As mobile plays a bigger role in both consumers? lives and brands? marketing strategies, it is getting more difficult for brands to create a meaningful connection via just another me-too app.

The growth in mobile apps has been quick since app stores were first introduced and there are no signs of it slowing down. As a result, big brands such as McDonald's, Walmart, Kmart and others now have mobile apps, but as competition grows, the criteria for what makes a successful app are changing. 

?The app market is getting more competitive from the standpoint that mobile is now likely to be the largest and fastest growing market in the world, so there are many more entrants to the field and all are competing to carve out their part of the global mobile pie,? said Alan S. Knitowski, chairman/CEO of Phunware Inc., Austin, TX.

?The market will begin fragmenting in terms of low budget, check the mobile box, ?me too? types of opportunities versus high budget, embrace and engage the mobile box, ?competitive differentiation? types of opportunities,? he said.

Many uses
The best apps provide a core play or engagement experience that gives users a reason to come back day after day. The number of truly standout apps remains small because many brands are not putting enough resources behind mobile.

?Sadly, we are still seeing large, multi-national brands taking the ?check the box? approach on mobile rather than using their greatest assets to separate and differentiate their offerings ? their brand and their balance sheet,? Mr. Knitowski said.

While brands may not have fully awakened to the power of mobile apps, they continue to make an impression on consumers.

Google recently said that more than 250,000 apps have been downloaded and that total downloads were six billion in the second quarter, up from three billion in the previous quarter. Apple recently said its number of app downloads totals 15 billion.

Consumers use apps across a wide variety of activities.

A recent report from ABI Research showed a broad connection between consumers and their mobile devices, with mobile device owners engaged with social network sites via their mobile devices. They are active in a number of other ways, including checking email, checking weather, reading news, playing music, viewing stock quotes, checking sports scores, searching for information and playing games.

As consumers use apps more, they are beginning to expect more from them.

?Everyone?s expectations of what an app can do has grown,? said Scott Michaels, vice president at Atimi Software, Vancouver, Canada.

?It is not good strategy to just have an app ? it does need to stand out or else it isn?t worth doing,? he said.

Brands are noticing the growth in mobile and, as a result, are beginning to consider how to be more competitive here. 

?I do think that the amount of effort involved with developing the next generation of apps is going to increase significantly,? said Patrick Emmons, director of professional services at Adage Technologies, Chicago.

?As companies recognize this is not just an opportunity for growth but as a necessity to enable a cross channel approach, the need to differentiate will become more strategic,? he said.

?The apps will need to do more, just like Web or desktop development.?

A lot on the line
Putting more resources behind mobile apps could pay off for brands while the consequences of not investing the resources to develop a strong app could be significant.

For example, consumers who are interested in a particular brand and download its app may quickly get rid of it if it is not robust enough.

?The problem is you can make as many revisions as you want but it is almost impossible to get users to reinstall an app once they?ve deleted it,? Mr. Michaels said.

?So, it has to come out strong enough in the first place to stay on the phone or you?ve lost that as a channel to speak to your most important segment forever after,? he said.

There are some interesting and unique apps out there, including ones built around contests, location-based services or social networks. For example, retailers are integrating with local social commerce application Shopkick to drive end users into the store.

?Some of the apps that are breaking the mold have a much tighter integration with social so there is a two-way conversation,? Mr. Michaels said. ?This is more about brand engagement than an application.?

?This is being really well received and it?s working,? Mr. Michaels said.

One strategy marketers can use to help differentiate apps is to make them an extension of a brand marketing campaign. When a consumer watches a campaign on TV or sees a print ad and then opens an app for that brand, the expectation is that it will have something to do with the campaign, per Mr. Michaels.

?The app should have the look and feel of the campaign,? Mr. Michaels said. ?You have to make it more about a particular campaign in order for it to stand out.?

Campaign-based apps are a way for brands to do slimmer apps. A brand-based app, in comparison, needs to be a highly functioning app.

Going forward, brands are likely to begin recognizing that apps are mobile experiences and that the work is not done when they publish an app.

?The most important mindset is to understand that these apps are not going to go away?ever,? Mr. Knitowski said. 

?Much like a corporate web site is to an online identity for a brand, mobile apps are the anytime, anywhere equivalent,? he said.

?The apps themselves need to be mobile experiences, not mobile features.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer

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