If sites like Facebook have your eyelids drooping lately, why not consider venturing into new app territory? We asked industry pundits to shed insight on the top apps marketers should track. Here are a few to keep your (hopefully open) eyes on:
Taggar
Users can secretly tag real-world objects or images with a video, photo or doodle, which others can later uncover with the app.
Lance Martin, partner and ECD, Union, says Taggar, which launched in December, presents brands with the opportunity to capitalize on consumers retrieving content via the app.
“Imagine scanning a cereal box and getting nutritional information or seeing the latest spot,” he explains. “Collector brands like Converse or Nike could run a branded scavenger hunt with their products being the key to the next clue.”
Martin also has his eye on Checkout 51, a mobile platform which he suggests “reinvents the coupon.”
Offers such as $1-off products like frozen waffles or shave gel are posted weekly, and shoppers looking to save upload photos of their receipts with the participating items they have purchased. Users, and there are reportedly over 500,000 of them, receive a cheque when their savings total $20.
“The opportunity for brands is to target people directly, learn about shopping habits and get real-time insights with just the scan of a receipt,” says Martin.
Repost for Instagram
This app lets users repost photos with the initial author’s credit.
Cameron Wykes, chief innovation officer, KBS+ and president, BabyRobot, says brands can show loyalty to their followers by reposting their Instagram posts.
“Reposting is incredibly valuable for virtually any brand whose social goals are to drive greater brand affinity and influencer engagement,” he says, adding he has seen experience brands such as restaurants, entertainment venues and vacation destinations, have the most success with this.
Flipagram
This app lets users create “video stories” with photos from Facebook, Instagram and camera roll, giving the ability to add music and text. Videos can be shared on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr. It was ranked at #28 on the free apps list on the iTunes charts at press time.
“For brands, it can be a great tool for storytelling,” says Khoa Nguyen, emerging technologies strategist, Nurun, noting Victoria’s Secret and ESPN SportsCenter jumped on the 2013 recap bandwagon via Flipagram.
