Apple’s App Store is loaded to the gills with both novelty and serious applications, but Emirates Airlines’ new iLingual application attempts to straddle the line: it not only offers helpful travel phrases in three languages, but does so using a synthesised voice and an animated photograph of your own mouth. The effect can be amusing or off-putting, but it’s definitely memorable either way.

Promoted in Australia to strengthen Emirates’ growing profile as an Australia-Europe airline, the new applications – available in Arabic, French and German – are among the latest in a flood of branded applications that businesses big and small are using to build a brand presence among users of the hugely popular iPhone.

“We advise clients to integrate these applications into their overall communication and brand strategy,” says Barbara Fischer, director of marketing consultancy Trendhaus. “iPhone applications are not yet an essential marketing tool, but they are very successful as a brand-building accessory – as long as they are quick, simple, user-friendly, and engaging.”

iPhone applications, Fischer says, offer brand-building, an additional sales channel (as with new apps from Domino’s Pizza and Coles), a highly measurable marketing tool, and the opportunity to interact with discerning Gen Y buyers who can be difficult to reach via traditional media.

Recognising the promise of custom-built iPhone apps, early entrants like White Pages, Yellow Pages, and Domain.com.au have been joined by iconic Australian brands such as Honda Australia, MBF, Caltex, Shell, HBA, Virgin Mobile, the Australia Zoo, and many more.

All are hoping to boost their presence amongst smartphone users with apps that put corporate information at the tip of customers’ fingers – or at least provide a useful or fun tool with strong brand associations. US lighter company Zippo, for one, has long offered a popular flame simulator that has become a common sight at concerts – making it a marketer’s dream.

Nearly every company Sydney marketing consultancy Marketing Mechanics works with is exploring its iPhone options these days, according to managing director Diane Costa.

“Users are requesting useful resources,” she says. “Technology is making people expect more and more from their service providers every day, and companies are launching iPhone apps to stay in the faces of consumers.”

While many companies may use iPhone applications to reinforce their brand value – Emirates, for example, is providing travel-related information in a novel way – development of an iPhone app has become a competitive necessity for others, Costa said. She cited the uproar from customers of the Hoyts cinema chain, which has yet to launch an iPhone app to counter the recently-launched Pocket Cinema tool from rival Greater Union.

Well-structured iPhone apps can win a strong reception even if they don’t provide equivalent functionality to a company Web site: office supply giant Officeworks, for one, has seen over 10,000 downloads of its iPhone application since it debuted in late September.

“We recognise smartphones are becoming more popular amongst our customers, and we saw the opportunity to develop our own branded application to add value to the customer experience,” says online marketing manager Matthew Jefferies.

The app has been a continuous presence in the top 10 within the Australian App Store’s Business section, and Jefferies says its popularity has spawned high volumes of customer feedback that are being used to refine and expand future versions – which may add features like barcode scanning and in-phone ordering.

Building iPhone applications isn’t cheap, however: anecdotal reports suggest third-party firms have pushed the price for even basic apps well into the five-figure zone. Officeworks was able to minimise costs by calling on inhouse developers to build its app, but Jefferies says the company is nonetheless monitoring the ROI to decide how much effort it can justify putting into the app.

“Our initial challenge was getting the app up and into the marketplace,” he explains. “Now we’re trying to monitor customer feedback and see how we’re perceived. There’s a time and cost involved in developing anything, and we had to consider that.”

For companies concerned about the upfront cost of building an iPhone app – particularly since branded apps are nearly always given away free – Costa recommends they consider it as part of their overall marketing spend, and plan carefully to ensure they’re providing something of value to customers.

“There has to be value-add,” she says. “But if you do it right, customers will keep your brand front-of-mind. And companies that get in early are going to be the winners.”

from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/enterprise/iphone-is-the-place-to-do-business-20100309-puxc.html

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