App of the Week: sbe
posted by Terri Kim
Ready for a night out on the town but don’t know what to do? With the official sbe app powered by Mobile Roadie, you don’t have to look further to find the hottest restaurant, hotel, and nightlife brands in North America. The sbe app gives you a comprehensive overview of each of their fine establishments, so you can pick and choose the places that reflect your personality.
And if you’re planning a vacay to one of the hottest entertainment cities in the country, the sbe app is the perfect companion. With their multiple establishments in LA, Las Vegas, NYC, and Miami, sbe has something for everyone. And with multiple features on the app, including photos, videos, music, news, and the ability to shop for sbe packages and gift cards, you’ll be fully prepared to have fun.
Download the official sbe mobile app at http://road.ie/sbe
Mobile Roadie Artist Takes the Crown at the 2012 People’s Choice Awards
posted by Terri Kim
In its 38th year, the 2012 People’s Choice Awards kicked off awards season last night at Nokia Theater L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, CA. The People’s Choice Awards is the “only major awards show voted on entirely by the public for fan favorites in music, movies, and television”, and this year hundreds of millions of votes were casted. So who came out on top?
Katy Perry managed to steal the night with five People’s Choice Awards including Favorite Female Artist, Song of the Year (“E.T. featuring Kanye West), Favorite Music Video (“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”), Favorite Tour Headliner for The California Dreams Tour, and Favorite TV Guest Star for her appearance in How I Met Your Mother.
Other Mobile Roadie artists who won include Demi Lovato for Favorite Pop Artist and Taylor Swift for Favorite Country Artist.
To see the full list of winners, visit the People’s Choice Awards site. Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees!
5 Easy Ways to Market Your Mobile App
posted by Terri KimIf you’re ready to launch your app but don’t quite know how to build traction, follow these 5 simple tips to market your app.
1. On social media sites: Don’t be afraid to use social networks to feature your app in a post or two. Because you are targeting the news to existing followers who have already expressed interest in your brand, they will be more inclined to download your app. The San Diego Zoo used social sites to promote the launch of their official app.
*If you want to attract new fans on these networks while promoting your app, choose one social network to exclusively reveal your app, building anticipation in the days before with hints.
2. On the homepage of your website: Your website is usually the first place that interested consumers go to learn about your brand, so by featuring your app the homepage, you will be taking advantage of this targeted audience. Don’t forget to provide a link to download the app. On Adele’s homepage, her app is featured alongside her blog, videos, and news (click image below for example).
*Promote your app to users who access your site via mobile devices. With App Detection for Mobile Browsers, available in Mobile Roadie 3.3, you can input a unique code to your site which will create a popup that gives users the option to download your app or continue on to the site (See below image for example).
3. In your blog: While the most popular social media sites have character limitations, your blog is one place to really talk about all the ins and outs of your app. It’s your chance to present users with a compelling case on why they need to download your app.
Famehouse created a blog post on the release of the official Pretty Lights mobile app, which presented the app’s features and what users could do on the app.
4. On traditional advertising: Mobile consumers are just that, mobile, and thus, are everywhere. It makes sense to market your app through online channels, but it may also be a good idea to market your app through offline channels like posters and magazines. Be sure to include where to download the app; for example, you could include text like “Download the app at the App Store or Android Market (etc.)” or “Visit our website www.example.com to download the app”.
*Another idea for offline marketing collateral is to include a QR code that when scanned automatically allows the user to access the app. We provide unique QR codes for all our apps, which the FADER FORT took advantage of for their posters at SXSW (see below for example).
5. In the app itself: Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools that doesn’t cost anything. You let your existing fans spread the word about your brand for you. One way to do this is by hosting buzz-worthy giveaways or contests in your app. Uploading great content and exclusives in the app is another way.
*In Mobile Roadie 3.3., we added an engagement feature called “Share to Unlock” which lets you lock content (currently, audio) in the app that your users can unlock by sharing the app to their social networks.
In conclusion
With the influx of apps being released, it’s a good idea to have a marketing plan ready for your app. So follow these quick, inexpensive tips to make your app’s launch an even bigger success.
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.
