Olympic inspired Apps FULL report

How your business can capitalize on tHe mobile opportunity

with mobile apps: olympics 2012GO FOR GOLD

OppORtunitY:tHE

go for gold The OppOrTuniTy

It’s coming! The most connected international event in history. London 2012 promises tremendous mobile opportunities for advertisers to inspire millions of tourists, athletes, fans and spectators. With 5.3 million tourists expected in London1, over 8 million coveted event tickets, and over 1 billion global viewers tuning in2, brands can join the experience, deepen connections with customers, and claim their territory during “the biggest consumer spend ever at an Olympic Games.”3

Networks in London will buzz like never before. To meet this

massive, positive audience.

with cross-platform apps and social media designed to capture momentum and mindshare, without infringing the heavily protected trademarked partnerships.

and Visa have already announced branded apps, interactive digital and mobile campaigns that tap into star power, music, community spirit and new mobile payment technologies.

how you can get your app launched for the summer.

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UK mobile advertising market expected

to remain the largest market in Europe

accounting for €1.14bn per

annum by 2015.7

Quick StatS:Market Potential

84% of

Smartphone

owners access

mobile Internet

daily.4

UK mobile advertising market

began a new “golden age”,

doubling in value to USD 130

million in 2010, with 19.1 million

monthly data users.5

Smartphone penetration in UK: over

50% by end 2011, 32.44 million devices.8

1.6 million additional

network users

expected during the

2012 Olympic Games.6

go for gold quick sTaTs

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the contestants

Word on the street is that General

Electric is producing a social interactive

map of the Olympic grounds, including

photos, blog posts and social feeds.

Maybe it will look something like this.9

go for gold The cOnTesTanTs: hOpefuls

Dave Manning just checked-in

to Olympic Stadium

at the Aquatics center in the Olympic Park

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saMsUnG olYMPic torch toUr 2012offered participants the chance to nominate their heroes to carry

An interactive billboard campaign launched the Olympic Torch

themselves in the experience by posing with a virtual Beckham and sharing their photos via Facebook. 60 young people are expected to report live from key locations

Olympic events.

to bring the people of the Olympic Games, both participants and viewers, closer together with the use of smarter wireless technologies”10

limited edition Olympics branded Near Field

with exclusive content, and are offering quick payments at more than 60,000 locations in the UK.

part of the initiative.


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coca-cola Move to the beat

B. The entire experience was captured in a 60 min documentary as part of a fully integrated global campaign.

the unveiling of the Beat Wall, an urban art piece overlooked

journey to fuse music and sport. Track the Beat engages teens by

gain access to exclusive content and prizes.

Olympic Games and to sport in general. Harnessing teens’ passion for music, and drawing inspiration from London’s musical heritage, the campaign fuses London music with Olympic sport to connect young people to London 2012.”11


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nEwS appS Our analysis of Forbes 2000 brands tells us that product and service news is a top feature for integration into successful branded applications.

are popular with a spectrum of brands and have proven a rich source of consumer engagement.

aGGREGatE & innOvatEto entry is low and the technology readily adaptable to any newsfeed/media-feed concept. Differentiation in this competitive space is all about

lifestyle, event or celebrity who will be inclined to buy or subscribe to

design and strong editorial controls are key to standing apart in this space and adding value to your brand.

go for gold The cOnTesTanTs: seTTing The pace

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news: nbcbreaking news, live results, schedules, content listings, medal

media feeds and videos; and mobile alerts containing news, results, alerts by sport, video/photo/athlete alerts, and TV/event reminders.

“ During Beijing 2008, we found that users turn to mobile to stay connected to the Games anytime, anywhere. Therefore we are working on a better mobile experience. We want users

they are.”


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StREaminG mEDia appS Video is widely considered the king of content. If you own the exclusive rights to broadcast or distribute footage from events or

the Vancouver 2010 Olympics - your competitive edge is secure.

user-generated video can help your app draw its own unique crowd. But don’t just expect users to download your app. An unexpected niche or perspective is essential - brands should resist casting too


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streaMinG Media: ctvLaunched in Dec 2009, when only one carrier sold the iPhone in

information about results, athletes, venues and schedules and in-app purchases. Downloads were achieved only by word-of-mouth.

“ Important for broadcasters, [besides the news feed], are video

to success. Beyond features, broadcaster apps should always

data is important, the brand name won’t sell the app, but the true metric is the user star rating, so UX & UI need to be great.”

- Indusblue


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rUGbY In 2008, Guinness

offered a pitch

perfect app to the

20,000 international

visiting Hong

Kong. Passport to

Greatness offered a

free city guide with

spoken Cantonese

phrases, local maps,

schedules and

rewards. Guinness

credited the guide

with a 30% year-

on-year increase

in sales. “Take me

of Guinness and

beautiful girls.”

go for gold: The cOnTesTanTs: seTTing The pace

EvEnt anD tOuRiSm GuiDES

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Visitors need guidance and fans need updates. What time does the triathlon start? Where’s the nearest Tube station? What time does that pub close? Directions, timetables, results, area history, restaurant and hotel guides… Who is your customer, and what do they want to discover?

