Apps and brand management - is it indispensable to be mobile?

Abstract

Strategic brand management via media has become especially relevant in recent years and almost every company that wants to have a good relationship with their customers have developed tools and adapted their brand communication to the different environment that has emerged. Some companies that do not understand these changes in the media have been left behind. The process of adapting to new technologies has not only brought changes in the way that media and technologies have been introduced by the companies, but a “new way” to think about these brands and their repercussions in the minds of consumers. This is demonstrated by the quantity of applications developed for smartphones: There are 20000 such applications and the number continues to increase. This study is about the appearance of brands in applications for mobile phones, especially iPhones. This research shows that there are 3 essential criteria for the development of these applications. First and most important is that the advertisers should focus on the analysis of the needs of the users, determine their objectives, create plans for integration and above all to make the application multichannel and build upon commercialisation. Even if the application works correctly but doesn’t match user expectations, the image of the brand for customers will be damaged. Next, the user experience in the mobile applications should be coherent with and compliment their experience via other channels. The application should match the brand and identity of the company. Finally, it is important for the brand to adapt to new technologies because a badly considered or developed application could be more damaging for the companies than if their brand was not present.