Resource Guide: Mobile Boom

Mobile Apps
One way to solve the interface issues for smartphones is to build native applications that users can install through iTunes, the Android market or other mobile app stores. This can be very effective. For example, Pizza Hut offers a mobile app that allows the user to order pizza. While the user could always call to order, having your company’s order apparatus on the device has obvious advantages. In October, 2011, Distimo released a report finding that 91 of the top 100 brands had released an app. Up from only 51, 18 months before.

But apps are not as easy to execute as they sound, and they can be expensive to produce. You must provide an app that will convince mobile users to download and install it and use it often enough to yield a marketing benefit. According to stats released by Flurry Analytics in December 2011, 49 percent of time spent on apps is spent playing games and another 30 percent is spent social networking. No mobile consumer is blocking out that remaining 21 percent to install an app to play your commercial on demand. The marketplaces are littered with apps no one wants and that can mean a lot of wasted time and money for marketers. Creating a worthwhile app is a lot like creating a worthwhile game or other program and many marketers do not have the expertise to accomplish that without outside assistance.