When considering a mobile marketing strategy, there are advantages and disadvantages to both mobile Web and mobile app. Review the pros and cons in this post to learn which is right for your clients or your brand.

We are in the middle of a mobile revolution. US smartphone subscribers hit 121M in October 2012 [2]. The smartphone, with its growing processing power, sophisticated camera, location awareness, mobile browser, and growing list of app functionality is changing the way we communicate and manage both our personal and business data. This has created an explosion of users leveraging the mobile Internet, with the average smartphone user spending about four hours on their phone each day [3] Add to this the tablet: a device category with almost no market share before the iPad’s introduction two years ago. Now the worldwide tablet market is expected to hit $122M US by the end of 2012 [4].

Smart marketers are looking for ways to exploit the mobile opportunity and an important question to consider is whether the best way to do it is with a mobile friendly web site, a branded native mobile app, or both.

Along with this mobile explosion is a steady increase in mobile app use. Smartphone users worldwide will download more than 45 billion apps this year, nearly twice the number of apps that were downloaded in 2011 [5]. October 2012 saw iPhone global daily app downloads surge to 5.4M, 33% higher than the previous month [6]. The week between Christmas and New Year is huge for app downloads as phones given for Christmas presents are unwrapped and loaded with the latest apps. In 2011 this period accounted for 1.2B apps downloaded globally, which is a 60% increase compared to the same period in the previous year [7]. All this downloading is having an impact on the economy. Aggregate data points valued last year’s app economy at $3.5B US, a figure expected to grow 90% by the end of 2012 [8].

How does mobile app usage compare to mobile Web usage? In the US, 47.6% of smartphone owners downloaded and used apps, compared 47.5% that surfed the Web [9]. So mobile app/web usage is roughly even. But heavy app users are also heavy Web users: 60% of US consumers who download apps monthly also accessed the mobile Web daily [10].

Another question to consider when planning mobile Web investments is the proportion of Web sites accessed from a mobile device compared to desktop or laptop computers. Web traffic from mobile devices is growing rapidly, more than doubling in the US if we compare August 2011’s 6.9% with 13.3% in August 2012 [11]. And the proportion of mobile Web is even greater in the developing world: for example: 58% for Zimbabwe, 48% for India, and 42% for Uzbekistan [12].

With the popularity of mobile apps and mobile Web roughly equal, let’s review some technical basics and consider technical and marketing merits of each.

Native mobile apps are built with hard-core programming languages like Objective C for iOS, Java for Android, and C# for Windows Phone, then compiled and distributed as a binary application and app store. However, a Web site’s front end is built with three main technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In the early days of smartphone adoption, Web sites looked pretty much the same on a mobile device as on a desktop, but these three Web technologies have since evolved to give developers the ability create mobile friendly Web sites that make them look and feel a lot like mobile apps. If well designed they will fit a smaller screen, respond to swipe gestures, access some the phones features such as geolocation, and can store data on the phone.

In a recent mobility study I led for Info-Tech Research Group entitled “Developer Challenges and Cross-Platform Solutions” we interviewed about 50 mobile marketing executives and developers from North America, Europe, and Asia. One of the questions we asked was “What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of mobile Web sites compared to native apps?” Figure 1 below graphs what they described as the advantages.

Fig 1. Advantages of mobile web sites vs mobile apps.

The data can be looked at from three main perspectives: that of the developer, the end user, and the marketer. From a developer’s perspective, mobile web provides cost effective cross platform access using web technologies that are already familiar, and once deployed are also easier to manage. From an end-user's perspective mobile Web provides easy access because there is no need to download an app, you just visit a Web site. The marketer’s perspective distills the main advantages of developer and end-user: Web is a less expensive and less time consuming way to get my message into mobile, with fewer barriers for the customer.

With mobile Web cheaper and easier than mobile apps, it might look like an easy decision to weave a marketing strategy based on mobile web, but we must also weigh these benefits against those available in native mobile apps.

Figure 2 below summarizes what the same Info-Tech respondents had to say about the disadvantages of mobile Web sites compared to native apps:

Fig 2. Disadvantages of mobile web sites vs mobile apps.

We can summarize the key points graphed above as follows, mobile Web sites cannot always (1) access all a phone’s features (e.g. camera), (2) be useful if there is no Internet connection, (3) provide highly satisfying speed and user experience. In addition, they do not live on a consumer’s mobile home screen, and therefore do not provide a constant reminder of the associated brand.

We can therefore conclude that although mobile Web sites are cheaper and easier, from a user or marketer’s perspective they are not usually better. It’s a case of not getting what you don’t pay for.

Packaged apps offer a compelling combination of multi-platform reach with native app performance. They are built with cross-platform development tools like Adobe PhoneGap and Sencha Touch that package up Web code in way that can interact with many phone features and be distributed through an app store like Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play.

