trends posts

The keys to App Store success, courtesy of Pinch Media

by Brett Terpstra (RSS feed) on Feb 20th, 2009

Just about every conversation I have with an iPhone developer who's had any level of App Store success eventually (usually sooner rather than later) includes the question, "what worked for you?" I've been trying to distill some kind of pattern -- a sure-fire marketing tactic -- but there are just too many variables.

There are the ones which developers can control (to some extent): the general timing of a release (give or take a month), pricing, quality, external promotion, and certain aspects of the marketing process. There are also variables beyond the developer's control, such as the review process, being featured on an App Store list, the existence and tactics of competitors, duplication and an array of shifting circumstances and bad behavior. What we need is more data, right?

Pinch Media's Jesse Rohland & Greg Yardley, the gracious providers of some great App Store RSS feeds and developers of tools for iPhone app metrics, just published a slideshow (you can see it in the 2nd half of this post) which was presented at the New York iPhone Developers Meetup, sharing analysis of the data and trends they've been observing.

Snazzy charts? Witty banter? Sound advice? Check, check and check. Whether you're curious about the effects of price drops, various usage stats for free versus paid apps or the mathematics of breaking even (maybe turning a profit?), statistical analysis could be your friend. I know, real friends are nicer and more helpful on moving day, but that's what you get for spending all your time writing iPhone applications in dimly-lit rooms. I kid, of course: enjoy the show ...

Continue reading “The keys to App Store success, courtesy of Pinch Media”

Tags: App Store, AppStore, iphone, marketing, Pinch Media, PinchMedia, trends

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, iPhone, App Store

Tracking the iPhone hype generator

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 18th, 2009

Fortune's Apple 2.0 got a nice little graph up of just where and when the iPhone's hype machine went into overdrive. There's no question it was a gigantic brand last year, but what's interesting is just how manufactured and "by design" each of those spikes are. B on the chart above is the actual iPhone launch, and E and F are the 3G debut and store launch. Fortune relates point A to the Cisco lawsuit against Apple over the "iPhone" name, but let's be real: that was just part of the story of the gigantic iPhone reveal (which took place one day before, not two).

So the real story here isn't necessarily that Apple masterfully created a smartphone that revolutionized the industry and made tons of money doing it, but that they coordinated a hype machine that marched to their tune whenever they wanted. The red line above, as you can see, is Palm, and while there are a few spikes along that line (probably interest in various new products and releases), there's nothing like the excitement and hype that shoots up around a big Apple event. The iPhone is a feat of engineering in itself, but the hype machine behind it is pretty well-built, too.

Continue reading “Tracking the iPhone hype generator”

Tags: bubble, debut, events, fortune, graph, hype, iphone, iphone-3g, trends

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone

Spotting celebs with the iPhone

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on May 14th, 2008

Obama and Lindsay Lohan are far from the only people rocking the iPhone lately -- a new site called "Coolspotters" claims to track brands and the celebrities that use them, and the iPhone is pretty cool lately. 32 celebrities have been spotted -- everyone from Mike Tyson to Heidi Klum to Rose McGowan (pictured, though that really could be anyone, couldn't it?). In fact, the Apple iPhone is actually the most popular product on the site right now -- one spot above something called the Omnipeace t-shirt (yes, but does it have a multitouch screen?), and two spots above the MacBook Air.

Because everyone knows you need a site to tell you that what you own is cool, right? Of course, they are cheating a little bit -- I don't think the fact that Steve Jobs is using something necessarily makes it cool. Otherwise, we'd all have seen celebs toting around Newtons.

Still, if seeing celebs use the same product you have is your thing, the iPhone's got you covered there, too. Can't say it influenced my purchase much, but good to see that the rich and famous are catching on to what's been TUAW's favorite tech-cessory for a while.

[via Kottke]

Tags: bandwagon, celebrities, coolspotters, heidi-klum, iphone, mike-tyson, trends

Filed under: Apple

Apple among Gen Y most trusted brands

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Apr 23rd, 2007

Ok, Generation Y, which brands do you trust the most (for the record, "Generation Y" is comprised of people between the ages of 21-27)? Outlaw Consulting asked that question to a group they referred to as their "...most forward trendsetter* panelists" across several US cities, and Apple topped the list.

According to Outlaw, brands that the subjects viewed as "straightforward" were viewed favorably. Also, plain packaging that seemed to "...avoid excess" scored well. That seems to be consistent with Apple's famed "out-of-box experience," wouldn't you say? Other brands in the top 15 include:

As a representative of Generation X myself, let me say, "Vitamin Water?!? It's just water. I'll never understand kids these days."

*Read: The crazy ones.

[Via Macsimum News]

Tags: apple, brand, customer satisfaction, CustomerSatisfaction, marketing, outlaw, trends

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