Posted by Eric Mills on Sun, Jul 12, 2009 @ 09:55 PM
Rule #1: Inform
Check out the REI iPhone App for a great example. Their app provides snowfall levels and weather for the major ski resorts in the US. This is a very informative app. Oh and by the way, you can while you are checking out this info, you are doing it right beside the REI logo. Oh and by the way, in case you need any ski gear for your trip, here are a few specials you may want to check out. Very informative. What a great way to tie the information in the app to their brand. Nice Job REI. Now the rest of you, what information would your customers like to have? Find a way to get it to them.
Rule #2: Entertain
Check out the Zippo lighter app. This app is somewhat of a novelty, but it is good enough to play with for a few minutes, and with the thousands of downloads they received from this app, I'm sure the ROI was there. Can your brand experience be captured in a similar way? How do people interact with your products? Can it be brought to the mobile platform?
Rule #3: Do something Useful
Check out the 99 cent Kraft iFood app. Kraft has found the holy grail of marketing with this one. The app has 7,000+ recipes and 100+ videos. Kraft products are prominently featured all throughout the app. We see 5 second product shots in the videos, but they don't seem out awkward. Kraft has created an app so useful that people are willing to pay for it. This app is great, and is what all branded iPhone apps should aspire to.