Packaged apps consist of Web code wrapped in a native shell. Although they leverage browser functionality, traditional browser navigation and user interface elements (chrome) are optional and can be hidden. This allows packaged apps to appear as native apps do, yet stay interoperable across multiple platforms. Like native apps, they can be downloaded from app stores then installed and launched from the mobile device’s home screen. They can also work without an Internet connection.

A full 61% of developers who have adopted packaged apps have done so primarily to target another platform and to do so using existing skill (43%) [13].

But packaged apps are not perfect; some developers have abandoned them due to poor app performance (29%), restricted user interface capabilities (22%), and being a step behind native apps (29%) [13].

After complaints from Facebook users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a public announcement about the difficulties with packing HTML5 into its app:

The biggest mistake that we made as a company is betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native because it just wasn’t there [14].

For many people, the mobile web versus mobile app question becomes a philosophical debate. Do you believe in open standards? Which platform or ecosystem do I like or think is best? I prefer to take a pragmatic approach and consider a brand’s marketing objectives and what sort of technical platform best supports them. Considering the following questions and answers to better understand which direction is right for your brand and your campaign:

• Does your Web site have or will soon have significant mobile traffic? If so, you need a mobile friendly Web site. Considering the traffic statistics cited above, the answer to this is almost always yes. If you’re not sure, you can check your Web analytics package to see the amount of traffic originating from mobile devices.
• Are you planning a quick-and-dirty campaign? Short campaigns focused on a niche market are easier to cost-justify with a mobile micro site rather than a full branded app.
• Do you want the brand reinforcement that comes with having your app on a customer’s home screen? Almost everyone wants this, so the more important question is "Does your app idea have enough appeal to make this possible?"
• Does your campaign idea require offline access? If so, you need an app, either packaged or native.
• Does your campaign idea require a fully immersive, highly responsive user experience? For example, a highly gameified campaign will require a native app.
• Does your campaign idea require access to features only available via native APIs? If so, you’ll need a native app. Since OS makers are constantly changing their application programming interfaces (APIs), and packaged web tool makers are constantly racing to catch up, it’s not possible to provide a definitive list. However, it’s worth checking the following technology: camera, gyroscope, accelerometer, microphone, compass, GPS, address book, voice recording, microphone, voice calling, and email messaging.

Today, 13% to 58% of all Web site traffic is consumed with a mobile device, depending on geography, and this traffic continues to rapidly increase. If your Web site is not mobile friendly, you’ll frustrate many of your customers and drive away your prospects. So a mobile friendly site is a must have.

A mobile app represents a novel marketing opportunity for many brands. However, if the idea it’s based on is poorly conceived or executed, its impact may not justify the cost of development. But given the interest in apps from an audience whose size is increasing daily, a good idea that’s well executed can have a huge impact.

1. A full version of the main report on which this post is based is available as a free download from Code Crew: Developer Spotlight Developer Challenges and Cross-Platform Solutions, Info-Tech Research Group, June 2012.

2. U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share, comScore, October 2012
3. Apps Further Bolster Smartphone Usage, Linda Barrabee, NPD’s Connected Intelligence SmartMeter, October 2012
4. Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, IDC, September 2012.
5. Market Trends: Mobile App Stores, Worldwide, 2012, Gartner Market Analysis and Statistics, August 2012
6. Post-iPhone 5 Launch Heavily Influences October Indexes, Viki Zabala, November 2012
7. Holiday 2011: Breaking the One Billion App Download Barrier, Peter Farago, January 2012
8. CHART OF THE DAY: The App Economy Is $3.5 Billion, Alex Cocotas, June 2012
9. The Mobile Content War Continues: Apps edging out mobile browser, Social Fresh, Jason Kieth, August 2012
10. Why The “Web Versus Application” Debate Is Irrelevant, Thomas Husson, May 2011
11. Mobile Phones and Tablets Now Account for 1 in 8 U.S. Internet Page Views, comScore Data Mine, October 2012
12. Mobile share of web traffic in Asia has tripled since 2010, Pingdom, May 2012
13. Cross-Platform Developer Tools 2012, Vision Mobile, February 2012
14. Facebook: “Betting on HTML5 Was a Mistake” – Technical Reasons and Reactions, Abel Avram, September 2012

After completing in-depth interviews with about 50 creative and digital directors, brand managers, and mobile development executives during a study I did for Info-Tech Research Group, two qualities emerged as important correlates of a branded app’s marketing effectiveness:

• Usefulness, the quality of an app that enables users to complete a practical task in a way that is significantly easier than their conventional approach to task completion. For example, a store locator feature is useful because with a single touch you can find the nearest store of interest, while on the Web you’d need to type in your location or skim over a list of store locations.
• Socialness, the quality of an app that enables users to interact with others in a way that is emotionally rewarding or useful; for example, sharing family photos or asking for help from a peer group.

