App-ception: Why Apps in Apps are a Marketer’s Dream
A brand’s existing app can sometimes be overlooked as a valuable platform for marketing promotions and may not be fulfilling its potential.
We often hear from marketers who are seeking new ways of distributing sophisticated digital content to their users but aren’t able to be as reactive as they’d like or are inhibited by budget and cannot create content to work across all platforms.
Wouldn’t it be great to distribute engaging content quickly to all existing app users without any of the traditional hurdles, lead times or costs?
App development is often outsourced so changes to the core app for a short-term advertising promotion are not justified by the time or expense. Even for apps that are developed in-house, there can be a considerable wait to get onto the development roadmap as well as app store approval processes, not to mention the hope that existing users would download the latest version of the app at some point to receive this content!
Enter the WebView!
Inject rich, 3D interactive experiences or content directly into an existing app without friction.
WebViews run browser content in apps seamlessly while appearing to be native. They offer marketers the opportunity for instant communication with their user base without being beholden to app store approval times or lengthy development catering to various devices and operating systems. By integrating a WebView into the app, fresh content can be surfaced to all existing users, giving agencies and/or marketing teams their own autonomy to release content freely and frequently at a low cost from one code base.
Why is that so good?
#1 Users are rewarded with engaging content they’ll love and share.
Spotify nails this each year with their home-screen take-overs for “Wrapped,” an interactive data visualisation analysing the artists, songs, and podcasts that defined your year compared to the rest of the world.
What a great way to show users they’re appreciated by providing them with unique and surprising insights they’re compelled to share!
By using a WebView, after the first download/update, the app need not be updated again to enjoy an endless stream of new content. When a new campaign is released, everyone gets it at the same time. This kind of content easily exists cross-platform too so cost efficiencies are made by deploying from the same code base and users can enjoy it on desktop or even their smart fridges.
#2 Grow an existing audience — don’t start a new one!
In days gone by, large-scale mobile-based promotions meant inviting users to download a new app which in turn creates another problem; how to promote the promotion? This can be a costly challenge with large ad spend, all for an app that’s ultimately deleted after use.
#3 Leverage an owned-media opportunity
A great benefit of WebView content is that once a user has the app they’re within the ecosystem, they’re able to enjoy fresh content however frequently it’s delivered to them, whether as a home-page takeover, advertising a particular promotion or a long-term mobile game within a dedicated section of the app.
#4 Web content is future-proofed.
The app store duopoly has dominated for over a decade but cracks in this method of software distribution are starting to show. While Google Play and the App Store offer reasonably widespread coverage, audiences are fragmented and users simply seek content wherever is most convenient to them. As the quality and performance of web tech improves so too does the connection speed of receiving the content, so browsers have become a much more viable home for content, now and for the future.
Even with 5G becoming more ubiquitous, users won’t need to wait to download an app to experience content. Efficient loading enables users to experience their first meaningful interaction via the web within seconds while the rest of the content loads gracefully in the background.
#5 But what about quality? Aren’t WebViews just websites?
Each of our web-based projects challenge the misconception that this content performs at a lower quality than apps. Recent advances in hardware have made ‘app-like-quality’ a reality from inside the browser and it’s only going to improve.
Check out our most recent 3D interactive web experience which includes realtime light rendering, spatial audio design and efficient loading: https://portalis.goodboydigital.com/
To sum things up
Offering app users unique, engaging and valuable experiences regularly may not be as cost-prohibitive or complicated as previously thought!
Let us know if you‘re interested in learning more about WebViews. We’ll be more than happy to chat about your brand and explore any potential solutions with you: hello@goodboydigital.com
We have lots more planned too so why not keep up to date with the latest and greatest by following us on Twitter @goodboydigital or LinkedIn -http://www.linkedin.com/company/goodboy-digital
For more information on Goodboy Digital web games, experiences and digital products please visit: goodboydigital.com