App of the Week: Pretty Lights
posted by Terri Kim
The “musical vision” of Colorado-based electronic music artist Derek Vincent Smith, Pretty Lights is reinvigorating the music scene, giving fans “electro organic cutting-edge party rocking beats that fill venues with energy and emotion and send dance floors into frenzies”. Thanks to Fame House, a full-service digital strategy, marketing and management consulting firm (and one of our key partners), fans can now have Pretty Lights right on their phone with the official Pretty Lights app powered by Mobile Roadie.
In addition to streaming music, catching up on the latest news and videos, checking tour information, and purchasing official merchandise right in the app, fans can also interact with each other via the Fan Wall.
Go to the official Pretty Lights website and download the app by scanning the QR code (displayed above) or by going to http://road.ie/prettylights
2011: A Look Back at the Rise of Tablet Devices
posted by Terri KimIn 2011, there were tablets that flunked- HP TouchPad, RIM Blackberry Playbook, and the Motorola Xoom (just to name a few); there were tablets that beat the odds and flourished- Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook; and there were those that remained leaders, most notably the Apple iPad followed by the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that Apple continued to lead the way in the tablet race with 64% tablet market share, followed by Android who captured around 35% market share in 2011, on average. Compare these figures to the previous year when Apple captured around 85% of the market.
And while Android tablet devices, most notably the recently released Kindle Fire, continue to gain in popularity this year, iPads continue to dominate tablet web traffic. According to comScore, 97.2% of all tablet traffic in the US came from iPads in 2011, a number slightly higher than the amount of Internet traffic from iPhones.
So what were users doing on their tablets in 2011? According to AdMob (Google), tablets were used primarily for 1) Playing games; 2) Searching for info on the Web; and 3) Emailing. Other activities included shopping, reading e-books, and consuming entertainment. The study also found that 43% of tablet users spend more time on their tablets than on their desktops/laptops.
It’s an understatement to say that tablets are growing in popularity. In 2010, there were 17.4 million tablet shipments. The following year, the number of tablet shipments more than quadrupled with 72 million tablets shipped worldwide. In 2012, it is estimated that tablet shipments will grow to 95 million units, surpassing netbook sales; and in 2015- 262.1 million units, a 1,442% increase in 5 years.
With the tablet market predicted to surpass $2 billion in worth by the end of 2012, the competition for a piece of the tablet market will be more intense than ever before.
2011: Top 10 Facts about the US Smartphone Market
posted by Terri Kim2011 was a dynamic year of growth for mobile. The following 10 facts summarize the highlights of the US smartphone industry in 2011:
1. By the end of November, there were over 234 million Americans (age 13 and older) who used mobile devices.
2. Over 91.4 million people owned smartphones in the US compared to the 63.2 million in 2010, an increase of over 44% (study by comScore).
3. Smartphone penetration in the US was close to 44%, up from 25% in 2010.
4. Over 62% of 25-34 year olds who owned mobile phones owned smartphones in 2011, up from 41% in 2010. Following behind, 54% of 18-24 year olds owned smartphones in 2011 (study by Nielsen).
5. Google Android was the most popular OS claiming 46% market share, followed by Apple iOS with 28%.
6. The Apple iPhone was the most sought-after smartphone device based on the fact that the only phones that are powered by iOS are iPhones. In the third quarter of 2011, the top 3 best-selling phones in the US were the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and HTC EVO 4G, according to The NPD Group.
7. Close to 7% of all US Web traffic was from smartphones and tablets, with smartphones accounting for about 2/3 of this figure (study by comScore). iOS devices accounted for around 58% of non-computer online traffic while Android accounted for 32%.
8. In 2011, the most popular activity amongst smartphone users was texting or messaging (70%), followed by emailing (60%), social networking (50%), talking on the phone (43%), and then surfing the Web (40%) (study by CloudTalk).
9. 38% of mobile subscribers downloaded apps. Among the smartphone users who downloaded apps, 83% had either an Android or iPhone device.
10. In December 2011, an average of 1.5 million smartphones were downloaded each day. On December 25th, however, it was estimated that more than 6.8 million iOS & Android devices were activated (study from Flurry).
The smartphone industry flourished in 2011, and will continue to experience growth in the new year; it is predicted that smartphones will outsell PCs in 2012 (according to multiple industry sources). So here’s to another great year in mobile!
App of the Week: San Diego Zoo
posted by Terri Kim
Pandas, and polar bears, and animals galore, oh my!
