Grab Brand Traction with Sponsored or Free Apps

As a guy who makes a video site, I know that a mobile application could help my company reach a wider audience of viewers or bring my site’s functionality to users on-the-go.  But what if I didn’t make a web product?  What if, say, I sold sprockets?  What could a mobile app do for me then?

In short: a lot.  Because of the engaging nature of mobile applications, especially those on touch devices, mobile platforms offer great branding opportunities.  For instance, I like racing games, and I like money, so my favorite type of racing game is the free kind.  I was bored in an airport, waiting for a flight that was again delayed and I decided to pass the time with some mindless racing fun.  As I typed in ‘racing’, I hadn’t gotten to the ‘c’ before I had a top hit of ‘Real Racing GTI’ in the app store.  I downloaded the app and started driving.  As I drove, I noticed two things: 1) this game was a lot of fun, and 2) all the cars were Volkswagens.  This version of the app was apparently the free “demo” version of Real Racing 1, which had been sponsored by Volkswagen to introduce the 2010 GTI  (one of their models).  I’m not sure if it had any influence or not, but my family always considers Volkswagen when shopping for cars

Another example: Again at the airport, I’m on the tarmac at LAX. As I was sitting beside my CTO (who doesn’t enjoy small talk),  I needed something to occupy my mind and I needed it before takeoff.  I had read a lot about ‘Angry Birds’, the super-popular bird-flinging app.  I wanted to know what the hype was about, but again, I also like to keep ducats in my pocket. So, I searched for the free version where  I found something really fun.  Apparently, there was a free version of the app branded for the movie ‘Rio’.  There were not as many levels available as there are in the paid version of the app, but there was enough fowl-flinging fun to get me into JFK without annoying my boss.  Here is the real value; by the end of the flight, I was interested in the movie as well as the free version of the app.  I found out that the cast of the movie included some actors that I like, and so I decided to see it.  Because Rio isn’t the type of movie that I tend to go see, and most of the advertising was targeted at children and parents, this app did a great job of reaching a separate market segment.

The flip side of this is that if mobile apps are your bread and butter, you should consider some branding for your app in the form of a smart sponsorship. Or, at least give the app away for free for a few days.  This gets your install base up quickly and gives your brand more credibility.  And the best part is, as the end user I got my apps for free – it’s win-win!