  Therefore there is limited reach, as in the UK iphone has only **17% handset penetration (much less Globally) with Blackberry slightly higher on **20% and Nokia still dominating with a huge **39%  (**Smart phone penetration).

In order to maximise the success of any campaign you need to reach the targeted masses; which means you need to consider all platforms and formats whether it is an application, mobile internet site or simple SMS communications (to name but a few). This always comes back to the key metrics in determining the success of any campaign:

Reach, Targeting, Engagement, Viral-bility and Transactional…..

Does it have reach?  Is it targeted? Is it engaging?  Is it viral? Can you make a sale?

The higher it scores in these areas then the closer you are to running a successful mobile marketing campaign that has delivered recognised measured tangible results.

Posted 05 January 2010 13:29pm by Jake Hird

A lot of coverage has been given to mobile phones recently, especially with Google’s Nexus One looming, the ongoing battle of platforms and the continuing onslaught of the iPhone.

I’ve already opined that although 2010 “won’t exactly be the year of mobile, but it will be a big year for mobile”, so with this in mind, marketers need to be thinking about what kind of options are open to them in this rapidly developing area.

But understanding and navigating mobile marketing can be a bit of a minefield. I caught up with Zoe Sands from Cisco to discuss the various issues within this often complex area.

Mobile marketing seems to be very much a rising star. What are your thoughts about where this currently sits in relation to other digital marketing channels?

I truly believe that mobile has great opportunity for brands to optimise and use as personal communication platform with their respective target audience.

I like to think of mobile as hitting a new wave rather than saying this is definitely the year of mobile, a statement which has been bounded about for several years and has lead to much hype and disappointment around mobile. However, I definitely agree it is becoming more of a rising star. FMCG, Gaming, Sports and Media are all doing a great job with mobile.

The majority of industries are still missing a trick with this marketing method, as it is very much seen as a consumer channel rather than a communication channel. In terms of B2B, I think this is a huge untapped opportunity.

At Cisco, I’ve led the European Mobile Programme, which includes the launch of 17 local countries in 12 languages. My strategy was to use this channel across Europe for brand awareness, starting with a mobile site in each country to get people to understand the mobile medium, then to move into SMS marketing and then onto local app development.

At a Global level the site is more advanced; there has been a big investment in SMS marketing which links in with the site updates and now a new iPhone app is currently in development due to be launched in February 2010.

What would you say are the core foundations of mobile marketing?

The core foundation for anyone wishing to start out in mobile marketing is to understand what your purpose is first, then research whether your market wants a mobile brand channel from you. At Cisco I adopted the following approach:

1. Start with a mobile website, get used to the small screen. The mobile site should not be an exact replica of the main corporate site. Offer content which your audience needs.

2. Once you have the site up and running you then need to look at creating a dialogue with your audience, which can be achieved through SMS marketing. You need to be very careful that you have a double opt in and only send appropriate messages to your target audience as the mobile is such a personal device you don’t want people to disengage with the brand.

If you use SMS too much you may start to annoy people, they will unsubscribe very quickly, then you have lost that communication channel.

3. Finally, start to look at personal ways to engage with your audience such as a mobile app or widget. Often brands make the mistake of going straight to creating the app first without testing the other approaches. The app market is very competitive and you need to stand out from your competitors and other apps. So careful planning is required here, as you don’t want to invest an app that is never used.

How fast are you seeing an uptake (by advertisers) of mobile marketing?

I think advertisers are quite slow to take up mobile marketing, and this is partly due to lack of understanding, the availability of appropriate properties to advertise on and the functionality offered.

Most properties have limited appeal and functionality available to advertisers, although I do feel that search is probably the unsung hero of mobile marketing: Google, Yahoo and Bing all have mobile search opportunities and are worth investigating.

With Google covering many more countries than its rivals, I chose this platform to run our European mobile search campaign. This campaign has been live since July 2008 and this has been a great way to drive traffic to the local country mobile sites. Additionally, none of Cisco’s competitors are actively using this channel at the moment, which means the brand can easily dominate within this space.