If we could only use one word to describe this week’s App of the Week, it would have to be “AMAZING”. The official San Diego Zoo mobile app launched last week, and the response has been nothing short of amazing- press coverage from dozens and dozens of sources across the world, including VentureBeat, New York Daily News, The Guardian, The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), and San Diego Reader, and App Store and Android Market ratings of 4 stars.
Fans can’t get enough of all the features this app has to offer, but one section of the app that they keep going back to is the Animal Cam, where fans can view live streams of the famous giant pandas and polar bears who live and play at the Zoo. The Panda LiveCam has been played close to 10,000 times, while the Polar Bear LiveCam has been played nearly 8,000 times, which brings the total of LiveCam plays to nearly 20,000- and this is just in a week!
And just in time for the holidays, San Diego Zoo is highlighting their Jungle Bells celebration right on their app’s homepage. By clicking the home screen image, fans will be redirected to the Jungle Bells section of the app where they can learn about this holiday celebration and see the events going on.
To download the San Diego Zoo app, go to http://road.ie/sandiegozoo
2011: A Look Back at the Leading Mobile App Stores
posted by Terri KimIt’s been an exciting year for mobile with milestones and developments aplenty, and as the year comes to an end, we’d like to reflect back on some of the highlights of the mobile industry. First, let’s take a closer look at the two leading app marketplaces- the Apple App Store and Android Market.
Today, there are more than 1 million apps in the major app stores, according to Mobilewalla, with Apple App Store and Android Market accounting for around 91%. The App Store leads with over 590,000 apps, followed closely behind by Android Market with over 380,000 apps. Apps in Amazon Appstore, Blackberry App World, Nokia Ovi Store, and Windows Phone Marketplace account for the remaining 9% of apps.
Image courtesy of Apple
Apple App Store
The popularity of apps has grown tremendously in a short period of time. It was only three years ago in July 2008 that Apple released their App Store, the first of its kind, with 500 apps and 0 downloads. In one year, the App Store grew over 10,000% to have over 55,000 apps and over 1 billion downloads. And in two years, the App Store grew to have over 225,000 apps and over 5 billion downloads. In July 2011, the App Store had over 425,000 apps and over 15 billion downloads worldwide. According to Mobilewalla, an average of 745 apps are released daily.
Currently, there are over 590,000 apps which have been downloaded over 18 billion times in the App Store- an increase of 162% and 260% in App Store size and downloads, respectively, in a little over a year.
Image courtesy of Google
Android Market
Android Market, on the other hand, was released by Google in October 2008. In March 2009, Android Market had around 2,300 apps available. A little over a year later in August 2010, there were over 80,000 apps available and 1 billion downloads. In July 2011, the Android Market grew to 250,000 apps and over 6 billion downloads. 543 apps on average are released daily, according to Mobilewalla.
Currently, there are over 380,000 apps and over 10 billion downloads in the Android Market- an increase of 375% and 900% in Android Market size and downloads, respectively, in a little over a year.
Free Apps
While the App Store leads in the number of apps and downloads, Android Market is a leader in free apps. Out of the hundreds of thousands of apps in the Android Market, over 67% are free compared to the 37% of apps in the App Store. In fact, Windows Phone Marketplace follows behind the Android Market with 52%.
Revenue
A recent study conducted by Distimo, an app store analytics firm, found that iPhone apps in the App Store generate 4 times as much revenue as apps in the Android Market do. They found this figure by examining the top 200 grossing apps of 2011. Distimo also found that half of the revenue from the top 200 grossing apps in the App Store came from apps that follow the “freemium” business model- free apps that collect revenue by offering exclusive or advanced content- compared to the 65% of revenue that “freemium” apps in the Android Market produced.
Another study from Piper Jaffray, a leading middle-market investment bank, concluded that the App Store controls around 85 to 90% of total app revenue market share, producing around $3.4 billion in revenue for developers compared to the $240 million in revenue in the Android Market.
While results may vary, what is known is that the mobile app industry is lucrative.
What’s Next for Mobile Apps
It’s truly amazing to see how fast apps have grown in these few years- from zero apps to over one million, from no app stores to dozens, and from zero app downloads to over tens of billions, the popularity and profitability of mobile apps is undeniable. We’re looking forward to what lies ahead for the mobile industry in 2012.
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.
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