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December 2011
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Dear !
Where will you be in the next 18 months and what are you doing to get there? Remember when we were taught to make 5 year plans? It doesn't really work like that anymore.
We have been living in frothy times the last few months with mobile reaching the tipping point with users, new entrants joining us, investment is looking healthy, apps are in hyperdrive, folks changing companies, and there is lots of M&A activity. Developers are in hot demand and have truly become the center of our mobile ecosystem. We like that!
But as the only thing constant is change, what is coming next? Smartphone penetration globally has almost reached 30%, SMS traffic is dropping, Wi-Fi is seen as the key to offload data traffic on the network, webification of apps and mindsets is creeping upon us, and economic issues continue to grip much of the world. Threats and opportunities abound! What does that mean for your business?
I believe the next 18 months will continue to be frothy, and will require strong vision and a lot of hard work for the companies that will survive and be sustainable players in the industry. It also requires the fortitude to pivot hard and fast, source great partnerships and to relax and still have a good laugh (every now and again!). WIP wants to be one of the survivors and is open to partnerships and M&A opportunities. If you have any suggestions, for us, or if we can help you make a needed connection - do let me know.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your families. We look forward to serving our clients and community in 2012 and always making developers the center of what we do! Watch for the ever popular predictions in our January newsletter.
Best, Caroline
CEO
WIP / Wireless Industry Partnership
The "Connector" for the mobile ecosystem
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Developers: Please take the time for this important survey on cross-platform tools, which is long overdue for our industry. It is supported by Vision Mobile and Verizon, so I am looking forward to the results.
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Welcome to new readers of our monthly newsletter - nice to meet you on our travels or at our WIPJam sessions. We only send out this newsletter once/month; and the occasional eblast about our own events. We pledge not to spam and inundate you with emails. However, if you aren't interested in receiving our information, please use the opt out link below - no hard feelings!
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You can find us at these upcoming events:
Teresa
DigiBC Holiday Party
December 8
Vancouver, Canada
More Info
Thibaut
Connected Vehicles World Europe 2011
December 12-14
London, UK
More Info
Caroline & Carlo
Verizon Innovation Center Open House
December 12
San Francisco, Calif.
The Whole WIP Team
AT&T Developer Summit
January 8-9
Las Vegas, NV
More Info
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 TouchType's SwiftKey is one of the leading paid Android apps in several markets, and has seen a huge amount of success despite having a relatively small marketing budget. TouchType CMO Joe Braidwood was kind enough to share some tips gleaned from his experience at getting the keyboard app downloaded hundreds of thousands of times, and what developers can do to try and drive similar success from their own apps. Be sure to check out the WIP blog for the full post.
SwiftKey's success has relied on on organic growth, viral marketing and targeting key individuals such as bloggers and journalists. While we've been aggressive in promoting SwiftKey to Android users both within and beyond app store channels, we've run no advertising campaigns or paid customer acquisition drives.
This all began before we launched the app. We set up an alpha test group, and partnered with some blogs to promote that group. What this meant was that we struck right at the core of the Android early adopter community, and had already begun to win over a chunk of influential people before we'd even finalized what the app would look like, or when it'd launch. I'd say we had around 10,000 members of our alpha group the day SwiftKey went live on the Android Market. Because of this, each one of these users downloaded the app when it launched at the same time, and some of them wrote about the launch. This drove an enormous amount of traffic for us, where we became Android's #3 free app on the day of launch and saw over 100,000 downloads in our first week.
 As you may know, being able to achieve initial momentum with your app is so important, as once you climb up the charts, there's an element of sustained momentum that is generated by that fact alone. We applied this logic to our launch of SwiftKey as a paid app in September 2010, where all of our beta users received an in-app expiry notice that directed them to the paid app at the same time. It shot straight to #1 and stayed there for almost two weeks. This, again, established us as a top app from day one, and made our pitch to bloggers and app stores much easier. "We're the number one app - check it out!"
From there, Google chose to feature us for several weeks (we'd asked them to check out the app). This was also great, as it continued to generate exposure for us. People are more likely to respond positively to your app being featured than it simply being high in the charts, so this drove a significant chunk of downloads.
Beyond this, we've found that the app market is highly susceptible to money-off promos. We've run several of these, and they've always buoyed our app and generated more revenue than we take on an average day. These are best done when people are looking out for something special, such as around big holidays or sale seasons. We also found that being Amazon's free app of the day worked well to generate traction (but the economics have to be right for this to be viable).
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Almost every day, a new piece of market research data on the mobile market is released. How should developers make sense of these figures, and how should data like smartphone sales market share guide their decision-making?
 A couple of weeks ago, a post on the Guardian Apps Blog (which is a great read and sponsored by our friends at BlueVia) asked the question "Why aren't smartphone app developers going where the sales are?" and took a look at some recent data from Gartner on smartphone market share and Appcelerator on developer platform sentiment, trying to understand why developer interest doesn't map to market share data.
Unfortunately the post doesn't really come up with the right answer, because it's looking at the wrong data. While smartphone market share is an important metric for developers to consider, it's only one piece of the puzzle, and by no means the most important figure. The disconnect the author cites -- that developers are targeting platforms with "minimal market share" instead of the market-leading Android -- is due to the fact that app sales and handset sales are two very different things.
