Shake and Bark!

Smart companies are starting to realise the potential of branded iPhone apps. Audi launched the first high profile branded app - a driving simulator that exploits the iPhone’s internal accelerometer to control your steering. What Audi did extremely well was it is recognised that when you build a branded iPhone app, people are using the app despite your brand’s affiliation, not because of it. The great thing about this app is that it is essentially a car game, like any other car game app, except with subtle Audi branding. In effect, people choose to use the app on a regular basis and actually want to tell their friends about it!

However, other companies, whilst coming up with innovative ideas, have not quite grasped the 'addictive-potential' of apps. A branded app that has novelty value is nice - but it's much better if the app makes you want to come back for more! Take the Pedigree 'Shake and Bark' app for an example:

This app lets you upload a photo of your beloved pooch and record its bark....nawwww cute...but somewhat pointless. Yes, it hits the mark by engaging with users' love of dogs, but it's a bit of a 'one-trick pony' - you're hardly going to come back for more! Perhaps it would be better to make a game where your player is a dog and you have to find packs of Pedigree for energy and so forth (wow, I should really be a game developer!)....but I guess this begs another question: Can a branded iPhone app only be truly successful if it encorporates the brand into a game format?

Because it's hip to be Apple...

I received an email the other day with the following images:

Good for a laugh I'm sure you'll agree! Now, unless you've been living under a rock and are not quite sure who these two individuals are, they are Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (on the left), and Bill Gates, founder and former CEO of Microsoft (on the right). Quite simply, as the images imply, they have become filthy rich from their innovations in consumer technology (Apple) and computer software (Microsoft).

So this email got me thinking...Apple is so good at pioneering innovative products (can't wait to get my hands on an iMat haha) - it was the first to bring out the iPhone, the iPad and so on, and now it seems their competitors are playing 'catch up'. Apple has enjoyed a huge lead in the 'tablet race' as competitors have taken their time to try to come up with a better user-experience at a cheaper price. Nonetheless, on the iPhone front, apparently Google Android (which I had never even heard of until yesterday, just quietly) is predicted to beat the iPhone, in terms of global smartphone market share, by 2012.

Now you all know I'm no 'tech-head' by any means, so I don't really have much of an idea on what the various competitor products offer in terms of superior features, but from personal experience, I can't help but think that it is going to be extremely difficult for anyone to beat Apple. Take these examples:

- I regularly go out to dinner with friends and can't help but have a little chuckle to myself as we all place our beloved iPhones on the table in front of us as we sit down to eat
- Sitting in a lecture at uni, my iPhone message tone goes off, I go to look at my phone and then realise it was actually the person with the iPhone sitting next to me who received a text
- Wags (E-Marketing Lecturer) asks the class in the first week of semester, "Who in this room has an iPhone?" and 80% of hands go up!

In other words, WE ARE SURROUNDED BY APPLE! Sure, we could argue that the type of people who go to Monash (young, tech-savvy, good looking individuals) are clearly part of the target market for iPhones and other Apple products, so of course there's going to be a lot of us with iPhones, but honestly it seems like everywhere I go, people are glued to their iPhones.

And what is the reason for this? In my opinion, it's simply because Apple was the first to create these 'larger than life' ideas/products. Being the first, people trust you. And what's more, this first-mover advantage in innovation has allowed Apple to reach an epic 'cool' status and cult-like following, unlike any other brand. For many of us, whether we like to admit it or not, I think the 'cool' factor is the main reason we would chose Apple over another brand. It will be very challenging for competitors to break down this 'cool' association.

Well that's enough of my opinion! What do you think? Will Apple be beaten? Or will it stay on top for good?