How do you develop an app? The NUsport lessons

28 jul 2010

534 viewsrating: rating: 0 of 5

comments: 0

You can be sure that the term ‘iPhone app’ is on many a marketing meeting agenda. Jungle Minds also receives many questions, such as: Why should we do something with mobile phones? What kind of content or functions should we offer? Which developers should we work with? How do you promote an app? This article discusses the insights and tips of Duco Berghuis, the NUsport marketer responsible for all online marketing and product development activities of this multimedia sport platform. Berghuis is responsible for the design and realization of the NUsport iPhone app launched in early May 2010.

The NUsport app: for all sports enthusiasts with an iPhone or iPod Touch

The free NUsport app displays live scores, standings, programmes and sports news. The NUsport app is not only aimed at football enthusiasts, but also at fans of tennis, field hockey, cycling, ice skating and Formula 1. It also disseminates news to enthusiasts of many other kinds of sports. For the most popular sports, the app provides live scores, results and programmes, plus the latest news. And there’s a mobile site for those who haven’t bought an iPhone yet: m.nusport.nl. Duco Berghuis came up with the idea and concept for the app, while XS2TheWorld – who were also behind the FC Twente and the I Amsterdam apps and various other sports apps – were responsible for its development and production.

Key functions

24/7 news
Standings, programmes and live scores for all popular sports: football, Formula 1, field hockey, tennis, cycling and ice skating
Free push notifications for live scores (for football)
Free push notifications for news (for all sports, football and football clubs)
Twitter & Facebook links
Set up the main menu yourself
Set up the main page yourself

What is NUsport hoping to achieve with this app?

The main goal of the NUsport app is to contribute to the total turnover of NUsport online through advertising (banner positions and the availability of a ‘powered by’ section). The app should also increase awareness of the NUsport brand.

Why did you choose an iPhone app?

Since the m.nusport.nl site, which can be accessed by mobile phone, was already established, anyone accessing the internet via their mobile phone can use the mobile content of NUsport through their mobile browser. An iPhone app was chosen because it allows you to offer just that little bit more to users, such as push notifications and the possibility of setting up the app yourself. Another reason was the launching of the NUsport brand; the app has been used during the campaign to emphasize NUsport's multimedia character. Berghuis says that 'if we had not launched a new brand, then we probably would have developed an Android app first. The potential of this – judging by the growing market share of Google's operating system – would have justified this kind of move. But the iPhone app simply gets more attention, and that was one of the objectives.'

Berghuis believes – as do his mobile-savvy colleagues at Netherlands Public Broadcasting – that publishers are currently victims of a large number of different platforms: 'You have to continue developing in the mobile field, but at this stage of mobile development you don't know yet which platform will come out on top or what kind of an income it will ultimately generate. The builders / developers take advantage of the presence of various operating systems. But publishers have to wait and see which way the wind is going to blow.'

What are your most important tips for anyone who is going to develop an app?

Do your research. Determine whether the app really has added value for users. What are their needs, and what are their preferred phones? And are there already many mobile applications to meet their needs?
Ensure that you have a clear business goal. Does the app strengthen your brand? Will it generate money? Will the app generate leads?
Keep the first release simple. Determine which key functions of your site you also want to make accessible by mobile phone. In the case of NUsport, it mainly concerns news and live scores.
Create a roadmap for subsequent releases. Be flexible, though, because after going live with the app, users will approach you with feedback, suggestions and ideas.
Link the app to your brand, especially by means of visual recognition (logo and house-style colours). But also make sure that the house-style features don't compromise the download speed.
Don't choose just any developer. Take experience into account and assess their way of working (e.g. do they produce demos and product iterations, and do they have experience with similar apps)? XS2theWorld turned out to amply meet these requirements.
Work closely with the developer to test the functional design and improve it where necessary. That's how NUsport worked with XS2TheWorld. By involving each other in all stages of the process and regularly discussing progress, you will prevent problems from arising at the end of the ride.
Ensure that you get a demo quickly. XS2TheWorld created an FO-based demo. Use this first demo to start testing and optimizing its functions.
Have the iPhoneclub test panel review the app before going live with it. NUsport did not have time for this due to time pressure, but Berghuis advises everyone to do it.
Market the app well. It has to be launched with a bang, otherwise it will stay stuck around 30th place in the app store and miss out on the flywheel effect that you would normally get if you were in the top 10. Use established channels, iPhone sites and especially social media links.
Anticipate how to give your advertisers space in the application. XS2TheWorld advised us on this.

How long did the development take, from the app's inception to the moment it went live?

The overall time it took – from the moment we had the idea of developing and going live with an iPhone app – was about three months. 'We started with the strategy and concept in late February, and in the end the app went live on 3 May, on the day that the NUsport multimedia sport platform was launched.'

How do you promote your iPhone app?

NUsport primarily used its own channels: nu.nl, NUsport's magazine, the ‘regular’ NUsport website and various magazines in the Sanoma Uitgevers portfolio. The general nu.nl iPhone app contained an ad with a direct link to the NUsport download page in the app store. In addition, the app was profiled in the overall launch campaign for the NUsport brand.
The promotion in the app store turned out to be extremely important. One way of conducting this kind of promotion is through established iPhone forums. NUsport, for example, sent press releases to Bright.nl and iPhoneclub.nl, among others. The iPhoneclub.nl panel can come in handy as well. This thorough test panel can help test the app before going live.
Social / viral promotional tools were also built into the NUsport app. Both with a Twitter and a Facebook link. Every app user can utilize these links to instantly forward live scores and news reports to their friends on Twitter and Facebook. For NUsport, this is an extra (and free) opportunity to use existing users to reach potential new users.

What are the initial results, now that the app has been live for almost two months?

During the first six weeks, the app was downloaded more than 50,000 times.
A great deal of feedback and many reviews are reaching us through iPhoneclub.nl, app store reviews and Twitter.
We also get a lot of feedback through the direct e-mail address mentioned in the app store, where people can submit their questions and comments to: marketing@NUsport.nl.
The success of the Twitter & Facebook links has more than surpassed Duco Berghuis’ expectations. Users have been drawing massive attention to live scores and news in their Twitter and Facebook networks, which subsequently has triggered a number of people to download the app as well.
The current rating is three stars, not extremely high. But this is partly caused by sports enthusiasts who have highly specific needs (e.g. snooker and darts). These people submit poor reviews because the NUsport app doesn’t meet their specific sports needs.

We conclude by saying that the development of an iPhone app in many ways resembles the development of a website. The stages of the process are almost identical: strategy, concept, design, development and implementation. Promoting and marketing an app requires a lot of attention, especially around the time that it’s about to go live. When going live, use the established channels, especially the iPhone websites and forums, not to mention social media links (e.g. Twitter and Facebook). The most desired conclusion for most companies would probably be that an iPhone app appears to be an excellent tool for engaging in a daily dialogue with users. Which makes sense, because these users pass on their problems, ideas and suggestions in a major way.

Interested in more Mobile Insights? Jungle Minds and OMI2 recently published the free publication "Best of Mobile". In this document (in Dutch) 30 Best Practice Mobile cases will be discussed and reviewed. Download Best of Mobile >