BroApp: The Relationship Wingman for Bros

BroApp

My new application inspiration post is one for the boys a.k.a. bros! You need it apparently.

So if I understand men: you are too busy hanging with your mates and just want to do bro things instead of texting your girlfriend? Well, you have your wingman bro, thanks to the BroApp (available in Google Play, soon in the App store).

Urgh, another text message from my girlfriend

I guess you all know the feeling when your girlfriend is texting you while you are trying to do cool bro things, like playing games with your Playstation or Xbox 360, enjoying the ridiculously lame movie, drinking (a lot of) beer, fishing or other activities where you are using the word ‘bro’ constantly. Finally there is an app for you guys, namely the BroApp. 

You don’t have to ignore your girlfriend anymore or you don’t have to take the five “long” seconds out of your bro-time to text her something like: ‘Hi Honey, had  a lovely day, how was yours? Love you’, cause that is apparently really complicated and hard.

The BroApp: benefits

This is not a joke! It lets you send pre-programmed text messages to your girlfriend. You can select those pre-programmed messages, but you can edit them or write some on your own. I would recommend you to write your own messages because the pre-programmed ones are very lame! Or would you call your girlfriend “Darl” as in “Darling? Guess not.  

Then it is possible to set the time and date to send the text. And that’s all, the app does the rest for you. The intelligent thing is that the app knows the woman’s WIFI, so there shouldn’t be an awkward moment when she receives a text while you are still together, in the same room. You can also cancel a scheduled message of course.

• Apparently, the app actually increases the communication in your relationship. Even though your girlfriend will find out that you have your special wingman, some of them still love it. Cause now there is a small conversation –thanks to the automated message- that your girlfriend wouldn’t have had without the app.

• Another good thing about the app is that you only can program in one girlfriend at the time, which means that the BroApp is anti-being-a-cheater. Hell yeah!

• It is not only for texting your girlfriend. Cause do you have a mom who thinks that you have forgotten all about her when you’re not texting twice a week? Well, program BroApp to text your mom and another thing is solved.

My opinion?

I would figure it out I guess, cause the app is not a secret, it is popular. At first, it wouldn’t be a problem for me. As long as I can start a little conversation with my boyfriend.

But after some time, I would realize I am talking  to a robot.  Women are emotional human beings who want to get sincere attention.

And I think it will not take long before there is a version for girls. Then you have a relationship where your robot is texting her robot. How romantic!

But guys, this is your decision. Give it a try and you’ll see.

Have fun doing bro-things, whatever this might be! 

Author 

Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

Got No Money? Don't Worry, Just Pay with a Tweet!

Pay with a tweet

Lead generation is important for each company, especially for the ones who sell products online. That’s why enterprises,  saas-companies, will create -shareable- online content, cause they all aim to go viral. But anyone wanted to read that piece of content, has to fill out a form on the landing page and not everyone is happy about that. People don’t always want to give their personal information.

Luckily, there is a great tool that will have a huge impact on your shareability of your lead gen content, namely Pay with a Tweet. Visitors have now access to your online content without having to ‘pay’ for it by asking 99c for a copy or by giving up personal information on a form. The only thing they have to do, is to share it with their own social network sites -Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn- to get access to the content.

So the buyer makes a public recommendation of your product on a social networksite and you reward them with a free copy. It’s as easy as that.

Benefits

• This tool is great for your landing page visitors to use

• The company will increase their online visibility

• More traffic to the landing page

• People are more likely to trust family and friends than enterprises. So by letting users do the promotion for you, you will receive a lot more visitors to your website.

• Easy to set up!

Easy to set up: the button

1. Go to the Pay with a Tweet website
   Go to www.paywithatweet.com and click "Create Your Free Campaign."
2. Fill in your personal information
3. Choose which social networks people can ‘pay’ with.
   It’s better to opt for several social networks than to force visitors to use Twitter
4. Add your landing page information
5. Copy the HTML code and paste the button’s code into your landing page’s HTML. You’ll get the possibility to design your own button
6. There are many websites you can use. Another one is socialpay.me

Hubspot Pay with a Tweet

'Paying with a social post' is even possible for offline shops!

