1. Apps as a Marketing Tool with special guest Brian Cauble

2. Introductions Our speaker, Brian Cauble Brian is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Appsolute Genius, developers of smart phone applications. He has been living in Birmingham, AL for most of his life where he has worked in software development for the last nine years. In his career, he was the lead developer for a forestry GIS system used to manage the conservation lands of the largest forestry conservation organization in the US. He also managed a development team responsible for maintenance of the largest Factoring management system in the world and the creation of a new financial management system for Asset Based Lending institutions. Brian graduated in 2000 with a BS in Electrical and Computer engineering, and in 2008, he completed a master’s degree in Information and Engineering management, both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He still lives in Birmingham, AL where he recently started Birmingham Entrepreneur to focus on encouraging growth in the local entrepreneurship community.

3. The App Economy App Store Stats Summary as of 10/9/10 Count of Active Applications in the App Store [details] Total Active Apps (currently available for download): 274,584 Total Inactive Apps (no longer available for download): 54,938 Total Apps Seen in US App Store: 329,522 Number of Active Publishers in the US App Store: 55,827 Count of Application Submissions [details] This Month (Games): 834 ( 83 / day ) This Month (Non-Games): 5,231 ( 523 / day ) This Month (Total): 6,065 ( 607 / day ) http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/

4. The App Economy Application Approval Delay [details] September, 2010: Maximum delay 30 days, average delay 6.22 days. Application Price Distribution [details] Current Average App Price: $2.86 Current Average Game Price: $1.20 Current Average Overall Price: $2.62 Application Category Distribution [details] Most Popular Categories 1. Books (47467 active) 2. Games (39577 active) 3. Entertainment (30872 active) 4. Education (21527 active) 5. Lifestyle (17907 active)

5. The Money Trail…Apple sold 17 million handsets from Jan-June 2010 compared to 490 million by LG, Nokia and Samsung, but it claimed 39% of the industry’s profits.

6. What’s the deal with Verizon, anyway? Wed, Oct 6, 2010 - 10:19 PM EDT — Verizon CEO dodges CDMA Apple iPhone questions, says to ask Apple Wednesday, October 06, 2010 - 03:51 PM EDT "Verizon Wireless chief Lowell McAdam today dodged around questions regarding the prospect of an iPhone but put the burden on Apple," Electronista reports."At a CTIA press event, McAdam responded to new claims that a Verizon iPhone was being mass produced for early next year by saying that he hadn't seen the specific WSJ rumor," Electronista reports. "'Apple is really the one that has to make that kind of announcement,' McAdam said. 'At some point our business interests are going to align... I fully expect it, but I don't have anything to say [at the moment].'"Electronista reports, "The statements didn't amount to confirmation but was somewhat unusual for Verizon, which has usually tried to downplay claims further and safeguard its Android phone sales." Macdailynews.com

7. Who is using, and why Take a picture (76%) Send/Receive texts (72% Access the Internet (38%) Play Games (34%) Send/Receive email (34%) "An apps culture is clearly emerging among some cell phone users, particularly men and young adults," said Kristen Purcell, Associate Director for Research at the Pew Internet Project. "Still, it is clear that this is the early stage of adoption when many cell owners do not know what their phone can do. The apps market seems somewhat ahead of a majority of adult cell phone users." From a demographic standpoint, the most likely consumers to use apps are men (57%) between the ages of 18 and 49, Caucasian with at least a college degree. By Kristina Knight, bizreport.com

8. Creating an App What are your goals? Platforms? Device features?

9. Creating an App Decide your platform iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) Android Windows Mobile Blackberry Palm

10. Creating an App Device Features Photo Library/Camera Video (Youtube, HD Camera) GPS (Google Maps) Contacts

11. Creating an App Device Features (cont.) Audio (iTunes music) Notifications Calendar Integration Website Integration

12. Creating an App Develop Requirements/Overall Concept Kind of app Specific features

13. Creating an App Decide Business Model (70/30 split) Free Lite/Pro In-app Purchase Ad-Supported Subscription

14. Creating an App Layout Project Plan Initial Mockups/Design Ad Hoc (Beta) 100 devices *Apple only Final fixes Submit to App store/Market

15. Creating an App Consider: App submission process Apple developer account Google developer account Analytics

16. Making Great Apps Rule #1 - Make Useful Apps Novelty apps have low repeat use Rule #2 - Remember It’s Mobile Easy to use & minimize data entry

17. Making Great Apps Rule #3 - Design Matters (A lot)!

18. Making Great Apps Rule #4 - Marketing Matters (A lot)! Ad campaigns - Traditional/New Media Rule #5 - Niches are not a bad thing Simplifies marketing Rule #6 - Follow your plan (It’s still software) Scope creep

20. Good designhttp://mashable.com/2010/10/06/branded-mobile-apps/

22. Can’t do this w/ TIVO

24. Reserves cars

26. Engages users

28. Opportunity #1Reallocation of Advertising DollarsMobileMarketingWatch.com Flurry is reporting that iPhone social gaming apps garner a larger audience than many prime-time TV shows, including the likes of Sunday Night Football, CBS’s Undercover Boss and NCIS Los Angeles. In a blog post published today titled “Is iPhone the Next American Idol,” Flurry estimates iOS social gaming apps have a daily audience of 19 million viewers and are averaging more than 22 minutes per day, per user. The fact that these numbers alone represent a larger audience than many of the most popular TV shows combined is intriguing, but then there’s the fact that Flurry’s numbers are just from it’s network, representing only a small portion of the total audience.