Can you walk us through the basic steps as to how Cisco uses mobile?

In terms of our overall strategy, mobile is an exciting opportunity for Cisco and fits naturally with the organisation’s brand value of innovation, as well as supporting the mobility product lines. It has now become an important part of Cisco’s long term web plan.

The first Cisco Mobile site was launched in the US during October 2006. From 2007 to 2009 a European programme was setup to optimise the mobile channel with 17 mobile sites created in 12 local languages. The aim was to enable a targeted set of content to extend Cisco’s brand awareness and engagement, mobile leadership and customer intimacy.

Guiding principles for creating mobile sites in Europe were to:

  • Highlight Cisco as an early adopter of advanced mobile technology.
  • Deliver content of value to the mobile user, avoiding duplication of Cisco.com.
  • Develop and promote Cisco’s European Mobile websites through SEM and SEO.
  • Extend a personal communication by targeted event marketing SMS messages.

Overall, this channel has been a cost efficient method of raising awareness of the Cisco. By embracing mobile outside of the popular entertainment sector, Cisco is advancing its position as a technological leader.

Do you operate in this way on a local, national or international level – and which do you think produces better results?

Each country in Europe has a local language site so is operating on a national level, it is not necessary for Cisco to operate on a local level as the products are not specific to a small geographical region.

What kind of user-engagement or uptake have you seen, and is there evidence that this is growing, or are you finding that audiences are resistant to mobile marketing?

Response and usage has been slow and gradual for Cisco’s mobile sites. However, there has been a significant push to build awareness of using the mobile channel internally, educating the digital and marketing teams to buy into this communication channel.

In terms of building awareness and usage externally; there have been some challenges to build traffic and usage levels, but this has not been an inhibitor to stop using this channel. I think there are very few early adopters in the market place willing use the internet via their mobile device due to two many factors data plan charges and the user experience is not often great.

Although, the service providers are now packaging unlimited data plans within the traditional call packages make it easier and worry free for consumer to access the internet. Over time this should improve usage levels of mobile in Europe.

Let’s talk metrics. Are your marketing objectives being met through the channel and how are you measuring them?

There is currently low engagement with the mobile channel, but I’m comparing it against the internet as it was in the late 1990s when not everyone had a home internet connection. There are more mobile devices in circulation than PCs/laptops, but the majority of the devices are not internet enabled and networks generally don’t seem to allow data plans to be added to their customers’ contracts: These are the major barriers to entry for adaptation.

Having said that, we are currently seeing people positively engaging with Cisco’s mobile channels; downloading the free videos, ringtones and wallpapers. The marketing objectives for awareness and driving innovation are being met, although huge traffic volumes are not being achieved as yet.

The final thought that needs to be kept in mind when considering results is that you just need to be patient with mobile and generally think of it as a long-term strategy, where outstanding delivery can sometimes take a while to manifest.

What advice would you give to those either starting out or considering running mobile activity?

You need to remember that mobile is a slightly different approach from the traditional digital channels, so you can’t just take the content and functionality from one platform and expect this to work within mobile marketing, you need a different approach.

Firstly, try a pilot site. If you are an international organisation, then research which country has the biggest take up of mobile consumption. You will also need to research what your target audience wants to see from the site in terms of functionality and content. Then create a small mobile site this should be separate to your main site, but still linked, so that search bots can still find and index it. Here are some tips:

1. Content and context matters, so write for the mobile device, and keep it concise and to the point.

2. Remember the device is personal, so messages should be appropriate, concise and timely.

3. Rethink new delivery of old media. New technologies like WiMax mean it’s possible to deliver “old media” (e.g., radio/audio or video) in new ways.

4. Listen to your audiences and give people the opportunity to feedback. Consumer response to mobile marketing has not always been positive, so it is important to tread lightly and use feedback to determine what works.

