Mobile apps are big business these days. Even though 2009 ushered in a wave of excitement and a rush of development for mobile applications, 2010 is set to be a breakout year in terms of marketers realizing the potential and overall usage by consumers.
A new report from DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless indicate mobile app investment should grow significantly this year, while spending on social apps, however, will grow stagnate even though more marketers have already developed the applications.
The study indicated that many marketers took a “wait and see” approach in 2009 in terms of a mobile app strategy, stating fewer than one-half of marketers created either a mobile or social app in 2009. Most of those surveyed plan to invest in a mobile app this year, however, with the iPhone being the platform of choice, followed by Android.
In terms of social compared to mobile in regards to a favorable platform for branded apps, Facebook took a demanding lead — with 79.8% of respondents utilizing the platform over others — with the iPhone a close second at 62.1%. Surprisingly, Android and Palm tied with 9.5% of respondents favoring the new OSs.
End-user engagement was the dominating cause for a brand’s interest in using social or mobile platforms for its apps, but social sites were perceived as better for many top goals- including engagement, audience targeting, branding potential and overall reach. Mobile scored higher on both creative control and persistence however.
It’s interesting to note the study revealed that 15% of advertisers and agencies spent more than 60% of their total app budgets on promotion in 2009. Even more surprising, more than one-third spent less than 5%- proving that promotional budgets and overall investment in general will have to increase substantially to make any headway in the coming year.
The top one-third of advertisers and agencies using mobile apps plan to up their investments by 75% or more over the coming year, according to the study, and marketers who used apps reported a growing market, client demand and increased standardization in the app world as reasons to spend more in the coming months.
If one thing’s clear, it’s that 2009 showcased what mobile and social apps can do for a brand. Those that took note will finally make the plunge in 2010, and overall investment, development and usage will skyrocket because of it.
