News

Branded iPhone apps ‘no longer a gimmick’ as Australian-made Tic Tac app hits 1.1m

Tic Tac, MumbrellaThe Australian-created Tic Tac “Shake & Share” iPhone application has reached over the one million mark in downloads worldwide, 12 months after it was launched.  

The app, created by Sydney digital agency Webling Interactive, allows users to share digital Tic Tac pills with other iPhone users via Bluetooth.

While figures for other branded apps in the entertainment category are not released by all companies, results from those that have been made public include Coca-Cola, Audi, camping gear brand Coleman, Universal Pictures, Zippo lighters and watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre.

According to the most recent figures publicly available, Coke’s Magic Bottle app has had 500,000 downloads, while Spin the Bottle has had 870,000 downloads.

Universal Pictures had 250,000 downloads for its Bruno app; Lions Gate’s Crank: Stun-O-Matic app has had two million downloads; and Zippo has had six million.

Geoff Northcott, AKQA London group account director, has complied a list of brands on his blog and discusses how to measure the success of a branded iPhone app.

He points to analyst firm IDC’s prediction that the iPhone will have 300,000 apps by the end of the year.

CommBank app, MumbrellaIn another new iPhone app created in Australia, the Commonwealth Bank has today launched an application utilising augmented reality, aimed at people buying or selling their home.

Deniz Nalbantoglu, Webling director, said: “Apps are no longer a gimmick. They are a key tool for marketers to reach and build relationships with customers, and establish a presence in one of the most personal digital spaces for the consumer; their mobiles.

“The global response to the Shake & Share iPhone App has been amazing. We are specifically thrilled that about 10% of the downloads were generated as a result of the viral strategy of the App.”

He added that there was no additional media budget invested to promote the Shake & Share app which was a finalist in the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) Awards last year.

Meanwhile, Tic Tac, last month it launched a digital campaign to promote the limited edition yellow and green Citrus Twist Tic Tac flavour.

And in the UK the Ferrero-owned mint brand has launched the “Shake some noise” campaign which asks consumers to find different and imaginative ways of using limited edition Tic Tac packs in the run up to the World Cup.

Football supporters are being directed to a website to upload their own rendition of a footballing jingle, goal celebration, or a self-penned anthem.

The Ferrero Group owns brands including Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Surprise and Kinder Bueno.

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