Because pup-up stores are temporary, the paying with a social post concept could be perfect for generating buzz, increasing brand awareness and online visibility. And this is what Marc Jacobs did with his pop-up store. By snapping photos and posting messages with the hashtag #MJDaisyChain, visitors got awarded with Marc Jacobs-branded gifts when exiting the store. Customers who stopped into the Tweet Shop had also the possibility to  get free manicures, take selfies in the Daisy photo booth and of course, check out the new line of Daisy products.

I’m a fan

Online

Enterprises who are selling products online, have to create online content to get found and to generate leads. By creating sector related content, they show their knowhow and expertise. In exchange for the content, the visitor has to give some personal information. That will prevent lead gen content from going viral sometimes.

I can fully understand that visitors are skeptical about filling out a form with personal information. That’s why paying with a tweet is a perfect alternative for generating more traffic to your landing page and increasing your online visibility / brand awareness. Your leads will become your promoters, who are  important influencers for potential customers. All this will hopefully increase your sales too.

Offline

I’m a huge fan of this concept because it is just a very clever thing to do. Why? It is great for giving the store visitors an unforgettable brand experience, for generating very important buzz/ WOM, for improving the brand image and last but not least for increasing the company’s online visibility. It is of course for a limited time that you will launch your campaign by selling products by a social post.

But don’t forget it has to be relevant for your company and for your visitors. You cannot decide to do this without having a well thought-out strategy.

Here is another example of a store where you must pay with a social post : 

Source: How to use Pay with a Tweet to generate leads - Hubspot

            Marc Jacobs Tweet Store - Mashable

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

Trending: Pop-up Stores

So I have noticed that pop-up stores are becoming increasingly popular. I think this will be a huge trend in 2014, and I just love it! Customers are demanding more memorable, innovative and quality experiences. Contemporary pop-up stores are the perfect solution, especially for online brands.

What exactly is a pop-up store?

A pop-up store appears for a short period, typically 1 day to 3 months, and then disappears again. Mostly in high foot traffic areas as city centers, busy streets, malls, the airport,… The price is much lower than traditional stores.  It is a perfect way to do some market research, get to know your customers and test products, concepts and locations. And of course for selling products, generating awareness and increasing your ‘coolness’ factor. It even can be used for launching limited-edition products and for seasonal business/ during holidays: Valentine & Christmas stores,… It’s ideal for most retail stores.

Pop-up stores are great for building a relationship with existing customers, as well as attracting new customers.

Perfect for online brands

Popping up a store is a great idea for online brands. It allows them to gain consumer interest and get their brand out in the public physical sphere. In that way, companies can tell the story of a brand and make it more tangible to consumers. This is the real challenge for e-commerce retailers. People have now the opportunity to touch and feel the product, and this will lead to more online sales cause they will be more likely to shop online now. These shops provide a way to interact with customers face-to-face and also educate them about new products, services and features. It’s all about brand acquisition.

For example, Google launched a pop-up store in Australia, called Androidland, to introduce and educate customers on the Google Android mobile operating system.

Even ebay opened a social media pop-up store during Christmas. The shop features no products but a range of QR codes and augmented reality features for shoppers to see and buy products using mobile devices.

 Social Media Pop-up store ebay

Benefits

• It is a valuable tool for experimentation, storytelling, branding, advertising, generating buzz and attracting new customers, but it demands the right strategies of course.
• Because pop-up stores are temporary and small, the cost of rent is lower.
• Consumers will be curious and satisfied.
• It is a perfect marketing tool to draw the attention from crowds cause it is something unique.
• A brand can open a pop-up store when traffic and sales are expected to be high, and close again during slower months.

Big brands such as Coca-Cola, Levi's, BMW, Adidas and the Gap have used pop-up shops to generate buzz around a product or promotion. 

Pop-up store Adidas

Pop-up store Reebok

Pop-up store Mini

Pop-up store illy

Pop-up store H&M

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

Things Come & Go : The Story of Flappy Bird

I guess you’ve all heard about the mobile app Flappy Bird. The game involves tapping your device's screen to propel a small bird through a series of strategically placed pipes. The app – with Super Nintendo-style graphics – itself was simple but so frustrating and endless. A game you can barely play for more than a few seconds without throwing your phone across the room in frustration. Despite that, Flappy bird became a global phenomenon and took over the web, only in just a few weeks.

