Category: Mobile Apps

By: Vince Kattoula

People like their phones. This is no secret. The next time you’re at a restaurant, library, café, etc. take a look around and I bet you’ll see multiple people looking at their phones – even if they’re with others. So much so, that adults now spend about a third of their day using mobile devices. And 90% of time spent on mobile devices is spent in… *wait for it* …APPS. Because of this, marketers should definitely take advantage for a few key reasons.
Apps allow for business on-the-go. Mobile apps allow us to interact with businesses regardless of our location. Want to order a pizza? Just pull out your smartphone to access any one of the many dedicated pizza apps out there, such as Domino’s or Hungry Howie’s. You can do this while hanging out at a friend’s house (or your own), during your lunchbreak at work, while studying on campus, etc. What this means for businesses is having an app for your brand increases the likelihood that consumers will interact with you.
Apps help boost engagement. We’ve mentioned before that mobile can help connect your message to your local audience. Using beacon technology, apps have the ability to offer specific advantages to users depending on their location. For example, a retailer can install these beacons so that their specific location can be identified to a mobile device. Once an app recognizes that consumers are in this certain location, coupons or other reminders can be delivered right to their smartphones. This makes it easier, and more convenient, for consumers to interact with the company, and will likely increase the business’ reach and engagement.
Apps help increase repeat visits. Since companies are able to send alerts and notifications directly to consumers’ smartphones, it’s not hard to understand why the possibility of repeat visits increases. Apps are simple and convenient, and the benefits they provide to businesses and consumers are virtually endless. So, we have one question for you: Does your business have an app?
To find out more about increasing your mobile app’s potential, give us a call at 248-353-9030 or email us at sales@jacapps.com.

By: Vince Kattoula

Apple proves once again that it’s all about the end user. According to their website, since September 7 the company has been “removing apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.” The reason: to improve the customer experience. So, as we advance through the month of October and inch closer to Halloween, we have one question for you:

Is Your App a Zombie?

We’ve seen apps that fall short of customers’ expectations. Many of these apps have not been supported with compatibility updates for a long time, leaving behind a less-than-desirable user experience, especially as new technology surrounding mobile continues to emerge. Our Monthly Maintenance Plan (MMP) is the solution to this problem. Your brand shouldn’t have to worry every time there’s an update to iOS or Android. The MMP is an effective way for us to keep your app updated so that you can continue to provide your audience with great content and avoid any interruptions.

In order to remain in the App Store and attract new users, Apple has stressed that it is crucial for publishers to update their apps. There is a silver lining, however: the company is giving zombie publishers 30 days (after receiving notice) to release an updated version of their app before completely removing it from the store. That’s more than enough time to reach out to us before it’s too late. And if you’re updating your app, there’s no better time to consider your brand’s mobile strategy… And we can help!

So, if you've been waiting to upgrade your app, there's never been a better time to do it. Give us a call at 248-353-9030 or email us at sales@jacapps.com for a free consultation.

In a recent report from eMarketer, we learned that about 86% of time spent with smartphones was spent with apps. Furthermore, the average US adult spends 3 hours and 18 minutes with apps daily. That’s roughly 27% of their daily media time and a pretty sizeable portion of their total day.

 
We’ve been saying for a while now that mobile is the leading digital platform, but we’ve heard lots of people say, “I have a mobile website.” The chart above pretty much proves that isn’t enough. Apps are where the action is. But we’ve also seen research showing that users are downloading fewer apps each month, and regularly using only a dozen or so. The question is:

Is your brand ready for the mobile app revolution?

If you already have an app, congratulations. But you’re only halfway there. The other half is keeping your audience engaged. This can sometimes be challenging for small and large businesses alike, especially considering the fierce competition within the industry. Here are some of the things you need to be thinking about.
Mission and utility: What is your app’s primary value to your target audience? If you can’t easily answer that question you might have work to do. Your app’s value and utility should be immediately apparent to your user. The apps people use most are the ones that serve a crucial function in their life. That function could be lots of different things, including news and entertainment, but you need to be sure about what it is, and be confident that you’re communicating it clearly.
Promotion and context: You also need to use all your other marketing channels, on-air, online, everything, to let people know about your app, explain it’s value and how it will be useful to them. It’s important that this promotion is done continually and consistently. And equally important is to put that promotion into context for the user. Don’t just run promos or web ads saying “download our app,” tell the user why. Put your promos in context – talking about something interesting on-air? Ask your listeners to tweet you through the app. Send users to a specific piece of content, or encourage them to use the app in specific ways.
Consistency and freshness: It’s important to keep your app and its content up to date. The more frequently you post fresh content, the more regularly people will come back. Get them to rely on you, and come through for them every time. If your app grows stale, users will certainly desert you, and getting them back is next to impossible. So grab them from the first time they open it, and keep them coming back.
Focusing on the end user and putting them first will help your app become a part of their daily lifestyle. To capture smartphone users where they spend 86% of their time, you should think about how does my brand go one step beyond the competition and improve the customer experience?
As technology systems in our lives, like our car and our home, become part of our “connected” world, you’ll be happy you put the end user first.
If you need assistance with your brand’s mobile strategy, we can help! Give us a call at 248-353-9030 or email sales@jacapps.com for a free consultation.