Following a favorite national team, sport, athlete or brand is

interviews and behind the scenes content can help make us-ers feel involved and build grassroots support for groups and

themes and countries can share their message in a seamless experience and build a wealth of goodwill that lasts long after the event.

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event/toUrisM: heinekenAvailable also in Java and web version, it features venue maps, daily schedules, taxi calling, healthcare information, weather and news, wallpapers, a ringtone and available merchandise.

information around the public transport, taxis, artist & sports schedules, location of food stalls, weather information and a download area for wallpapers and ringtones.

“ With the Holland Heineken House app for all platforms in

Unique about the campaign is that it was distributed through

unique phones, out of those the application was sent to 6,000 -


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event/toUrisM: bellThe 2010 app included location-aware schedule of the events, directions to venues, ticket purchase, personalized news & sharing. Provides event guide templates to sponsor & customize apps. Heavy integration of location-based services, “great for

the Games. Details have not been made public yet.

“ Important features for event apps are location-sensitivity combined with a map or plan of the area and venues,

- Xomo Digital

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tEam cEntRic appS

to build itself by making features easy to share, and offering re-wards, access or special status that’s worth working for.

clumsy extras that don’t quite match the brand.

-spire long-term loyalty.


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teaM centric: Usa woMan’s bobsled schedUle

times, notes, pictures, videos and links to twitter and their team website.

“ The biggest issue in developing apps around Olympics will be licensing & trademarks, as the use will need to be discussed with teams & organizers. If that issue is solved, one should in-

and enhance the schedules with social capabilities, push no-

The overall app should ideally also be combined with other strategies.”


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teaM centric: sPecial olYMPics irelandLaunched in mid-2011, planned to be part of the marketing campaign for the Athens special Olympics. The app couldn’t be integrated well due to time constraints; downloads of almost 1,000 were just based on word-of-mouth. The aim was to create a positive association with the team & athletes by integrating

feeds and a donation link, all fed into the app by the athletes.

“ Planned features for the next updates include an update

customization / personalization of content, other additions could be referrals and a direct donation process. No matter the features though, the most important thing is how things are presented.“

- mApps.ie


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proposition. It can reap massive rewards if successful - games are consistently the most popular app category. Games are fun, fast, playable and easy to share, but committing to game development and

importantly, the budget to expand your brand in a bold direction?

offer genuine, quirky entertainment or a superb user experience to carve a piece of that time?

Beckham in your photo and post it to Facebook. Ring that cowbell. One-off apps that capture a niche or simple idea can hit it big with the fans, and big at the bank too.

few games are innovative and sophis-ticated enough to make it to the top.

GamESgo for gold The cOnTesTanTs: seTTing The pace

GimmickS

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GaMes: barclaYcardAlternAtive to utility: entertAinment.

Although only about 1 in 100 branded apps is a pure gaming application, entertainment apps & games remain an important alternative to utility apps.

This was proven by the Barclaycard Waterslide app that was downloaded over 20 million times and generated brand engagement of over 650,000 hours.

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GiMMick: cowbellemblazoned

cowbell, event schedule, favorites, news, social media.

Leveraged social media and online marketing to reach their download numbers.


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GiMMick: nbc with coca-cola

universal to engage fans in a multi-faceted olympics themed programme.

athletes, limited edition packaging, mobile media and digital experiences.

sounds related to the winter Games like air horns, and sounds

users can created custom sounds and watch videos.


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tech tiPs

as a convenient tool for customers has inspired many major companies to

Google has announced a mobile wallet

payments will become a norm in the near future.

mObiLE paYmEntS & nFc

Facebook. Foursquare. Gowalla. All of these services encourage users to share their locations in real-time, to connect with nearby friends and to “check in” at shops, restaurants and attractions to earn discounts and loyalty rewards. Locations, reviews and coupons are broadcast to the users chosen network.

Expanded loyalty services like

redeemed at thousands of retailers

walking in the door, sharing a message, even using a linked Visa card to pay at

cHEckinG ingo for gold Tech Tips

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auGmEntED REaLitY appS & LOcatiOn baSED SERvicESAugmented reality places virtual objects in user’s real world view through the screens of their mobile devices. A user walking in an unfamiliar city can overlay directions,

other residents or trigger elaborate animations

Interacting with territories, items and locations was impossible before the proliferation of smart mobile devices and apps.

