Grapple, a leading mobile tech agency, is expanding its services to include a new monetisation division, the first in the UK dedicated to helping businesses make more money from mobile. Brands already benefiting from the new division’s services include B&Q, with the implementation of a mobile CRM strategy to drive footfall to stores during key trading hours.
The news comes as a survey by tracking company Adeven reveals that two thirds of apps in the app store get little or no downloads at all. These ‘zombie apps’ get fewer than 100 downloads a day (most get far, far fewer, says Adeven), which make them unsustainable as a business. But these zombies clutter the app store and can make it hard for your app or brand to rise to the surface.
Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel brand, is also taking advantage of the division to help drive awareness of its new iPhone and iPad apps, and through a mobile CRM programme that drives repeat bookings and reduces basket abandonment.
The division will help clients realise the full potential of the channel as a tool for business transformation, and address the issues facing many brands, of low download numbers and low repeat, long-term usage. A recent Flurry Analytics report found app retention levels can fall sharply after the initial install – to 24% after 3 months and just 4% after 12 months.
Grapple will help both new and existing clients maximise ROI from their apps through a mix of improved app discovery, better retention and revenue optimization, as well as cutting basket abandonment. The app marketing place is increasingly crowded and getting a retail app to stand out is increasingly hard. The company is looking to help retails use all channels to drive downloads of apps.
Once consumers have the app they are clearly engaged with the brand, but keeping that engagement going needs work, which is the other area that Grapple’s new division seeks to advise on. Then completing the sale becomes crucial – through any channel – once the customer has become loyal.
Adam Levene, Chief Strategy Officer, Grapple comments, “Brands are now investing more than ever before in the mobile channel, but ineffective strategies for app discovery and retention are creating a real barrier to long-term monetisation. A division dedicated to maximising ROI is a natural evolution of Grapple’s business through which we will further drive commercial success for our clients.”
Jason Barrett, Director of Monetisation, Grapple comments, “I’m delighted to be joining the management team at Grapple. The mobile market is maturing rapidly and I’m excited to work with such an inspiring array of clients to increase ROI from the channel, and to create the most engaging user experiences for their customers.”
Barrett brings over twenty years marketing experience to Grapple. Previously he co-founded Samba, the ad-funded mobile broadband service, and before that he served as Agency Sales Director for Unanimis, later acquired by France Telecom. He was a member of the launch team behind Blyk, the pioneering mobile-network founded by former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietilä.
The launch of the new monetisation division follows the announcement in May of Grapple’s Insights Engine – the world’s first tool to provide branded app only mobile insights. The engine aggregates global insights derived from over 300 branded applications across 325 different smartphone and tablet devices to provide the intelligence that major businesses need to get the most out of the channel.