By: Bob Kernen

An interesting confluence of news over the past couple of weeks got me thinking about the state of mobile technology in our lives. The first was a study from Localytics, the analytics and push-messaging platform many of you use, about app retention rates. According to their research, 63% of users become inactive within 30 days of downloading an app. That is up from 58% last year. And after 90 days, the news is even worse with 80% of users going inactive. What those numbers show is that it is absolutely critical to keep your app relevant to your users, and to give them compelling reasons to use your app, and never assume those reasons are self-evident.
Others have inferred that we are reaching the end of the “app revolution.” I can see how a few statistics could bring people to that conclusion, but to me these stats on downloads and retention don’t signal the beginning of the end. I think what they really herald is the end of the beginning. While the “there’s an app for that” craze may have finally run its course, the notion of an app has become the consumer’s favorite way to access the information and tools they need to get through their busy day.

Here’s some evidence:

Apple recently announced that it would begin sending out “take down” notices to apps that haven’t been kept sufficiently up-to-date as their operating system (iOS) and devices have evolved. Cleaning out these “zombie apps” shows Apple’s commitment to making sure that the app ecosystem stays vibrant and uncluttered.
Secondly, Apple also announced that they are working on a TV show about app developers. Major stars like Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow have signed on to participate.
Third, apps have busted out of the smartphone and are now showing up everywhere. From connected cars to watches to home entertainment systems, apps are redefining the old “there’s an app for that” slogan to mean there’s an app for just about everything that plugs in.
What we are seeing is that the pace of technological evolution just keeps accelerating so that product cycles, and even paradigms, shift in a matter of months – not years.
If you want to discuss how this mobile revolution is affecting, and will affect, your business now and in the future, give us a call at 248-353-9030, or email us at sales@jacapps.com.

By: Vince Kattoula

Mobile is now the leading digital platform. The convenience of smartphones and tablets (and increasingly their interfaces with wearables, the connected car, and smart home systems) has seismically shifted the digital media landscape. The app market, however, is continues changing and remains a challenging environment for lots of businesses.
What is especially challenging is getting smartphone users to download their app. In fact, ComScore reports that 49% of U.S. smartphone users download exactly 0 apps every month. They also report that the average consumer downloads only two apps every month.

So, what can your brand do in order to make sure your brand’s app makes its way to everyone’s favorite screen?

To convince your target audience to make you one of the two apps they download, you need to do a couple of things. First stay relevant. Make sure that your app delivers on your brand, and delivers your audience real utility. But once you’ve done that, promoting and marketing your app requires real focus and attention. Often times, our clients express to us their concerns about the downloads and usage of their app. When we ask how they’re promoting their app, we typically hear the same response: “Well, we promoted it heavily for the first few weeks, then moved on to other things.” And there lies the problem. It takes more than just a few mentions here and there in order to see your app’s download totals ultimately increase – especially when it’s been in the app store for more than a month. Check out our blog on 3 Keys to Effective App Promotion for some great ways to successfully promote your mobile app.
To learn even more about how to effectively promote your brand’s app, or how to monetize your mobile assets, give us a call at 248-353-9030 or email us at sales@jacapps.com.

