Mobile apps, in some cases, are proving to be money-makers for developers and publishers, thanks to advertisers' increasing willingness to sponsor their development and rollout.
Not every app that comes to market attracts sponsors - or many viewers for that matter. The apps that have the best appeal to both groups are those that either entice with special deals, such as coupons, or constantly update content, such as a news site.
Msnbc.com's free application for the iPhone and iPod touch, launched in June, falls in the latter category. It doubled its number of daily active users two months out of the gate, the company said - in addition to maxing out sponsorships slots for October and November.
Lexus ran an integrated campaign on the app for the entire month of October. With its ever-changing news and entertainment content, users come back to it throughout the day - which is a lure for advertisers, according to Charlie Tillinghast, president of msnbc.com. "For advertisers, the opportunity to creatively showcase their brands in such a rich environment makes a sponsorship with us very attractive."
Coupon Driving Deals
Publishers, though, are not relying just on content. Many are appealing to consumers' pocketbooks as well. Hachette Filipacchi Media US just announced five new apps for iPhone and iPod touch - two of which have major advertising sponsors: Unilever/Knorr for Woman's Day Cooking Assistant and Toyota for the Car and Driver Buyer's Guide.
The other apps include ELLE Shopping Guide, ELLE Astrology and Cycle World. The goal of these utilitarian apps is to attract large targeted audiences, says Yaron Oren, director of Mobile Strategy and Operations at HFM U.S. In turn, the company hopes to a larger share of the local mobile advertising pie.
The Woman's Day app includes thousands of recipes along with a cooking time calculator, shopping list, recipe box and other cooking tools. The Car and Driver Buyer's Guide app gives consumers new car information and news along with car buying advice and a "my garage" tool where users can store vehicle information.
HFM US is also focusing on location-based apps and advertising, such as the ELLE Shopping Guide. In one of its features, "Offers", local retailers in the three launch cities - New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco with more cities rolling out soon - will be able to offer coupons, merchandise information and other store information.
Initial retailers making offers include Diane Von Furstenberg, Intermix, Otte, Flight 001, Iven.tory, Kiki de Montparnasse, AG Adriano and Goldschmied.
Honeywell Backs Trip Cubby
Specialized apps that can lower costs or sell money is a related theme - and is also attracting financial backing from brand names. Trip Cubby and Gas Cubby, both available in iTunes, are being sponsored by Honeywell's consumer auto brands FRAM, Prestone and Autolite, according to TUAW, an Apple blog.
According to developer David Barnard, this could be the "first sponsorship deal of its kind where an independent iPhone developer has partnered with a single company to sponsor a free app."
Gas Cubby by FRAM will include ads for the Honeywell auto products. Barnard said he was working very closely with Honeywell to hone the ad strategy, personally overseeing "the creation of the ads and landing pages to make sure they fit in with the app and are appropriate for the iPhone.
"Many large companies push iPhone related tasks to their web team who may or may not have their finger on the pulse of the iPhone and the App Store marketplace. I'm also working with them on long term plans to bring more value to Gas Cubby users and find more innovative and user friendly ways to market within the app."