History

The game was designed and built by Dong Nguyen, a developer who lives in Vietnam.

• It all began in November 2012, when Nguyen shared an image of a game he was working on via Twitter. 5 month later, he shared the first splash screen for the new iOS game, called Flap Flap. A month goes by with no update on Flap Flap. It turns out that there was already another app in the App Store with that same name Flap Flap. And Flappy Bird was born…

• The game made its App Store debut on May 24, 2013.

• On Sept. 2013, Nguyen released his first update to Flappy Bird. It fixed a few bugs, and he added a new icon for iOS 7. The app did not initially make a huge dent in the download charts. But suddenly, Flappy Bird entered the “Family” category. A few days later, Flappy Bird made its first appearance on Twitter aside from Nguyen's initial tweets. The game continued to rise in popularity. It became known for its difficulty – a challenge which smartphone users found irresistible – and the number of players began to  increase.

• On Dec. 11, he mentioned there would come an Android version of the app.

• From then on, Twitter users started to tweet more about the game and were creating memes related to their frustrations. Nguyen retweeted some of the more humorous images:

• On jan. 10, the app became a top-10 app in the United states, which is a major milestone. Within one week, it became the most downloaded app on Google Play.

• BUT Flappy Bird’s success and the received attention Nguyen got, was impacting his life for the worse. Nguyen began receiving abusive messages, hate tweets and death threats, from users. He was called an ‘evil genius’ for developing such a devilish game. Other messages were sent with an angrier tone as players became increasingly frustrated.

• Flappy Bird is gone forever because Nguyen couldn’t handle it and the app was just too addictive. His life had become overrun by the success of the game.

“I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now, I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down. I cannot take this anymore. It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore. I also don’t sell ‘Flappy Bird’, please don’t ask. And I still make games.”

Popularity

According to Mashable, Flappy Bird is the perfect example of how an app can go viral, thanks to social media and word of mouth. It was the perfect storm of circumstance, luck and viral drive. Nguyen chalked up the game's success to pure luck. He told TechCrunch, "I don't know how my games can be so popular. Most of my players are kids in schools. I would like to thank them for playing my game and sharing it to other people."

The game has had at least 50 million downloads, and amassed nearly 16 million tweets.

You can still play Flappy Bird, when you’ve already downloaded it. So smartphones, included with the Flappy Bird app, could bring in some money!

Source: http://mashable.com/2014/02/10/flappy-bird-story/

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

4 Awesome Apps for Valentine's Day

Oh crap, forgot that it’s almost Feb. 14? Whether you love or hate it, there’s no escaping it. Trust me, girls always expect something on Valentine’s Day… . Here are some apps that will help you to be the perfect Valentine and survive the day. 

Open table

There isn’t an easier way to make restaurant reservations. Open table is an iPhone app that filters  restaurants by price, neighborhood, cuisine and available times. When tapping on a restaurant, you’ll get a description, the menu, parking information and most importantly: reviews. Too bad? Don’t go! Too noisy? You don’t want to do that on Valentine’s Day… Too expensive?  Yes please! Once you know when you want to be there, simply lock in a time an make your reservation. And you’ve scored… App store

Avocado

Avocado is a social network for couples that's completely private and viewable by only the two of you. Sharing notes, thoughts, memories, photos, and many more is one feature. Another feature, which is great for guys and even better for the girls, is a calendar. It helps you remember important dates for the two of you. So, no excuses anymore! There is also a sort of bucket list you can create. Use it for vacation getaway ideas, date nights or even naughty stuff. Relax, t’s private, no one will ever know! Android Market & App store.

Other similar apps are Pair (where thumbkisses are a fact) and Between.

30 Day Relationship challenge

Put the spark back in your love life and show your other half how much you love her/him. The app motivates you to do something special and romantic. They say that in the end, you’ll have a stronger relationship. I’m curious… BUT, it’s not just once, you have to do something sweet for 30 days in a row. Believe me, the suggestions are very simple and don’t require a lot of money or planning. You can always change an activity to another or add an own custom activity. If you accept the challenge and stay committed to it, maybe you will feel closer to each other. Like the concept, but I think it’s hard to stay committed to the challenge for 30 days in a row. I might forget it... Android Market

Pocket Kamasutra

Do I have to explain this one? I think the name describes itself.

