Archive for the ‘Customers’ Category
Marketing Your App: How About Billboard Advertising?
posted by Terri Kimsbe, one of the hottest lifestyle and hospitality brands with award-winning restaurants, hotels, and nightlife establishments across North America, recently released their official mobile app powered by Mobile Roadie.
A prominent hospitality fixture in Southern California, sbe is expanding many of its brands into other hot spots like New York City, Miami, Houston, and Las Vegas. So to give fans a way to take the sbe lifestyle with them everywhere they go and to build buzz around the app’s launch, the team over at sbe did something big.
So what exactly did they do? sbe launched a billboard advertising campaign for the app with the headline “Finally something fun for your thumbs to do”. Multiple sbe app billboards- both traditional and digital- can be seen throughout Los Angeles and surrounding areas (See the below image for the billboard).
Bilboard Advertising can be a great way to market your app to “on the go” consumers in a specific location, especially if that location is where most of your customers live. And by making your app the star of a billboard campaign, viewers won’t be overwhelmed by a flood of information. After all, billboard messaging must be short and direct as you only have a few seconds to get your message across. sbe’s billboard messaging is short, to the point, focused, and tells viewers where to download the app with one featured link, sbe.com (click the image below for a larger view).
Billboard advertising is just one of the marketing campaigns you can implement for your app; it may be effective for your brand or it may not. So remember, before you plan for a billboard campaign, take into consideration your marketing budget, your target market, and the message you want to get across. But *Thumbs up* to sbe for rolling out the billboards for their app; it’s very cool if you ask us.
3.3 Spotlight: Promo Popups
posted by Terri Kim“Promo Popups” is a new marketing feature in Mobile Roadie 3.3 that when implemented can highlight or promote links or in-app content directly on your app’s home screen with popups a.k.a. modals.
If you would like to promote an upcoming event, a new track or video release, news, or anything else in your app that you want your users to see or take action on, you can easily schedule promo popups via Mobile Roadie’s CMS. You can also schedule popups for content outside your app, such as a newly redesigned website or social network site that you want to direct traffic to.
One of the best features of promo popups/popup promos is that they are customizable- you can add a title & an optional message, you can choose from a set of default images or upload your own, and you can give the popup button a “call to action” term like “Buy” or “View” or something more creative. This customizability allows for different popups for each promotion, keeping your users interested and thus more likely to take action on each popup. Only one promo popup can be active at a time, but you can schedule additional promo popups for future dates.
Promo popups are simple to set up and effective at directing your users to specific content that is relevant at that time or needs extra attention; they can increase app section views, in-app purchases, website traffic, and much more with just a click of a button. And because you are directing your users to important content, they no longer have to wonder what is new with your brand.
For a complete tutorial on how to set up promo popups for your app, please check out our support article on this feature.
Presenting our “Let It Moro” Holiday Discount!
posted by Terri Kim
It’s the most wonderful time at Mobile Roadie! In celebration of the holidays, we are giving our customers a special gift- 20% off any app package!
Enter coupon code “LETITMORO” when you checkout to receive 20% off the total amount. If you are purchasing an app under the Monthly pricing plan, the 20% off applies to the initial set-up fee and the monthly payments. If you purchase an app under the Annual pricing plan, the 20% discount applies to the annual payment. What’s special about this discount is it lasts the entire lifetime of your app.
But hurry, this deal ends January 1, 2012. So if you are thinking about purchasing a Mobile Roadie app, there’s no better time. To get started, visit our pricing page.
Happy holidays!
Mobile Roadie Cyber Monday 2011: A deal you don’t want to miss
posted by Terri KimQuite possibly the busiest online shopping day of the year, Cyber Monday is back this holiday season with discounts and deals from online retailers that will make even the most gluttonous of holiday eaters get off the couch in search of their computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet come November 28, 2011.
In observance of Cyber Monday, we are offering a special discount valid only on November 28th. By entering a special coupon code, which will be revealed early Monday morning on our homepage and on Twitter, you will receive a big discount off the setup fee for any monthly app package or off the price for any annual app package (Core, Plus, & Pro), equaling hundreds of dollars and upwards in potential savings.
If you are currently thinking about creating an app, here’s your chance to have your own app powered by Mobile Roadie at a discount. This discount only happens once a year, so you don’t want to wait before it’s too late.
While you wait for the deal to be revealed on Monday, take a tour to get familiarized with all our app platform has to offer. Happy shopping!
2011 5th Annual Mashable Awards Finalists Announced, @robbiewilliams App a finalist!
posted by Terri Kim
Over hundreds of thousands of nominations were received from October 11th to November 18th for the 5th Annual Mashable Awards- which rewards the best companies, people, gadgets, and websites under the four categories of Social Media, Tech, Business, and Entertainment (See our original post on the Mashable Awards). From these nominations, the editors over at Mashable chose 7 finalists for the 28 categories; and now, you can vote for your favorites until December 16, 2011. Winners will be announced on Mashable on Monday, Dec. 19th and then celebrated at MashBash CES on Jan. 11th, 2012 during CES International 2012 at 1OAK in Las Vegas, NV.