Of course other qualities such as entertainment value and usability are also important, but this post focuses on usefulness and socialness as they apply to the branded mobile apps developed by pharmaceutical companies for the baby care and baby development market, a global market worth over $44B US annually [1].

In a study that measured physiological changes during the use of branded mobile apps [2], Dr. Potter concluded that a useful app "increases the general interest in the product category that you're trying to sell, and the app also improves the attitude that you have toward the sponsoring brand ... and the purchase intention that you have towards the product". With some carefully controlled research suggesting that useful apps increase marketing effectiveness, it’s safe to conclude that baby care apps will be more effective if they are more useful.

It doesn’t take much persuasion to convince a brand manager that social access is important. The hype level on the subject is close to deafening. But while a Facebook or Twitter share button provide a superficial social component, deep socialness require that social features are directly integrated into an app’s functionality. For example, if an app allows you to post data it has collected and a related question to an interactive Web forum or Facebook wall, it will facilitate meaningful conversations and raise an app’s social value. If the conversation takes place within the app, it will also drive app adoption because the users have to download the app to participate in the discussion.

This year’s Advertising Week in New York was full of presentations on mobile and social marketing. I attended one of these by Laura Simpson, Global Director of McCann Truth Central in which she shared some fascinating research results from their online quantitative study of 6,800 moms in developed and developing countries [3]. The research suggest moms leverage their social network to solve the practical "mom" problems they face daily and paints a picture of the "mom economy" as an ecosystem in which switched-on moms exchange information and support and are socially rewarded for sharing.

In her day-to-day activities, each mom accumulates a wide range of information, from food for their family, cleaning methods, party entertainment, child education and care, as well as shopping and accounting. The job, in other words, is a serious multi-tasking challenge. Not everyone can be good at everything, so most moms specialize in a few areas. Figure 1 below shows the percentage of moms surveyed that regarded themselves as an expert in a particular area.

Fig 1. Moms see themselves as experts in some but not all required areas.

Moms bridge the expertise gap by getting together with other moms for advice, ideas, favors, and empathy. This creates a culture of community and sharing. Moms love to share: 88% of respondents said they want to share any interesting piece of information they come across and 37% said they would like to share it with as many people as possible.

How are moms communicating to their community and conducting their tasks? Technology is increasingly being used as the medium for communication and data gathering: 84% of moms said that technology simplifies their life. In fact, so strong is their attachment to technology that 49% of married mothers preferred to save their communication tool, whether mobile phone or computer, over their engagement ring!

Given that socialness will enhance the marketing effectiveness of any app, and the mom economy makes socialness even more important, designing deep socialness into an app should be a design priority.

Apps that focus on baby care and baby development are rapidly becoming a popular category in mobile app stores. They are usually designed to address one or several daily baby concerns. Let’s look at the usefulness of the feature set and socialness of the design of five popular branded baby apps.

This iPhone and iTouch app was built by the makers of Similac baby formula. It primarily focuses on tracking baby feeding, sleeping, diaper changes, and growth. Tips and advice are thrown in as well.

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Fig 2. Similac Baby Journal: Tracking, displaying, and sharing baby care data.

The app helps moms track their baby’s sleep patterns, breast feeding, bottle feeding, and diaper changes and displays the data graphically, which allows moms to improve their baby care routines. Moms can also email the information to their pediatricians, family, or friends.

• Usefulness: Moms inclined to track baby care data will find the app useful for data capture and data review.
• Socialness: The email sharing function facilitates social sharing. Socialness could be improved by allowing data to be shared app to app. For example, a Web or tablet-based app for pediatricians could receive data from the Baby Journal app, and further manipulate and display it in ways that would stimulate doctor-mom dialogue.

Similac Baby Journal on Apple’s App Store

[pharma-ad]

AmazingBaby is an iOS and Android app built by pediatric nutrition product maker Enfamil. The app focuses on child development and provides ways to monitor and structure play time and bath time. The app tracks motor, cognitive, communication, and social milestones.

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Fig 3. AmazingBaby Enfamil: Activity monitoring, capturing, and sharing child development app.

The app features are organized by "moment," defined as play time, fresh air, bath time, and quiet time. In all, 17 pre-programmed activities are designed to be fun and beneficial for a baby’s development. There are descriptions for each activity and the skills associated. You can snap pictures as you play and share them with friends and family over email and Facebook. There is also a "memories" timeline, organized by date, where you can see all activities played, milestones reached, and moments that could be interesting to re-visit when enough time passes.

