Mobile Apps as Content Marketing Mobile apps are slowly being recognized as a channel for marketing. Is there an opportunity for your organization to create a mobile marketing app? Annika Hey Design Principal Atanas Atanasov Software Development Manager – Agile Frameworks Björn Stansvik Founder & Chief Executive Officer Daniela Nazim MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Dobrev MentorMate Alumni Craig Knighton Chief Operating Officer Eleonora Georgieva Global VP, Delivery George Dormishev System Administration Manager Ivaylo Kostadinov Director, Software Engineering - .NET Jamie Bolseth MentorMate Alumni Jay Miller President Jeni Kyuchukova Director, Quality Engineering Jessica Anderson VP of Finance and Administration Liz Spolyar Global Director, Continuation Engineering Nick Curran Technical Architect Nikolay Lyubchev Director of Marketing & Talent Acquisition, MentorMate Stefan Tsvyatkov Director, Software Engineering - Mobile Stefan Tzanev Chief Financial Officer Vesselin Dobrev General Manager (Bulgaria) Sylvia Vassileva Software Development Manager - Spok Filip Gajtanovski Software Development Manager - Storyworks Krasimir K. Nikolov VP of Technology Katherine Kelly Director, Business Systems Carrie Siewert Strategic Account Manager Brady Swanson Director of Digital Marketing Eve Poeschl MentorMate Alumni Ryan Peña MentorMate Alumni Vassil Vassilev Software Development Manager - .NET Pavel Petrov Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE Ivan Peev Senior Technology Manager Bob Reuss MentorMate Alumni Vera Kasapova QA Manager Greta Yamacheva QA Manager Robert Samuelsson General Manager (Sweden) Kyle Simmons Solutions Architect Robin Thomas Solutions Architect Nataliya Naydenova MentorMate Alumni Adam Malone Alexander Dimitrov Enterprise Architect Andrea Kates CEO, LaunchPad Central Andrew Eklund CEO, Ciceron Andrew Marinov Angel Nikolov MentorMate Alumni Anurag Shukla Aron Wolde MentorMate Alumni Ashley Goodridge Office Assistant Benjamin Gramlich MentorMate Alumni Chris Black MentorMate Alumni Christa Haeg MentorMate Alumni Colin Lee MentorMate Alumni Deyan Stoynov MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Danailov MentorMate Alumni Dobrinka Tabakova Doug Leatherman Emily Genco MentorMate Alumni Fanka Vassileva Gabriela Zagarova MentorMate Alumni Gary Conkright CEO, physIQ Gary Fingerhut Executive Director, Cleveland Clinic Innovations Gavin Finden MentorMate Alumni Georgi Graham Klang Hyusein Hyuseinov Senior Automation QA Ian Good Global VP, Operations Iva Jack Cosentino James Williams John Byrne Kaloyan Stoilkov MentorMate Alumni Kosta Hristov Krasimir Gatev Senior Android Developer Lazar Petrakiev Lyubomir Dobrev Senior .NET Developer Lubomir Velkov Marin Yotovski Mark Smith MentorMate Alumni Martin Dimitrov MentorMate Alumni Martin Kalyonski Mike Hagan MentorMate Alumni Nikolay Andonov Nikolay Arhangelov Riley Panko Guest Contributor Roger Ferguson MentorMate Alumni Ryan Sysko Chairman, WellDoc Ryan Blake MentorMate Alumnus Sarah Rockholt MentorMate Alumni Sean McDevitt CEO, Sensei Siyana Slavova Stanislas Walden MentorMate Alumni Stanislav Atanasov Stanislava Bogdanova MentorMate Alumni Stefanie Trimble MentorMate Alumnus Stephen Fluin Stoyan Stoyanov MentorMate Alumnus Tessa Cacek Staffing Manager Tom Clemens MentorMate Alumnus V8 JavaScript Engine Viktor Mitev Yolanda Petkova Marketing Design Lead Pete Anderson Lead Product Owner, Target Vasil Nonchev Java Software Development Manager Dilyana Totseva QA Manager Stanimir Nikolov Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate Rosen Kolev Technology Principal Dimitar Mihaylov MentorMate Alumni Nikola Genov Software Architect - .NET Neli Todorova Software Development Manager - LAMP Yavor Dimitrov MentorMate Alumni Georgi Karanedyalkov Software Development Lead - Android, MentorMate Denislav Ganchev Technology Principal Stefan Shopov QA Manager Konstantin Rusev Java Developer Borislav Dimitrov Senior Android Developer, MentorMate Tsvetelina Lazarova MentorMate Alumni Dimitar Gadzhev Developer Plamen Stoev Software Development Manager - Front-end Jake Nelsen Senior Experience Designer Zlati Pehlivanov Senior Software Engineer II Kate Tolmie Senior Experience Designer Martin Angelov Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE, MentorMate Dimitar Zhelev Senior .NET Developer Joel Swenson Content Manager Kiril Ivanov Quality Assurance Analyst Viktor Hristoskov Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate Violeta Nikolcheva Database Developer Biliana Kadakevlieva Senior Quality Assurance Analyst Chris McLeod Senior Solutions Consultant Antonii Georgiev Junior .NET Developer Alexander Rusev Front-End Developer Matt Erickson MentorMate Alumni Brian Buchkosky Global Director, PMO David Tran MentorMate Alumni Kristin Krueger MentorMate Alumni Magdalena Chervenkova Business Analyst Denny Royal Chief Design Officer Joe Bodell MentorMate Alumni Viktoria Chuchumisheva HR Manager Kalina Tekelieva Senior Content Marketing Artist Daniel Rankov MentorMate Alumni Alexander Alexandrov BA Lead MentorMate Clint Rowles VP, Business Development Nikola Donev SysOps & DevOps Lead Tseko Tsolov Frontend Developer Denislav Lefterov Automation QA Analyst Dilyana Kodjamanova MentorMate Alumni Emma Jorstad Project Manager, Lead Georgi Georgiev Software Development Lead - LAMP, MentorMate Martin Panayotov Senior iOS Developer, MentorMate John Blake Senior Account Manager Tyler Compton Solutions Architect Nikola Peevski Software Developer — Lamp & Front-End Aaron Whitney Director of Client Strategy Veliko Ivanov Senior Cloud Engineer Suzanne O’Brien Senior Project Manager Svetlin