By: Bob Kernen

Most agencies don’t have the personnel, or the bandwidth, to best support their clients needs in mobile media. Consumer behaviors are changing so fast, and the technology is evolving at such a pace that it really takes mobile specialists to make smart, strategic recommendations for your clients’ media plans. But, here are five trends that agencies should keep their eye on:

1. Digital dollars are definitely moving to mobile. If you look at the growth of ad spending across all media, a couple of things become pretty clear: Traditional media is flat (at best) to down, and the only growth areas are digital video and mobile. Mobile’s CAGR over the next 3 years is expected to be well over 40%. So, if your client doesn’t have a complete mobile strategy, including apps and advertising, they’re falling behind.
2. The mobile web doesn’t replace a mobile app. A lot of agencies say, “our client doesn’t need an app, their website is responsive, so it works great on mobile. Having a responsive site is great, and it’s important for capturing the growing number of people who are searching on their smartphones. But people don’t like to type in URLs on a phone, and time spent on mobile web is just 14% of the total, compared to 86% on mobile apps. Apps are where you engage your customers again and again, which brings me to #3.
3. Mobile is all about CRM. Customer relationship management is most effective on mobile. It just makes sense. The smartphone is in your customers’ pockets or purses all the time. We know that over half of people surveyed even sleep with their phones within arms length. So, if you want to interact with your customer regularly, if you want to know more about them, and if you want to service them most effectively, you really want to put your app in their hands.
4. Mobile is taking over the car. As I said at the outset, mobile technology is evolving at a blistering pace. All you have to do is shop for a car these days to know that the in-car infotainment system, the “center stack,” is the latest frontier in the competition for your attention. And systems like Ford’s Smart Device Link, Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto are connecting consumers’ smartphones directly to their cars. That means your clients need to have a strategy for intercepting these consumers when they’re driving. Surveys show that people spend over 35 minutes a days commuting, and this is prime spending time.
5. Location technology is the next mobile wave. Between mobile phones and cars, clearly we are a culture that is on the move more than ever. Mobile technology is taking advantage of this, accessing consumers location and using technologies like geo-fencing and beacons to give consumers the information they need when and where they need it. These emerging technologies allow you to interact with them in context when they are most likely to be interested in your messages.

jacapps wants to help your agency power your clients’ mobile strategy. For a free consultation contact Beth Ayers at 248-353-9030 or email beth@jacapps.com.

By: Bob Kernen

Unless you’ve been trapped in a mine, in a coma, or in a politically induced media blackout, you’ve heard about the Pokémon GO phenomenon. You’ve probably spent a significant amount of time talking about it. But, what does it all mean?
First, a little background: The augmented reality game (yes, your kids are seeing animated monsters everywhere) was released on July 6th, has been downloaded an estimated 75 million times, and initially put over $11 billion dollars onto Nintendo’s market cap. So, three weeks later, people all over the world are walking around staring at the world through their smartphone camera looking for Pokémon and Poke-stops. They’re talking to each other about where they’re most likely to find Pokémon, and fretting about “leveling up.”
What’s new about GO is that it’s out in the world. It was launched in the summer for a reason, as being out in the local environment is absolutely critical to the game play. As a result, it incorporates local places (for better and worse in the case of the Holocaust Museum) and creates a sense of pervasiveness, that is, “the game is all around me.” And that is a perfect fit for our mobile world.

 
What all this demonstrates is the tremendous power of games in our never bored society. People of nearly every demographic play some sort of game. Mostly we think of “gamers” as pasty-skinned teenage boys playing Halo in their parents’ basements, but the typical gamer today is a middle aged woman who likes the so-called “casual games” typically found on smartphones – games like Candy Crush, Bejeweled, or Solitaire. When you factor in the casual gamers, the demographics for games simply explode.
In that context, Pokémon GO is only the latest mobile gaming Phenom. Its predecessors include the aforementioned Candy Crush as well as Angry Birds, Farmville, etc. What these games all have in common are that they are highly social and equally addictive. Something in the gameplay makes it hard for people to stop once they start. They provide challenge, and reward in the right proportion to keep us coming back at every free moment.
Now phenomena like Pokémon GO are clearly an example of capturing lightning in a bottle. You can’t plan for that level of success, but what it proves is that people want this kind of stuff.
So in thinking about your mobile strategy, don’t forget to spend some time considering how games might fit. You probably don’t have the next Pokémon GO in your strategic plan, but you can look for ways to “catch” a little of that magic.
A couple years ago one of our radio clients, WCSX asked us to create a game for Michigan’s deer hunting season. We created a game for them, Deer Hunter, and the result was a programming and revenue success. The station aggressively promoted the game, resulting in over 55,000 downloads in just 5 weeks, which created over a million ad impressions for their advertiser.
Gaming is particularly advertiser-friendly, and there many ways to incorporate brands into games in ways that create high value exposure for those brands. The key is to leverage your brand’s qualities and its local flavor to make the game unique, special, and, most of all, fun!
To learn more about how mobile can drive your business, or to discuss your mobile strategy, contact us at 248-353-9030 or email sales@jacapps.com.