The platforms' ability to monetize applications differs significantly. Look at app store revenue data for 2010, and compare it with smartphone sales share data for the year. At the end of the year, Symbian was still the leading smartphone platform globally with 30-40% share, yet the Nokia Ovi Store only generated about 5% of app store revenue. Conversely, the iTunes App Store generated about 83% of all app store revenue, but iOS devices had less than 20% of the device market.
Using the 2010 data and making some rough calculations, each percentage point of Android market share was worth about $5 million in Android Market revenue. Each percentage of iOS market share was worth about $90 million in iTunes App Store revenue. Now, if those figures were more equal, Android's market share lead would be more meaningful in developer decision-making. But when we're talking about chasing app sales revenue, the size of the user base alone isn't the most important metric.
The takeaway for developers here is that device market share figures aren't the be-all and end-all; they're an indicator of market potential and offer some guidance on how to approach the market. But on their own, in isolation, they don't mean a whole lot without understanding other characteristics of each platform's user base beyond its size.
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 From the WIP Company Directory:
Founded in Los Angeles by mobile advertising veterans, Airpush is the first mobile ad network based on push notifications.
Check out their listing in the directory to find out more and get in touch.
From the WIP API Catalog:
The BlueVia Advertising API allows developers to receive revenue each time their applications loads and for each click that their Ad receives.
For more info on this and lots of other mobile APIs, see the API Catalog.
 From the WIP Developer Programs:
Sierra Wireless is a leader in mobile computing and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications products and solutions that connect people, devices, and applications over cellular networks.
Check them out to learn more, and network with other M2M developers.
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AT&T Developer Summit
January 8 & 9, 2012
Las Vegas, Nevada
Attend and get all the latest information and announcements from AT&T and their partners. WIP is in charge of FUN for the opening reception on Sunday night!
Special WIP Member Code dds912 gets you registered for just $60.
Learn More
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Midem
January 28 - 31, 2012
Cannes, France
The music and brand industry need technology to reach audiences. Midem 2012 is the place to find countless new business partnerships and discover new ways to engage audiences with music. Come and meet with artists, managers, promoters. labels, brands and tech peers.
Learn More
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 M-Days 2012
January 31 - February 1, 2012
Frankfurt, Germany
M-Days is one of the largest mobile events in Europe, with 120 exhibits and 200+ speakers in four seminar streams. It offers a unique opportunity for business to be done and contacts to be made. This conference will feature three different stages, Development, Trades and App Shows. There is also a Mobile Media night with networking opportunities.
Learn More
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The Muther! Michigan + Developer Conference
January 27 & 28, Detroit, Michigan
Mark your calendars! WIP is heading to Michigan for another Muther! of all Hackathons + DevCon. Make your plans now to join WIP and MTAM at our event in the Midwest -- it will be a great mix of WIPJam activities and a hackathon with exciting categories and great prizes. More info & registration coming soon, but speaking and sponsorship opportunities are available now! Please contact Teresa for more information.
WIP Party @ MWC
February 29, Museu del Rock, Barcelona
We are back at MWC and hosting our annual developer party! Join us for a great evening of networking, refreshments and of course, Jameoke! FREE to attend. Get more Information & register now!
Contact Caroline for Sponsorship Opportunities.
WIPJam @ MWC
March 1, App Planet, Fira de Barcelona, Barcelona
It's our 5th year at MWC's App Planet. Join us for a great day of WIPJam activities including: Developer Storytellers, Discussion Groups, UnPanels, Hackathons, Speed Hacks, Expert Tables, Speed Dating and other activities and challenges. There will be great prizes, fantastic networking and more! It is FREE to attend and developers who register are eligible for a FREE MWC Exhibit Pass. Check out the WIP site for more information and to register now. Contact Caroline for Sponsorship Opportunities.
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WIP is more than just great, informative newsletters and fun, exciting events for developers. We also offer a wide range of services for developer programs and developer resource providers to help them more effectively reach developers and achieve their goals.Event Sponsorship We have a full slate of events coming up that offer a chance to get your name in front of developers and introduce them to your services. We focus on building interaction with developers and engaging them with sponsors to build a deeper understanding of and stronger connection to your offerings. For more information on these events and how sponsoring them can help you hit your targets, contact Caroline. Developer Marketing AgencyWIP's Developer Marketing services assist developer programs on a variety of strategic and tactical levels, throughout their life-cycle. Whether you're just getting started and need help making sense of the mobile world, or you're looking for some advice on your web site or messaging, we can help! We can build a package of services directly suited to your needs, and have experience working with developers and developer programs worldwide. To learn how we can help your program, contact Thibaut.
AdvertisingIncluding your banner ads in the WIP newsletter and on the WIP web site ensure they'll be seen by tens of thousands of mobile developers around the world. Our audience is engaged, dedicated and interested in what you have to say. To learn about the affordable and effective advertising options that WIP has to offer, contact Teresa.
Offices in: Vancouver, Canada + London, UK + Austin, TX
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