DOWNLOADABLE APPLICATION MARKETING

Downloadable Application Marketing

Downloadable Application Marketing

Apps

Application software can be described as software designed to help users in getting their task done. These days application software is more commonly referred to as an app (Karjaluoto & Leppäniemi, 2005, pp.197-213). The concept of app in mobile phones was perhaps first started by Apple with their iPhone apps. Now the concept is used widely with many companies using it to target their audience. The two most powerful companies operating in this scenario with almost neck-to-neck competition situation are Google and Apple. Google with its Android apps is targeting the industry with an enhanced approach and every other day developing and launching new apps for its users. Similarly, Apple is also developing its apps, which is further toiling up the overall environment. Public is giving a wide recognition to this and many users go the app stores on daily basis to download their favourite apps.

The term app is the short form of "applications" in the IT society since a long period. Nevertheless, it gained massive popularity for mobile applications in smart phones and tablets, mainly because of the advent of Apple's iTunes and App Store in 2008 (Alvarez Et.al, 2009, pp. 39-47). It can be and in fact is used for other computer applications as well. Recent activities in apps have revolutionized the overall scenario of marketing, as many companies and marketers are finding it a convenient way to interact with their customers.

Since the launch of the Apple Store, in 2008, over 10 billion applications have been downloaded on the site of the famous firm at the apple. Given this success, all companies now want to launch their mobile application. Question of image, fear of looking outdated, but also justified interest in this new marketing tool. A mobile application can first strengthen the relationship between consumer and brand. "The phone, we have all the time with you, says Jerome Stioui, president of the mobile marketing agency Ad4Screen. The mobile is the ideal bridge between the Internet world and the physical world. "And unlike other marketing levers, the application is perceived as non-intrusive, since it is the user himself who chooses to download it.

It is a retention tool, but also sales. The online auction site eBay announced that in 2014, 40% of its turnover would be via a mobile. For businesses, the opportunity is real. The multiplicity of platforms - App Store, Android Market, Windows Marketplace ... - further complicates the task, even if the App Store so far remained the most popular. However, the development of embedded advertising in applications, including the launch of iAd in France since last December, should eventually allow companies to recover their costs. To research firm Gartner estimates that revenue generated by applications are expected to triple in 2011 to 15.1 billion dollars worldwide, while nearly a third of these revenues is due to advertising in 2014(Blackburn, 2010).

The various features offered by the alternative terminals that are Smartphones and Touchbook (digital tablets) are subject to many fears ...