Is an iPhone app a good way to promote my brand?

By the end of 2009 iPhones will be used by around 500,000 people in Australia (not to mention the rest of the world) according to Apple’s growth predictions, mostly these will be those tech-savvy people who love being connected, I’m sure you all know at least one, and I have to ‘fess up to being one!

In the US, consumers are being encouraged by the big retailers to use app’s to find their closest store, to put items on hold or actually buy instead of visiting the stores during the frantic Christmas shopping period.

Apps can be a good way to promote your brand, but it does depend on whether it is relevant for your target audience – just because you love your iPhone, does not mean your consumers do!

An app is a really good way to:

• Get your consumers immersed and connected to your products and services, eg. the ABC news app.
• To take advantage of iPhone features such as contacts or location, eg. the Trapster app which tells users where speed cameras, police hangout and red light cameras are. Or the Bump app which lets you swap contacts with another “bumper” by shaking phones together.
• Let users easily access your products and services, eg. the new Domino’s pizza app, where you can order your pizza from the app.
• Increase your brand awareness, or change the perception of your brand, eg. the iSprint app from Reebok where you run a race with your fingers (as if each finger is a leg) – it’s hard, but fun, and therefore creates a brand perception in the consumers’ mind.

Plus app’s are a good source of ongoing revenue (unless you decide to put it out there for free), if the app is loved it is rated highly and recommended to friends and you may get increased brand awareness.

Let’s face it, we are all busy/lazy and want things now/yesterday, anything that is going to make our lives easier (read quicker) is going to be loved, so if your app can save people having to go onto the web to look up something they will use it. Plus, if people are willing to pay for the extra service why not take advantage of it?

The app’s for the iPhone have been around for a year now and the big brands are only just recognising it, so it could be a good way to grab attention while there is less competition.

If you have an app you love I’d love to know, because I seem to have a bit of an addiction!

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks, mobile phone socks www.MyMocks.com and author of Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.