• Usefulness: Moms inclined to track baby development data will find the app useful for data capture and review. Moms looking for new ideas of how they can interact with their baby to simulate development may also find the pre-programmed activities of value.
• Socialness: The social aspect of this app focuses on communications to family and friends over email and Facebook, mostly focused on photo sharing. The app adds some socialness value because these photos can be tied to a specific aspect of the baby’s development or developmental milestone, rather than generic photo sharing.

AmazingBaby on Apple’s App Store | AmazingBaby on Google Play

Built by Pfizer, I-Nanny is an iPhone app designed to provide expert baby care advice. The app covers warm care (growth tips and tracking), baby care information, and expert Q & A. Figure 4 below shows some screens for the Chinese market.

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Fig 4. Illuma I-Nanny: Chinese informational and advice app.

Illuma I-Nanny is primarily a reference app even if it provides some baby care tools. One very useful feature built into this app is that it provides opportunities for moms to interact directly with qualified medical and child care experts, but this is mostly a one-to-one communication. Moms can ask a doctor advice on different health issues relating to their baby.

• Usefulness: Having reference material close at hand is useful, but only marginally better than a reference book or computer. The build in advisory function is useful but presumably expensive to deliver.
• Socialness: The user-to-expert communication is a type of social interaction, but this app's socialness could be enhanced if it also provided tools to access mom’s peer group.

Illuma I-Nanny on Apple’s App Store

SMA Baby Know How is an English-language iPhone app built by Pfizer that focuses on baby care. It has features that center on practical advice, as well as pregnancy and baby care tracking tools. For pregnant women the app provides tools to countdown due dates, week by week guide to your baby’s development, a kick counter to monitor baby movement, and a timer to record length and intervals of contractions.

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Fig 5. SMA Baby Know How: Baby care and video sharing app.

For newly delivered mothers the app provides a baby age counter, week-by-week guide to baby growth and development, a daily feeds and needs tool (including breast or bottle feeds, nappy changes and sleep), and a Baby First milestone tool, that track moments like first smiles, first steps, and sleep. The app also features practical advice and videos.

Sharing again is limited to emails to mom’s friends and family, but this is a good way to make a baby’s development more social.

• Usefulness: The app is packed with features, many of which moms will likely find useful.
• Socialness: The email sharing function facilitates social interaction. Socialness could be improved by allowing data to be shared app to app.

SMA Baby Know How on Apple’s App Store

Bedtime Baby Sleep is an iPhone app built by Johnson & Johnson as a tool to help the 25-30% of babies that have trouble sleeping. I’m sure their sleep deprived parents are also grateful. There is a personal touch from the start, requiring parents to register online and create an account and baby profile. The app integrates the company’s three-step nighttime routine that helps babies fall asleep easier and sleep through the night better.

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Fig 6. Johnsons Bedtime: Sleep logging, habit, forum, and lullaby functions.

The app provides parents access to the advice of sleep analysts, including Dr. Jodi Mindell, who are ready to provide expert advice on sleep-related questions. Johnson & Johnson claims to have a clinically proven method for babies to fall asleep easily and sleep through the night. App features include a sleep log, a three-step nighttime routine with instructive videos, and step-by-step advice, access to sleep analysts, lullabies and ambient sounds to help soothe babies to sleep. The app links to a forum for moms.

• Usefulness: The app has a well-integrated set of features with a core focus on sleep, which moms will likely find useful.
• Socialness: Social aspects of this app are more diverse than the others surveyed here. In addition to one-to-one contact with a specialist, it has an integrated forum, which leverages peer-to-peer communication.

Johnson's Bedtime Baby Sleep on Apple’s App Store

Baby care and development apps are a great branding opportunity for pharmaceutical companies and other brands interested in accessing the mom economy. They can enhance a brand’s relationship with mom, the primary decision maker, gatekeeper, and brand ambassador to the market. Most of the apps outlined above accomplish this with high usefulness. They are packed with what are likely useful features.

Unfortunately, most of the apps I looked at only scratch the socialness surface with basic features like email and Facebook sharing. Their marketing effectiveness could be greatly enhanced if app features facilitated sharing of rich information and easy dialogue in the robust mom economy, whether over the Web, Facebook, and Twitter, or within an app itself. Sharing over existing social networks like Facebook leverages their existing user base and infrastructure. In-app sharing drives app downloads and keeps customers fully focused on the brand message within the app. Given the importance of the sharing to the mom economy, this kind of deep socialness can make the difference between a somewhat effective branded app and a highly effective branded app.

1. Baby Care Products Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast 2007 – 2017, Transparency Market Research, April 2012
2. The Effectiveness of Branded Mobile Phone Apps, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Steven Bellman and Robert F. Potter et al, November 2011
3. The Truth About Moms, McCann’s Thought Leadership Unit, July 2012