Strategy+Design

With smartphones becoming increasingly popular, more companies are seeing the importance of developing branded apps for Android, Blackberry and iPhone. Lots of companies opt to go for a basic app that provides product information and includes a mobile store. While this is useful, it’s not a very creative use of an app. The great thing about app development is that it is a fantastic opportunity to think beyond the direct sell and really create something innovative and extremely useful to your customers. An app doesn’t have to be directly about selling your product to be effective. You can create something that reinforces your brand in the minds of customers by giving something they can use in their daily lives.

The Nike Training Club app is a great example of a creative, useful app. The app is basically a personal trainer in your smartphone. The focus is on fitness and achievement, where the users can choose from a variety of workouts based on their goals and fitness levels. Also included is a built in rewards system, where users collect points to unlock bonus workouts and other content based on how hard they work. Nike branding is everywhere in this app, but there is no direct sell. Using the app doesn’t require customers to purchase anything and doesn’t directly suggest that they do.

The reason I like this app is because the brand is looking beyond their brand nucleus. Nike is thinking holistically about their brand and how their customers interact with Nike products. There is no direct sell option and that’s a good thing. A hard product sell would turn Nike’s intended audience off. That’s why Nike gets it right. They know when to push their product and when to ease off.

Think about your brand. Are you selling to them at every opportunity, or do you let them experience your brand? Have you used or created an app that allows people to experience a brand? Please leave us a comment and share your thoughts with us.