The Role of Apps and Advertising

There is no denying the power of mobile apps according to a recent article WPP’s Sorrell hails the power of apps in the United Kingdom’s The Guardian. Indeed, the stats about apps are impressive:

* The average iOS user has downloaded approximately 60 apps per device
* Cumulative App Store downloads will soon overtake iTunes music and video downloads
* Gartner predicated 17.7 billion app downloads and $15.1 billion in app revenue

The effects that apps will have on advertising are equally noteworthy. Last week at Mobile World Congress, Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, a London-based advertising holding company stated, “Apps are a classic example of this shift from broadcast to multifaceted engagement,” he said. “They enable brands to connect with consumers at numerous touch points, whether at home or in the shops … It opens a lot of opportunities for our clients, but also challenges.”

Furthermore, Sorrell recognized the power of Location Based Services (LBS) applications and their future role in advertising saying, “Location targeting is the holy grail that we as advisers on behalf of our clients are looking for.” Sounds right up our alley…

Wednesdays With Warren: Review of GGP’s The Club App

As one of our partners, it’s only right that General Growth Properties’ (GGP) The Club Shopping Mall Guide app gets the spotlight on this week’s Wednesdays with Warren. Upon opening the app, the user is greeted with a friendly screen to choose a mall closest to them, as well as dropping a pin on their current location. Once a local mall is chosen, a screen comes up with several options, to either view a map of the mall, view a directory listing of current stores, or my personal favorite: the sales and events sections.

Six Canadian Mall Maps added to Point Inside App

Per user requests, Point Inside has been adding many Canadian malls to the Point Inside Maps for Airports and Malls application. This week, six interactive mall maps have been added including, Pacific Centre, St. Vital Centre, McCallister Place, Halifax Shopping Centre, Pen Centre and Galeries de la Capitale.

Pacific Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, joins Park Royal Shopping Centre, Richmond Centre and the Vancouver International Airport in the Point Inside app. It is the largest mall in Downtown Vancouver with over 100 stores and services.

St. Vital Centre joins Polo Park Mall in Winnipeg, MB. The mall features 160 stylish stores.

McAllister Place is part of the East Saint John Mall District in Saint John, NB. The mall is newly remodeled and features many specialty stores.

Halifax Shopping Centre is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. With over 200 stores, it is the largest multi building shopping centre in Atlantic Canada.

Wednesdays with Warren: Review of Meijer Find-It App

This week’s blog is about one of Point Inside’s partner apps, Meijer Find-It. This app is a total savior inside Meijer stores across the country, giving you everything needed for a painless shopping trip, right on your phone. It not only has a map, but you can also find Meijer stores nearest to you, and view special offers right in the app. As if that was not cool enough, there is also a parking reminder for help navigating those massive Meijer parking lots. I was lucky enough to be on vacation in Grand Haven, Michigan, so I got a chance to test out the app for myself.

Really, the best way to describe this app is it’s like having a personal Meijer associate right there with you for your entire shopping trip. From the moment I parked I used the parking reminder to help find my car after checking out. Once in the store, I typed in the first item on my shopping list (which happened to be Nacho Cheese Doritos), hit the search button, and I was off. Not only did a map come up of the entire store, but then a pin dropped right where I found my beloved chips. Once I finished up finding the rest of the items on my list, I decided to poke around the “Sale” section to see if I could scope out any deals, and voi-la, I had a virtual listing of all the current sale items. I was beginning to wonder what this app couldn’t do…

To sum things up, Meijer put a lot of time and effort into this app, and it shows. The experience when using it is refined and smooth, and the learning curve takes nearly no time at all. I recommend this app to any would-be Meijer shopper looking to make their shopping a little easier, and save some money at the same time.

Flying to Bangkok? Point Inside has you covered

The Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), also known as the (New) Bangkok International Airport, is the newest addition to the free Point Inside Maps for Airports and Malls application. Located east of Bangkok in Racha Thewa, the airport is the main hub for Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Orient Thai Airliens and Thai AirAsia. The name Suvarnabhumi was chosen by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and refers to the golden kingdom guessed to have been located somewhere in Southeast Asia.

The airport has the world’s tallest control tower and the world’s third largest single-building airport terminal. Suvarnabhumi is the fifth busiest airport in Asia.

President Obama mentions Indoor Maps in the State of the Union

President Obama last week confirmed that indoor maps are a staple of the future, and Point Inside is here to make sure that future comes to fruition. About halfway through his speech, The President delivered this paragraph: “Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed [...]