Posts Tagged "App Store"

With mobile application investments set to escalate this year, along with an already huge diversity of apps available for the iPhone, promotion and marketing will take center stage in ensuring these investments pay off.  That’s the implication of this article today on eMarketer.com, titled “Mobile to fare better than social.”

“According to DM2PRO and Quattro, 15% of advertisers and agencies spent more than 60% of their app budgets on promotion in 2009, but more than one-third spent less than 5%.  Promotional budgets will need to increase along with overall investment for apps to find their way to users.”

Marketers would be wise to consider the immediacy of text messaging to communicate mobile application availability and directly link consumers to download and install it.  Consider the ease by which signage in store can point customers to a text interaction that includes a direct link to download the application.  Convenience is key to entice consumers to take action and matching their behavior (out and about) with a device in hand is a recipe for success.

At the same time, marketers have the chance to create or build upon their opt in database of mobile subscribers, and learn more about them using engagement techniques like surveys and others that collect information about mobile consumers (like their zip codes or product preferences).  This data can in turn be used to segment the mobile audience in ways aligned with unique offers and calls to action.

Standing out from the crowd is already key to app success, so hoping your effort is discovered in the App Store can no longer be considered an effective strategy to ensuring ROI.  I say “App Store,” because the article points to the iPhone as the platform of choice for the time being, well ahead of Android and others.  Remember, when it comes to budgeting for the promotion of your application, among the most effective means to do so is to connect consumers with your app via creative use of text messaging programs.

FierceDeveloper published an excellent article today titled “Pulling back the curtain on App Store approvals“, which provides some excellent insight into Apple’s App Store approval process. I found the most interesting piece of the article to be the stats that Apple provided to the FCC in response to it’s recent request for more information on the rejection of the Google Voice app:

Let’s do the math: According to Apple, it employs about 40 full-time, trained application reviewers–the App Store receives about 8,500 new app submissions and updates each week, which translates to 212 apps per reviewer per week. Except Apple reports that all apps are subject to approval by two different reviewers, so that number doubles to 424 apps per staffer each week–assuming reviewers work the standard eight-hour day, that means each app is approved or rejected in the span of about six minutes. No wonder Apple admits to making “occasional mistakes” in the approval process, according to its statement to the FCC.

Given the shear volume of applications that Apple reviews on a daily basis, it’s no surprise that developers encounter such varying experiences with the submission and approval process. In our experience, the process has been very straightforward and time expedient. One application was submitted to the App Store and live within seven days. In our opinion, the process works pretty smoothly as long as you follow Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and code around common issues that apps are rejected for.

Other interesting tidbits:

• In the past year, Apple has reviewed more than 200,000 applications and updates
• 95 percent of all apps are approved within 14 days of submission
• Roughly 20 percent of apps are not approved as originally submitted