5. Use the mobile functionality in your campaigns, such asGPS and location-awareness, video, cameras and photos. All these functions can help engagement and awareness.

6. People want to share their experiences so create a mobile campaign that can be easy shared via mobile across these properties.

7. People like to share cool stuff so make it easy for people to send on videos, images and messages to friends and family.

8. When developing apps, think about need and what will make a difference to someone’s lifestyle. Exclusive content and unique offers will help your message get noticed.

9. Integrate your mobile site and campaign with your main marketing strategy, as this increases the effectiveness of your message.

10. People love free stuff; free downloads, special offers, promotions and competitions. Providing a financial incentive will help make them more effective.

What warnings would you advise to look out for when operating in this channel and what kind of challenges do marketers face?

There are so many challenges with mobile; lots of different handsets, many operating systems, and numerous browser types, so the market is fragmented, and it looks like there will not be much convergence either in the future. This is the reason why you need to start with a mobile site to analyse what devices your target audience is using to access your site.

Another challenge has been understanding the best way to use WAP. It has been stigmatised in the past for being less graphically rich and not as robust, but things are changing. If you accept WAP as framework and design with this in mind as opposed to trying to get it to conform to what you want to design.

With these challenges in mind I would advise to keep the site and messaging simple. Don’t over-complicate the mobile site’s navigation and any call to actions should be simple. For example displaying “call now” text and a number, rather than an email form is advisable, as not all devices have a QWERTY keyboard.

You also need to bear in mind that it is also going to be quite difficult to track and measure user-behaviour, as you can’t use cookies with the majority of mobile devices. Do remember to tag your mobile-site for web metrics, though. There are a number of analytical companies that can do this to an extremely high standard.

What can the digital marketing industry as a whole be doing in order to understand mobile methods better and, equally, what should mobile marketers be doing to understand how the channel fits into wider digital marketing?

The digital marketing industry needs to educate marketers on the opportunities and how to building strong mobile strategies and plans. Often, mobile is seen as ticking a check-box and not as an effective communication channel that can be integrated within the digital mix.

Marketers need to understand how to use this channel for acquisition, nurturing and retention: it’s simply just not good enough to have a “me-too” approach and following others blindly. You need to build mobile campaigns that fit into your organisation’s overall marketing strategy and planning.

What kind of developments or innovation do you expect to see in the next twelve months and beyond?

2010 will be an exciting year for mobile, Google is now starting to invest more in mobile with plans to launch its own branded handsets and with its proposed takeover of AdMob, which is still yet to be finalised. Both announcements will improve the awareness of mobile marketing within the marketing community and draw marketers attention to sit up to the fact that mobile is a huge opportunity.

Apple’s iPhone has made some inroads on the optimisation of the mobile channel with its mobile app store, although this is could be seen to be rather niche and aimed more at the consumer pop culture.

More organisations will start to use mobile as part of the infrastructure rather than just mobile marketing. For example, Cisco is trialing the use of QR codes to track products and provide guides and specs instantly, as those products are installed.

I’m also expecting the mobile market to stay fragmented, with more new mobile devices and application stores being developed. However, this may over-complicate the choice for the consumer. Consequently, some organisations will find that their app-development programme will need more investment to cover the market in more depth. With the launch of the new android devices I would expect a huge growth in applications on the Android platform which should close the gap on Apple’s App Store dominance.

Beyond apps, service providers will facilitate the growth of rich media content that is simpler, faster and offers a better user experience. Media publishers will start to experiment with micro-payments, subscription service models and alternative payment methods on mobile sites which has already been highlighted by Rupert Murdoch’s decision to charge for online media content.

Consumers will continue to demand more data services as they enjoy and value their mobile experiences, which will put great pressure on the service providers to provide more data allowances for the same price tariffs. 2010 could see the service providers out-bidding one another on data package allowances, although this will depend on the service provider’s infrastructure.

URL Link to Econsultancy:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/5173-q-a-cisco-s-zoe-sands-talks-about-mobile-marketing