Using iPhone Apps To Market Your Brand

After being seduced into replying to a discussion on LinkedIn, soliciting "marketing experts" to "define marketing in one sentence", the simple reply posted "Connecting the Tag Line to the Bottom Line" was followed by 700 postings, each comprised of run-on sentences, many that were off-beat .

Even the most experienced "experts" were challenged to articulate the core definition, merely demonstrating that everyone has an opinion. After all, marketing is about selling. Selling the sizzle, selling the brand, selling the corporate value proposition, whatever. But most importantly, the most important metric is how many units were sold (profitably) as a result of the marketing initiatives.
 
Obviously, marketing is a conglomeration of laundry list applications, including but not limited to.

• Website
• Blog/NewsLetters
• Twitter
• Internal ListServe
• YouTube
• Avatars on 2nd Life
• Sponsorships and Co-Branding Strategies
• Public Relations & Investor Relations
• Trade Shows/Conferences/Round Tables
• Advertising (Traditional, Place-Based, New Media, Digital Media, Social Media, etc.)

Notice the above-noted reference to "applications".

Well, iPhone-related "apps" represent yet another, burgeoning tool for corporations to extend their brand, deliver promotions (e.g. entertaining brand-centric games that produce coupons for products). One can argue that 'apps' are equally as compelling as Tweets, if not more so.

Below synopsis is courtesy of Tee Marek is an Account Manager for RadioTrafix.com

Businesses are using iPhone apps to extend their brand - traditional consumer goods such as Clorox bleach and non-traditionals such as designer Diane von Furstenberg have an iPhone app. What's the magic? What's the attraction. In a word - CHANNEL. The iPhone has carved out a unique marketing channel to its users - in a sense it's like a brand new TV channel, that's hot, that's cool, and with loyal viewers.

Ever witnessed a discussion between an iPhone user and a non-user... let's just say the iPhone user is usually the one left standing, with what the iPhone can do, what apps the iPhone user has and how much better it's made their lives. Now imagine leveraging off that kind of commitment to a channel for hosting a portal into your business! As the saying goes. "Priceless"!

Actually the cost of getting an app unto the iPhone platform has come down by way of a number of innovations, some related to updates in the iPhone operating system and some by way of integration of CMS (content management systems) into the platform. The end result is that a semi-customized business portal can be had for a mid four figure price as available through RadioTrafix, and which cost can be offset by in-app advertising and/or pay for download.

When the average age of the iPhone user is 37 years old according to Admob's Mobile Metrics Report of 2010, you know that this is a perfect market for many consumer goods & services. And when the gender split of just over half of device users being male is taken into account, the potential market essentially replicates the general population reached by other traditional means.

To the extent the iPhone user is not being reached by your competition, this is a fantastic opportunity to use this new channel to gain new ground, expanding your brand's electronic footprint and market. If your competition's already on the app platform, it's time to move quickly to integrate the features of their app into yours and more, else they will find a loyal following that may be impossible to unseat - especially when the iPhone's viral sharing capabilities through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are taken into account!