Mobile Application Development Company

As multiple publishers and consortiums gear up for an incoming wave of e-readers and other connected devices this year, publishers should be looking more seriously at the emerging app ecosystem for new revenue opportunities. The small branded and media applications that run on social networks like Facebook and mobile platforms will be a primary area of development among advertisers and ad agencies in the coming year.

According to a new study by Quattro Wireless, only 46% of publishers, ad clients and agencies surveyed have already developed some form of application for their brands. (Quattro Wireless, a mobile developer and ad network, performed its research among several hundred advertisers, agencies and publishers.) Of the 54% that have not entered this arena, 65% say they will in 2010. The amount of spending projected for online social media apps will remain relatively flat in the coming year, but tremendous developer energy now is focusing on mobile platforms, specifically the iPhone and BlackBerry. Among those who will be developing apps in 2010, 95% say they will publish on the iPhone, 44% on BlackBerry, 31% on Android and 15% on the Palm Pre.

While mobile is the hot category in application development, the Web social networks and the handheld platforms seem to go well together. Of those surveyed, only 11% are developing solely for mobile and only 20% developed only for social networks. Sixty-nine percent of respondents are deploying apps on both mobile and social platforms.

Increasingly, we are seeing branded apps and publisher apps migrate between Facebook and mobile app environments. The modular application environment is evolving into a device-agnostic platform where publishers and advertisers can maintain a seamless presence across Web, mobile and perhaps the upcoming e-readers. For instance, according to recent reports, Apple has put out a call to select iPhone developers for versions of current applications that will work well in higher resolution environments. Many analysts see this as a sign that Apple is about to announce its long-rumored tablet device, which many expect will run iPhone/iPod Touch applications in larger 7-inch and 10-inch touch-screen format. The next generation of e-readers will likely run on Android or iPhone-like operating systems that can accommodate downloadable programs that look, feel and behave like the add-ons in the Facebook, iPhone and Android stores.

For publishers, there are multiple ways to leverage the emerging app ecosystem. Foremost is promotion. Most agencies and brands already know that the application environments in Facebook and iTunes are hopelessly cluttered, and few of them rely on the organic distribution and merchandising systems now in place. Publishers that already attract application audiences to their content can be important promotional vehicles for branded apps. According to the Quattro survey, advertisers and agencies that have used mobile apps, for instance, prefer to use online advertising, mobile advertising (via a network buy) and direct buy mobile advertising to promote their new apps. In other words, media companies should be able to leverage both their online and mobile positions to help clients get into the app market.

The hottest product categories in the app environment now are the consumer packaged goods (CPGs) and retail, where 27.5% of advertisers/agencies say they are deploying programs. Automotive (25%), entertainment (20%) and financial (20%) are the next most popular categories in the ecosystem.

Another area for growth and opportunity for publishers is app development. Just as content providers ultimately became custom online publishers by building microsites and consulting on branded destinations, publishers could perform similar tasks in the app world. For now, the app development economy is dominated by entrepreneurs. The Quattro survey shows that 83.1% of app development is being done by independent shops that consider app development the core of their business. Another 9.6% of development is going on in agencies that also work for multiple clients. Only 2.2% works directly for a specific brand only. But 5.1% in the app field are “publisher developers” who also work for a destination site.

As media companies look to extend their own content brands onto tablets, e-readers and even Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes, they will need to bring more of app development in-house. These new skill sets could also be leveraged with marketing clients. Earlier this year, for instance, Meredith took a strategic investment in one of the leading mobile marketing companies, The Hyperfactory. The new app ecosystem is already cluttered with small shops that could easily become acquisition targets for ad networks, ad agencies and publishers in the coming year. As publishers contemplate a new world of apps for their own content brands, they need to consider the many ways in which they can turn it into something more than just another ad opportunity for clients. Apps should become a new area for marketing services as well.

Tomorrow at minonline we will drill deeper into the study’s findings regarding publishers' own branded applications.

NEWS Credit to minonline.com

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