Stanchev Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate Todor Todorov Senior Cloud Engineer Kate Stamatova Senior QA Analyst Frank Anselmo Global Director, Project Management Gyuner Zeki Solutions Architect Galin Stanchev QA Analyst Sarah Hoops Business Development Manager Brenden Diehl Business Development Manager Anna Krivova Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate Ivelina Kavalova Senior Business Analyst, MentorMate Paul Sanders MentorMate Alumni Jim Cikanek Senior Client Strategist Samuil Yanovski Software Development Manager - Android, MentorMate Krasimir Gatev Senior Android Developer, MentorMate Kristina Goryalova Talent Acquisition Manager Elena Petrova HR Specialist Jay Matre Senior Business Architect, MentorMate Lilyana Dimitrova QA Specialist Josh Marquart Chief Strategy Officer Mario Gorki Senior Mobile Developer Simeon Zhekov Cloud Engineer Hristo Stoyanov Cloud & DevOps Lead Ben Wallace Enterprise Architect Boyan Stoyanov Data & Dota Specialist Petya Ivanova Director, Software Engineering - Java Sebastian Ortiz-Chamorro VP of Engineering, Latin America Consuelo Merino Director of Operations If you are even remotely involved in the marketing process, you have probably heard the term “Content Marketing” getting a lot of play. Content marketing is the practice of creating a new piece of media to share with a target audience in an effort to generate business. The benefits of content marketing versus traditional advertising or SEO are numerous, including: useful content is likely to be shared with a user’s social media networks it can create a lasting impression users often return to guides or entertainment it can position your brand as a leader in your field it can build trust with your consumers Usually the content is delivered in the form of an interactive web tool, a detailed guide or infographic, an informative blog post or something very entertaining. The impressive Web Developer’s SEO Cheat Sheet from Moz is a good example of a guide. But what about content marketing with a mobile application? Mobile Video Games as Marketing What if I told you Oreo has a mobile game about dunking cookies and it’s actually really fun? Oreo’s Twist Lick Dunk is a combination of Fruit Ninja and Slam Dunk King, both fun games with high production values. Check out the gameplay footage to get a feel for it: Many brands, such as Oreo, are taking full advantage of mobile as a marketing platform. Here is a small set of excellent promotional games: Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots, Fruit Ninja Skittles and Temple Run Brave. It goes without saying that success hinges on quality. I downloaded probably about two dozen big brand marketing apps to research this post. The vast majority of them are impressive failures, usually because they aren’t thoughtfully developed. They are just knee jerk, get-something-into-the-app-store, shovelware initiatives. The apps are glitchy, boring, ugly, useless, or all of the above. Despite the failure though, I applaud those brands for having the foresight to utilize the App Store as a marketing channel. Practice makes perfect. Many brands still haven’t even attempted an app. Why not? Value Proposition When you consider how much major brands tend to spend on TV advertising, creating a mobile game seems like a no-brainer. Here is the Super Bowl 2014 Oreo commercial: Oreo spent 4 million dollars on that ad (A 30-second spot cost approximately $4 million during the 2014 Super Bowl) and that is not including the actual ad production. A high-quality app costs much less. Angry Birds, one of the most successful mobile games, cost only about $140,000 (€100,000) to create. Judging by the Oreo game’s production value, it most likely cost a similar amount. Compared to a high-volume TV ad, a mobile app is a small bet and in the case of Oreo Twist Lick Dunk, it seems to be paying off. The Google Play Store has it in the 500,000 – 1,000,000 downloads category, and the number is probably similar on the Apple App Store (Apple doesn’t make that data available). That is an impressive amount of downloads for an interactive commercial! This is content marketing at its best. I have been playing this game consistently for about a week. It reminded me how much fun it is to eat Oreos. So much so, I actually went and got some! Non-Game Mobile Content Marketing I realize I have been spending a lot of time talking about mobile games, and a game might not be appropriate for every brand. The good news is, any app can be a successful marketing tool. REI and TheNorthFace are paving the way with useful applications for their target demographic. TheNorthFace has built the promising hike tracking app for hikers or campers, and REI created a snow report app for skiers or snowboarders. These apps are unlikely to directly increase sales, but through clever cross-promotion they can be used to retain customers and possibly attract new ones. Both brands are also establishing themselves as experts in their respective fields and building lasting relationships by offering a free and useful tool. When deciding how to allocate your advertising dollars, consider a mobile content marketing strategy. Delivering a good piece of interactive software can do wonders for your brand. Since the Google and Apple App stores both function as search engines, not showing up in results for brand searches is a missed opportunity. But just like any piece of content, it needs to be great to be successful. Image Source: Unsplash, Rawpixel Tags MobileCultureDevelopment Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Sign up for our monthly newsletter. Sign up for our monthly newsletter.