F.Y.I.

Bupa’s FoodSwitch app hits number one in app store

Health organisation Bupa’s new app FoodSwitch, to help shoppers make healthier food choices in supermarkets, has reached what it claims is the number one app in the iTunes store within 24 hours. Porter Novelli is behind the media relations campaign.

The announcement:

PR campaign drives free app to top of the charts

Bupa’s FoodSwitch reaches number one in App Store within 24 hours

FoodSwitch, an Australian-developed app, released last week by healthcare organisation Bupa and The George Institute for Global Health to empower shoppers to make healthier food choices in the supermarket, shot to the number one position in the App Store with over 26,000 downloads in the first 24 hours and over 75,000 in the first five days.

Porter Novelli undertook a media relations campaign for major client Bupa which achieved extensive national coverage for the free FoodSwitch app. Major media outlets who reported on the app included The Project, TODAY, ABC 702, ABC Radio National, 2UE, 2GB, 4BC, 2Day FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Herald Sun, The Canberra Times, as well as extensive online coverage, resulting in significant awareness and talkability.

Bupa’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Roger Sharp, said “The initial success of the FoodSwitch app highlights the appetite for better food labelling information amongst consumers . As a leading healthcare business, we’re delighted to help Australians make healthier food choices.”

Porter Novelli Managing Director, Tim Parker said, “FoodSwitch hit number one in the App Store remarkably quickly thanks to a campaign executed purely via PR and social media activity.
“We found that it was an exciting process to reveal Foodswitch to journalists and consumers across the country; they were genuinely interested in the potential for simple and practical tools such as FoodSwitch in helping to shift Australians’ shopping behaviour.”

FoodSwitch allows users to scan the barcode of packaged foods using their iPhone camera and receive immediate, easy to understand nutritional advice using the traffic light food labelling system. Importantly, it also displays healthier choices.
Developed by The George Institute for Global Health and launched thanks to a partnership with healthcare group Bupa, FoodSwitch is backed by a database of over 20,000 packaged products found in Australian supermarkets.

FoodSwitch follows the successful BrainyApp, an Australian-developed, world-first app launched in November last year with an equally successful targeted media campaign by Porter Novelli. Developed by Alzheimer’s Australia and Bupa Health Foundation, the BrainyApp is the world’s first dementia risk reduction app designed to help people monitor and improve their Brain-Heart health.

BrainyApp reached number one in free apps in the App Store within 24 hours, with over 120,000 downloads in its first week. Porter Novelli’s media campaign achieved national coverage on ABC TV, pieces in The Daily Telegraph and The Canberra Times, as well as extensive national radio and online coverage, boosting downloads of the app.

FoodSwitch is available as a free, Australian-only download from the App Store for iPhone 3GS/4/4S and iPad 2 devices. Updates will include versions for Android based devices.

BrainyApp is available for download for all iOS (iPad, iPod, iPhone) products from the App Store. An Android version is in development.

Source: Bupa press release

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