30. Opportunity #2 – Cause Marketing Leads to Transactions A Location Based, Cause Marketing, Volunteer MashUp October 3, 2010 Imagine this: a mainstream location-based marketing app like Yelp, FourSquare, GoWalla or Scvngr that allows you to “check in” when you’re volunteering and earn points from a sponsoring organization for doing so. You find a volunteer opportunity through an organization like VolunteerMatch. When you arrive at your volunteer gig, you check into Yelp under a special volunteer designation using your smart phone. Because a partnership has been established between Yelp, VolunteerMatch and a large retailer like Starbucks, you get volunteer points. After you’ve volunteered so many times per month or per year, your points become redeemable at any Starbucks just by showing your smart phone. Once your points are redeemed, your volunteer points go into an archival status.

31. Opportunity #2 – Cause Marketing Leads to Transactions Additional partnerships could be forged with other retailers so that once archived volunteer points reach a certain threshold, the volunteer would be eligible for other rewards. Imagine once you reach 20 hours of volunteering, you receive a $20 gift cart from Target. The purpose for doing this is not to incent people to volunteer. The purpose for this type of mash-up is essentially cause marketing. Companies will demonstrate what they’re all about by rewarding a behavior of which they approve: volunteering. That sends a clear message and potentially brings in new customers upon point redemption.

32. Opportunity #3 – Direct Response Consumers want to respond to your ads... by mobile phone If you want to maximize response from ads in any media then you must include a mobile response channel. Such are the findings of a study in Europe by Lightspeed Research for the Mobile Marketing Association. A quarter of consumers in Europe would be more likely to respond to an ad if they could do so via mobile. That goes for ads in any media including print, television, radio and billboards. "Enabling consumers to respond to traditional advertising methods via mobile is a great way of bringing adverts to life and increasing their impact with today's highly mobile consumer," said Dr. Peter A. Johnson, VP of Market Intelligence for the MMA.

33. Opportunity #3 – Direct Response "Using mobile as an access point enables consumers to engage with brands of their choice whenever and wherever they want. Integrating mobile response mechanisms into other advertising channels also provides an effective way of assessing return on investment from which to shape future campaigns and understand consumer behavior." Furthermore, the research, which was carried out in the U.K., France and Germany, found that sending a keyword via SMS to a shortcode was the most popular method of response. This is great news for marketers because SMS has the greatest reach among mobile users as it does not require an advance device in order to participate. by Helen Leggatt, Bizreport.com

34. Opportunity #4 – Code everything Scanlife reports a 700% increase in barcode scanning The report shows that from January 2009 until January 2010, barcode scanning was relatively static, but that from January 2010 through September growth skyrocketed to more than a 700% increase. The most common barcode is that which links to a URL (85%) but codes can link to many other sources including Menu, Contact, Lotto and Other categories. Currently, the Health and Beauty category is receiving the bulk of barcode scans (21%), followed closely by Grocery (14%) and Books (12.6%). Surprisingly Electronics and Video Game scans ranged from 6% to about 4%, among the lowest of the categories. Who is scanning barcodes? US, Canadian and UK consumers are scanning most often Within the US, consumers in California, New York, Texas and Florida are most active Women (74%) between the ages of 25 and 54 (74%) with an income between $50,00 and $100,000 per year (33%) are most likely to scan barcodes Those with incomes under $50,000 (23%) or between $100,000 and $150,000 (20%) also scan barcodes Android (45%) and BlackBerry (27%) users are most likely to scan barcodes Only 15% of iPhone users scan barcodes

35. Opportunity #4 – Code everything What is considered a 'scan'? Traditional UPC and EAN barcodes, which are already available on packages, but also the newer 2D QR Codes, Datamatrix and EZcode formats. What is interesting about the mobile scanners is that these codes can include coupon information, but that information isn't all that is available. Mobile codes can include product information or can even point a consumer to a mobile website for other offers and content.

36. But – beware! Report: Mobile apps engaging in short term Although mobile is a hot topic among advertisers, it seems that consumers may be disconnecting with apps. New research from Borrell Associates finds that, although 500,000 apps are downloaded per hour, most of those apps are quickly discarded by consumers. Because of the quick discard, much of the ad spend within apps may be wasted. According to Mobile Applications: Preparing for the App-ocalypse, consumers are currently downloading a half-million apps every hour with the average smartphone consumer having about 22 apps on their mobile units. The problem? Of the 22 apps on a consumer's phone right now, in six months only 1 of them will still be used by that consumer. The future does look bright for mobile, but that is in the 'mobile' category of advertising, not the 'app' category. According to the Borrell report about 66% of the online advertising spend will be served by a mobile device by 2015. That is a mobile device, not necessarily an app. As mobile browsers become more sophisticated, apps may or may not become obsolete.

37. But – beware! How should apps be used from a marketer perspective? Perhaps as a way to impart more content to the consumer, much like widgets have been used in the online space. Utilizing an app to help consumers find product information, access forms or even make purchases are three ways to engage via mobile devices. When this is done from a branded mobile app, for example the State Farm apps which allow consumers to access claim forms, the ad is part of the site rather than the ad being a simple sponsor of a game. Only time will tell what will happen with apps. In the mean time, although apps are a hot commodity, brands should be careful how their app dollars are spent. by Kristina Knight, Bizreport.com

38. Don’t chase the “shiny object” Use apps as a part of your marketing mix, but don’t neglect basic strategy. Ask these questions – Does developing and promoting an app help my company meet certain objectives? What business model is right for meeting our goals? What partnerships are possible that might make my app more appealing, or easier to market? What is my plan for marketing the app once it is built? (note: PR isn’t enough) How will I measure the app’s effectiveness and ROI? Is my app sustainable? How long do I have in the marketplace before a competitor surfaces?

39. Questions