There are several Brands in the market which means there is a lot of competition out there. So, for Brand owners how often and how deep they connect with their consumers is the key for better engagement and identity. Branded Apps are one of the many ways to leverage technology to engage with the consumers.

1. The Value of Branded Apps
With the rate at which the Apps market grows, the need for Branded Apps in the market to showcase
the Brand attributes and to connect with the customers is evident.
There are several Brands in the market which means there is a lot of competition out there. So, for
Brand owners how often and how deep they connect with their consumers is the key for better
engagement and identity. Branded Apps are one of the many ways to leverage technology to engage
with the consumers.
Branded Apps also help the Brands to show the Brand attitude to the customers. A quick look at the
Apps market (globally and UKwise) would convince one to create a Branded App:
Globally there are 45 billion Apps downloads in 2012
Total revenue from Android and iOS Apps together reached £19.5 million
The statistics above would convince a Brand to create Branded Apps to better connect with the
customers.

2. For Brands, the following factors needs to be considered before creating and deploying an App
Determine the objective of the Branded App
How would the Brand define the engagement of the App
Define relevant metrics to measure the App value. Normally the measurement metrics for a
Brand Apps are No. of downloads, Frequency of use, Purpose of usage and Degree of usage
Let us define the metrics for different category of Brand Apps below:
Branded Apps
Category
Possible App Objective Major Metrics
Telecom Functional: Information about usage,
spending etc.
No. of downloads, Frequency of
use, Purpose of usage
Sports Engagement: Information of a match, ARs,
Live video
No. of downloads, Degree of usage
Retail Shopping, M-Commerce No. of downloads, Frequency of
usage, Purpose of usage
Food Deals, Promos, offers etc. No. of downloads, Frequency of
usage
Travel Functional: Information, Deals, Promos Frequency of usage, Purpose of
usage
Banking Functional: Information about usage,
spending, making transactions etc.
No. of downloads, Purpose of
usage, Frequency of usage
Healthcare Functional: Information about usage,
spending, making transactions etc.
No. of downloads, Purpose of
usage, Frequency of usage
Classifieds Information No. of downloads, Purpose of
usage, Frequency of usage
News / Media Information No. of downloads, Frequency of
usage
Here is a list of recommendations for brands to consider while designing a Branded App:
1. Know your Branded App objective:
Brand owners must know what the objective of the Branded App is. Knowing the objective and having
a clear plan would have a significant impact on the Brand metrics.
2. Add Value: A Branded App should add value both to the consumers and for the Business. If the
consumers love your App, use it and if it is not adding value in terms of connecting with the consumers
or making a sale then the App is of no value.
3. Make it stick: As Brand owners when you make a Branded App ensure that the consumers

3. remember yours. This would help significantly when the Brands release the next Brand App. By making
the App stick in consumers mind Brands can create an expectation for a better App the next time
which by itself is a success for the Brand.
4. Remember to promote: So, you have created a great Branded App and its valuable too. Now
what? Say it out to people. Let consumers know about your App. Brand owners must allocate a budget
for Marketing the App. Without marketing the Branded Apps cannot be successful.
5. Enable multi-device presence: In today's mobile world, consumers use a range of devices - from
Android to iOS to Blackberry there are a several devices which the consumers use. So, making the App
adaptive to work for multiple devices would significantly help in increasing the number of downloads of
the App and also reduces the effort in marketing the App.
Branded Apps are a great way to connect with the consumers and engage them provided the Brand
owners have clarity of objective and a clear plan of execution.