We’re excited to announce that the official Robbie Williams app powered by Mobile Roadie is a finalist for Best Branded Mobile App- honoring the “best mobile app created specifically by a brand for consumer use on either a smartphone or tablet”- up against Super 8, Domino’s Pizza USA, KRAFT iFood Assistant, Titan HTSE, GEICO BroStache, and Glee by Smule.
With the Robbie Williams app, fans can view hundreds of photos, watch hours of behind-the-scenes footage, stay connected with Robbie, and much more right at their fingertips. Robbie William’s team asked his fans to nominate the app for “Best Branded Mobile App” on the official Robbie Williams website, and it looks like his fans listened!
To vote for the Robbie Williams app, click here. You can vote for the app once a day till December 16th. One vote per category per day.
To view the full list of finalists, click here.
Mobile Roadie artists win big at the 2011 AMA Awards
posted by Terri Kim
Image courtesy of ABC
Last night, millions of people tuned in to watch some of the hottest names in the music industry perform on stage and win awards at the 2011 American Music Awards (AMAs) at the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live. From a visually-stimulating opening performance featuring Nicki Minaj and David Guetta to a jam-packed, eccentric finale from LMFAO with appearances from Justin Bieber and David Hasselhoff a.k.a. “The Hoff”, and everything else in between, the 2011 AMAs was a great night in music. The show was also a great night for Mobile Roadie as we watched some of our artists take home awards.
Taylor Swift topped the night with three awards, including Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album under Country Music. But what sent her over the moon was winning her the most-coveted award of the night- Artist of the Year. Up against Adele, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, and Katy Perry, Taylor Swift ultimately took home the award thanks to her fans who voted for this music darling.
Adele won awards for Favorite Female Artist (Pop/Rock) and Favorite Artist (Adult Contemporary), jumping ahead of Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Katy Perry. She also won for Favorite Album (Pop/Rock) with Adele/21.
Foo Fighters won the Favorite Artist award in Alternative Rock Music, beating out The Black Keys and Mumford & Sons.
Casting Crowns won for Favorite Artist in the Contemporary Inspirational category.
Joe Jonas presented Hot Chelle Rae with the Sprint New Artist of the Year award (Overall winner).
Image courtesy of ABC
After her performance of “The One that Got Away,” Katy Perry was presented with an AMA for Special Achievement for making music history as the first female artist in Pop Music to have five #1 songs from a single album. Katy Perry’s album Teenage Dream produced 5 #1 singles, including “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)”, “California Gurls”, “Firework”, “E.T.”, and “Teenage Dream.”
Congrats to all the winners.
App Spotlight: Pixies
posted by Terri Kim
Credited with influencing the alternative rock boom of the 90s, the Pixies return to the limelight with their official mobile app where fans can catch up on Pixies news, listen to songs, browse through photos, interact with other fans on the Fan Wall, compete for badges, and much more.
What makes the Pixies app a must-download for any fan, however, lies within the app. Integrated deep within is the email-for-media widget (EFM) by Topspin, a technology-focused direct-to-fan marketing, management and distribution platform, helping artists manage their catalogs, connect with fans, and generate demand for music.
Any app with the EFM widget allows clients to send exclusive content such as downloadable tracks, pictures and other media files to fans, while building their email list of interested users at the same time. EFM is an effective tool to provide instant gratification to users in a hassle-free way. Because the email address is being used to provide something of value to the user, there is less chance that the user will submit a “spam-only” email address. The resulting email database will be more responsive to future emails regarding client news.
Pixies’ Topspin campaign gives fans free access to The Purple Tape, a long-lost album released in 2002 featuring 9 never before released songs created for their demo album back in 1987. To access the full album, users will be prompted to enter their email address for one track, and then share their find to Facebook or Twitter to access the whole album. Users will then receive an email containing the full downloadable copy of The Purple Tape.
In addition to the free streaming of Purple Tape, fans of the app have access to a free download of the Pixies’ 2004 Coachella Show, Pixies Minotaur artwork from Vaughan Oliver and Simon Larbalestier (creators of the original artwork for all five Pixies’ studio albums), on-demand streaming of archive performances including Manchester 1988, the first 2004 reunion show at the Fine Line Café, and the acoustic 2006 Newport Folk Festival show, and an in-app store featuring studio catalog and Pixies merchandise.
The Pixies app is available for iPhone and Android. To download the app, visit http://road.ie/pixies
Mobile Roadie partners with Consenda to provide apps for Swiss newspapers
posted by Terri Kim
Mobile Roadie will now provide mobile apps for newspapers distributed in Switzerland through our partnership with Consenda, a media software company that provides an end-to-end content distribution solution for local and regional newspapers through a system called LocalPoint.
LocalPoint enables local publishers to bring local news content and advertising to a growing digital user base with an ecosystem that seamlessly connects print with the Web, out-of-home TV, mobile and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. According to Publicitas, the leading seller of newspaper media in Switzerland, the fastest growing medium for local news, used by over two-thirds of consumers, is the Internet. To stay competitive, local and regional print publishers use LocalPoint to implement a digital strategy that incorporates not just a website, but other forms of the Internet such as mobile apps and social networking sites.
