Appular

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software company that develops an in-game mobile community application platform. Our current company is called Freszii. I’m the General Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appular?

We needed help explaining what we do here at Freszii. We needed a solid message to brand our company well for people trying to understand what we do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They really helped me understand how to explain my product to different people. It was really just branding. They helped us get testimonials, wrote articles for us, and gathered data.

How did you come to work with Appular?

I had worked with one of the people working at Appular before, so I had an existing relationship. I found a lot of reviews that spoke very highly of Appular, which was comforting. I saw that they understand and work well in the video game industry, which sealed the deal for me.

How much have you invested with Appular?

The cost was around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re not currently working with them at the moment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Because of their work, we were featured in some major publications in Southeast Asia. When I went over there, there was already an awareness of our brand, which was very promising. People were very welcoming and open. They knew about us which meant a lot for us.

How did Appular perform from a project management standpoint?

Appular was very gentle, corrected me, and gave me the proper advice. From a project management standpoint, they always stuck to the project's completion. Appular accomplished what we set out to do.

What did you find most impressive about Appular?

They really worked with me, which I appreciated.

Are there any areas Appular could improve?

I didn’t have any negative experiences with Appular. The distance didn’t affect our work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The Tyra Banks Company is an entertainment and media company that supported all of Tyra’s endeavors in television, licensing, and cosmetics. 

What is your role and responsibilities?

I was head of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appular?

I was looking to promote a for-pay mobile app that Tyra had developed called the Smize Yourself app. I also saw enhancements that needed to be made to make the app more successful. We not only wanted to generate downloads, but also revenue.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The CEO and founder of Appular, Brian Akaka, gave a thorough, honest feedback on the app. He made suggestions to make the app more successful. He also put together a marketing and PR [public relations] strategy using nontraditional methods to promote the app. He was able to leverage Tyra’s fan base and also a base of people that don’t really know her as someone in the tech world. He secured a lot of users in the digital, media, and tech communities and got them excited about the app. 

What was your process for selecting Appular with which to work?

We found Appular through an RFP [request for proposal] process. Akaka came in with his team and it was clear that they had the expertise and vision to make the app successful. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

The whole campaign fell below $10,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

During the first month to two months, we saw an increase in downloads and great press. When we rereleased the app and fixed some bugs, we were able to get more positive comments. We went from a two-star rating up to a 4 1/2-star rating. 

Are you satisfied with their performance?

Very satisfied. The Appular team has expertise in how to tap into the mobile community of developers and bloggers and influencers to build momentum. The money we spent paying his team to activate the strategy he proposed we made back with his expertise.

Is there anything unique or special about Appular that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

They are a small agency, which means more hands on attention. To have the guys who run the company working with your team and answering emails with lightning-fast speed made us feel like we were their only client. That is something that is rare. It was a very cost-effective option that they gave us. They helped us understand what reasonable expectations were for the project. They have a great work ethic. They don’t waste your time. They are concise and professional. They have a great attention to detail and that inspires trust.

What advice would you give to future clients of theirs?

Mobile is a completely different space so even though you think you know the space, trust Appular’s recommendations. They live and breathe mobile. Be open to the suggestions they make even if it sounds counter intuitive based on your experience in the space.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We didn’t take his recommendation to reach out to tech bloggers initially. We started out with fashion and beauty bloggers and that didn’t get us to where we needed to get. I don’t really have any negative feedback about Appular.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization and the role that you play.

We’re an app development company. We build apps for clients but we also create our own internal apps under our brand name, Blue Whale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appular?

We developed a speech therapy iPad app. There’s a series of four apps called Speech Therapy for Apraxia. We engaged with Appular after the first or second app to promote the apps and get more downloads. These are used by speech language pathologists in their practice and then they are able to pass them on to the parents. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We worked with Appular for about three months. Every month, they did a press release with a new angle and new messaging to the various targets that we had identified. They were able to bring in a great amount of validated and relevant reviews. Appular also reached out directly to speech language pathologists and received additional testimonials from them. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

Our three-month engagement cost approximately $20,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

The apps are doing really well. It’s all about exposure, and Appular was able to provide that.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

I am very happy with the results Appular has delivered.

Is there anything unique or special about Appular that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

I chose Appular because of their expertise in promoting apps. That’s really all they do and that’s where they started. The CEO and founder, Brian Akaka, and his team have a deep understanding of PR [public relations], app store optimization, app development, keyword selection, and user experience. 

What advice would you give to future clients of theirs?

You have to be a believer in what PR can do. PR is a lot about the relationships that the PR company has and how easy they can leverage those relationships. It also comes down to your product. 

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the head of marketing and communications for the university. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appular?

We created an app for Apple and Android. We were looking for help with everything to market the app, this included advertising, promotions consulting, and media placements. We wanted to see an increased number of downloads and understand how to increase our apps’ usability. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Appular provided a few different services for us related to marketing our mobile app. First, Appular focused on app optimization in the iTunes store and other stores. They helped us to identify important description keywords and find screen shots that met the app stores’ requirements. They helped us secure media and online publicity. Appular also helped us secure app reviews. 

A large scope of the work could be identified as a consulting service, it wasn’t necessarily very technical. They made recommendations for our app design, the user experience, and future promotion techniques. 

What was your process for selecting Appular with which to work?

We put out an RFP [request for proposal] nationwide for an app marketing company. We requested that they guarantee a certain number of downloads. The other company who made our short list proposed a more long-term approach that took place in phases. We preferred Appular’s method.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

We spent approximately $8,000 per month. It was about a four-month project. The work was completed in November 30, 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

Our app hit number one on the medical app’s free chart. Then, after December 1, we moved to monetize the app and moved it to the paid sector of the app stores. We still have a very high-ranking app. The highest we’ve been in this sector is number four. They did an outstanding job with the limited budget we had. They are very accessible.

Is there anything unique or special about Appular that really makes them stand out compared to other marketing companies?

Appular was always very responsive. They’ve been helpful even after the app launched. We’re still in touch with them even though we’re not paying them anything. They are still getting some media hits for us.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

There was a misunderstanding initially with our budget and time frame. We expected to see more out of them the first couple of months based on their original proposal, but as soon as they realized our time frame, they did a tremendous amount of work for us in the last few weeks that we were working with them. They may want to improve their approach to new start up apps coming into the space. We didn’t know what to ask for or expect because we’re new to this space. But, I would definitely use them again.