Polo. These location-based games brought

hours of fun to many of us as children. Then

video games came along and suddenly the

only location you played in was the living

room. Now this shift is coming full circle as

innovative mobile games are using geo-

location, image recognition and augmented

reality technologies to combine the real and

virtual worlds.”

Greg Stein, Mashable.com

go for gold Tech Tips

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QR codes are popping up everywhere, on posters, on television, on takeaway packaging and in the pages popular magazines.

and you’re instantly transported to any number of branded campaigns, exclusive content, deals and discounts.

QR cODESgo for gold Tech Tips

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the issue of Bandwidth

The expected strain on London’s 3G networks has prompted wireless leader British Telecom to provide increased capacity to cope with the inevitable demand for data. The company has promised more than 500,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in time for the Olympic Games. the Phone Free Zone

connection, sharing and interaction will be centered in the Olympic Park and throughout the city.

olympics logo

for it you can’t use it.

go for gold hurdles

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the startinG blocks

timELinES FORDEv / buDGEt:Mass Market vs. boUtiqUe

readY... steadY... Go Mobile!

Brands don’t have to reach 1 million downloads to reach their goals. A loyal following of 10,000 customers can do a lot for a

Olympics?

What can you

make?Use Exicon’s tools

( or contact Us! )

go for gold The sTarTing blOcks

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tHREE LEvELS OF nativE appS

US $5,000 - $15,000 US $50,000 - $100,000 Over US $100,000

basic interMediate advanced

Think about optimizing your website, blog, or microblog for

the mobile.

Tap into key handset features to provide location, social, and

gaming services.

Integrate with existing loyalty programs, mobile payment, logistics, and legacy systems.

experience.”

“All the bells and whistles.”“A great looking interactive brochure.”

awareness informing sharing location aware transactional

2 weeks 1 - 3 months 3 - 12 months


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do it now

The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics offers opportunities never before seen in the mobile advertising industry - millions of truly connected world citizens,

we can help

Exicon matches businesses with the best developers globally for their app projects. Our online tools, directories and reports, as well as our consulting services, can help you

will bring you the best 3 developers for your project, brand, budget and location.

Don’t miss out on the huge opportunity presented by the London Olympics 2012.

wHat aRE YOu waitinG FOR?


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image Credits:

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go for gold references

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1. MobileSQUARED, “The Olympic opportunity: Will poor 3G networks hinder mobile creativity?” 30 Nov. 2011. http://

mobilesquared.co.uk/news/The%20Olympic%20opportunity%20Will%20poor%203G%20networks%20hinder%20mo-

bile%20creativity_170, 1.1 MobileSQUARED “Access: Mobile, Inspiring brands to communicate with mobile consum-

ers, Can 3G networks deliver rich media mobile campaigns to millions of Olympic fans in 2012?” Nov.2012. http://

2. The Economist. “And the silver goes to...” 27 Sept. 2011. (http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2011/09/

ranking-sports%E2%80%99-popularity?page=3,

3. Visa Europe. “Visa report predicts biggest ever Olympic and Paralympic Games consumer spend at London 2012

- £5.1 billion boost to UK.” July.2011. http://www.visaeurope.com/en/newsroom/news/articles/2011/visa_2012_

4. Gstatic. “Think mobile, the mobile movement, understanding smartphone users with Google” April. 2011. http://www.

gstatic.com/ads/research/en/2011_TheMobileMovement.pdf

5. -

6. Exicon calculation. 5.3M addtl visitors, around 50% smartphone users, of which 59% use mobile internet = around

1.56M – this is the potential of people that have the habit of using mobile internet, not the people who would necessar-

ily roam.

7. MobileMarketing Magazine. “UK Mobile Advertising Worth EUR1.14bn Per Annum by 2015” March. 2011. (http://

8. mobileSQUARED . ”Teens lead UK smartphone penetration“ 23 August. 2011. (http://www.mobilesquared.co.uk/

9. mobileSQUARED. “Access:mobile – Inspiring brands to communicate with mobile consumers. Can 3G networks deliver

rich media mobile campaigns to millions of Olympic fans in 2012?” Nov.2011. - http://www.mobilesquared.co.uk/

10. Samsung. “London 2012 Olympic Games. Everyone’s Olympic Games with Samsung” 20 March 2012 http://www.

samsung.com/uk/london2012/olympics.html

11. Coca-Cola. Press Releases “Coca-Cola Invites Teens Around the World to Move to the Beat“ of London 2012 with

Award-Winning Producer Mark Ronson” Nov. 2011. (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/dynamic/press_cent-

12. Aurasma: Augmented Reality in action. March 2012 http://www.aurasma.com/

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this report was brought to you by exicon. Exicon helps clients drive software innovations through our

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resources directories and reports to support our clients’ quest to

get ahead in the mobile and internet arena. We connect Fortune

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Find out what we can do for you and how we can help you build

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Sports

Olympic inspired Apps FULL report