Consenda is the number one provider of such local digital content services, and with Switzerland’s strong tradition in local news publishing, readers of the dozen or so LocalPoint newspapers make up the largest network of its kind in Europe.
Previous to Mobile Roadie, Consenda worked with another app development company; however, they chose Mobile Roadie as the competitive replacement after seeing our robust offerings, clientele, and superior functionality. Competitive advantages include: easier app set-up, radio and video streaming, extensive social networking capabilities, rich user engagement features such as QR code integration, and highly-flexible programmatic capability. We look forward to working with Consenda, and believe they made the right choice in choosing Mobile Roadie as their app provider.
Consumers are increasingly turning to the Web for news, with time spent on mobile apps jumping by 88% in the past year alone. In many markets, mobile apps are likely to become more important than the Web for news browsing, making mobile apps an integral part of any news publisher’s digital strategy.
Tips to Effectively Use QR Codes
posted by Terri KimWhen used properly, those funny looking 2D barcodes known as QR codes can be very effective in promoting your app and increasing user engagement. There are critics, however, who slam QR codes for their appearance, calling them “ugly” and “gimmicky”. Other critics cite QR codes as being troublesome, an inconvenience to users with no real value.
Realistically, a code that only leads to a generic website doesn’t justify the effort it takes a user to download the app, scan the code and wait for the link to open; the user is better off just finding the website himself. So then, how exactly can you successfully incorporate QR codes in a mobile marketing campaign to maximize their full potential?
Customize, customize, customize
QR codes can disrupt the flow of marketing collateral; a generic black & white code can detract from a beautiful poster or billboard. However, designers who can integrate design into coding can create working custom codes that are different colors, have a brand’s logo or even be embedded in the main image. While custom QR codes are more difficult to create, the end result is a code that represents your brand, flows better with the overall marketing campaign, and is more attractive to users, all of which will increase the likelihood that users will want to scan the QR code.
The LOVE app we developed for Cirque du Soleil features a custom QR code that matches the warm color scheme of the poster.
Louis Vuitton’s custom QR code designed by Takashi Murakami is another example of how eye-catching they can be. It’s not only beautiful to look at, but you can tell just by looking at it that it is from Louis Vuitton & Takashi Murakami.
Offer value
Don’t just link your QR code to a homepage that can be accessed by everyone; instead, offer exclusives only accessible by QR code. Offering value increases the likelihood that a user will take out his smartphone, download the app, and scan the code. Exclusives include entry into contests or giveaways, never-before-seen photos, exclusive music tracks, behind-the-scenes videos, and anything else that a fan or user would be interested in.
FADER FORT by FIAT launched a QR code campaign during the event that offered attendees a chance to win sponsored prizes.
When deciding to use QR codes for your mobile campaign, keep in mind that the less steps required for the user the better. All Mobile Roadie apps have a built-in QR code reader, so users can easily scan without having to download additional tools. If someone scans a QR code but doesn’t have the app, they will be prompted to download the app automatically.
If you are planning to use QR Codes in your mobile campaign, remember these tips: Create a custom QR code that represents your brand, give value to the users who scan the QR code, and make it easy for users to scan. As the novelty of QR codes begins to wear off, design, value and functionality will separate a successful QR code promotion from the unsuccessful.
What’s the Mobile Music App Market Worth?
posted by Terri KimThe mobile music industry was worth $14.4 billion last year with revenue coming from ringtone, ringback tone, full track download, and music streaming purchases, according to MIDEM.
Ringtones and ringback tones accounted for $9.7 billion of total revenue, while full track downloads accounted for $3.4 billion and music streaming totaled $1.4 billion of total revenue; however, Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that full track downloads will see the strongest growth over the coming years. By 2014, mobile music revenue will total $25.3 billion, with the largest percentage of revenue coming from full track downloads.
Figure 1: Data courtesy of Informa Telecoms & Media
The Mobile Music App Market
“The biggest blow [to traditional mobile music providers] has been the new world order ushered in by the rise of smartphone apps and the “over the top” players from the online and computer worlds…It is these mobile outsiders that now dominate the mobile content scene.” – MIDEM
The number of music apps in the mobile market is growing. In two years, the Apple App Store saw an increase of 270% in the number of music apps, from 496 apps in January 2009 to 13,912 apps in January 2010. And it’s not just the number of music apps that has been increasing- the number of smartphone users who download music apps is growing as well.
Why the popularity of music apps is growing
What separates music apps from traditional mobile music providers is content interaction. Users can immediately download music apps, and then stream and even download full tracks straight to their smartphones. Music apps that feature artists allow fans to interact with their favorite musicians and other fans on a more intimate level, encouraging a sense of community.
What’s cooler for a Katy Perry fan than to talk with other KatyCats and receive updates from Katy Perry herself, all while listening to “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)?
The value in music apps
In 2010, mobile apps alone generated $4 billion in revenue. Music apps in the leading app stores- Apple App Store and Android Market- on average, accounted for 3.9% of total apps by January 2011. And not just music fans are seeing the value in downloading mobile apps; record labels see “the value of [creating] mobile applications as a means of encouraging music fans to interact with their artists”.
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