Valentine’s Day is all about love, and where there is love, there is… sex! The app is filled with many highly detailed positions with illustrations. You can keep track of the ones you’ve tried, mark  your favorites and create a ‘to do list’. I guess this is THE app to spice up your relationship TONIGHT, what are you waiting for? Android Market & App store

Are you single and lonely on Feb.14? Don’t forget the dating apps ‘Tinder’ and ‘Let’s Date’. It’s like math, two negatives, make a positive : two lonely hearts, make a match and end up having….  

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

Ghent, the Belgian Silicon Valley

You may have noticed that Ghent has some great tech startups. Why Ghent? Because it is cheaper (than Brussels), it is of course the most beautiful and historical city of Belgium and it is a big university city. So there is a lot of potential young talent.

The number of startups has increased dramatically over the past few years and I’m very optimistic about it! I believe in a continued growth, cause the early results are very positive.

What is a start-up?

According to Forbes, it is very difficult to give it one correct definition. There are no rules on defining it. But the key attribute of a startup is its ability to grow. As Paul Graham explains, a startup is a company designed to scale very quickly. It is this focus on growth unconstrained by geography which differentiates startups from small businesses.

Some great startups, based in Ghent

1. Showpad 
   Of course Showpad! Showpad is a Mobile Sales Enablement platform/app aimed at drastically improving Sales Effectiveness of any enterprise with a sales team and it provides marketing with actionable insights. It lets you upload and manage all your sales material in one central and secure place. This means that it turns each iPad into a powerful sales & presentation tool. Showpad has now opened an office in San Francisco!
   
   
2. Zentrick
   With Zentrick, you can easily build interactive videos with their pre-built applications, intuitive drag & drop editor and custom app developer. Just publish your experience to any device, network or site with a single click and let your audience engage whenever, wherever and however they want. They have a second office in NY.
   
   
3. In the pocket
   In the Pocket is a full-service mobile agency, helping brands, media companies and enterprises embrace the digital age of smartphones tablets and other connected devices. They show enterprises that smartphones and tablets can be used in an effective and creative way.  In the Pocket won the IAB MIXX award for ‘Most promising agency of the year’ in 2013.
   
   
4. Engagor
   It is one powerful all-in-one social media management tool to manage all your social media activity. From monitoring & analytics to engagement, perfect for marketing and customer service. Engagor helps companies to efficiently engage with all their customers in an easy way. They are also based in San Fransicso.
   
   
5. Cheqroom
   Cheqroom is intuitive software that helps you easily register, monitor and manage your inventory, online from your desktop or mobile device. It’s an easy system to track an estate of equipment, like computers, bikes, ski material, books and much more. By labeling your equipment with QR codes and registering your items in the web app, you can manage your inventory online.

Ghent is known for its elderflower-flavoured drink Roomer, Tierenteyn mustard and Cuberdons (or ‘little noses’). But soon Ghent will be known as the Belgian Silicon Valley, according to me... 

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/

My Fitbit Flex Experience! Wait, Fitbit What?

New year, new goals of course! I don't know why, but suddenly I'm obsessed with fitness. Yes, I'm all into squats, lunges and burpees. So 'to be more active' is my cliché goal for 2014.

Squat for the ass you’ve always wanted!

Squats

Lunges

Burpees

Training and working out is a bit rare in my family. So my parents are definitely supporting me. They gave me a perfect Christmas present, namely the Fitbit Flex! My new favourite gadget. 

The Fitbit What? I’ll explain:

Fitbit’s Flex is a great fitness tracker, an all-in-one activity monitor , which contains of two parts:

• The Flex itself - a small rectangular device that can be charged using the USB dock
• A rubber wristband that can monitor your daily activity.
• Also included is a dongle which allows users to sync Flex –wirelessly- with their computer.

It is entirely water resistant.  Flex’s wristband is available in different colors: black, blue, green and pink. I have the black one because it has to match to my clothes, right girls? 

The product pack includes two different band sizes – a large and small one.

Your activity can be viewed in detail using either Fitbit’s Web dashboard or its application. The app is available in the app store and Google Play. They both - dashboard and app - offer in-depth information, textually or graphically.  

Burn calories, burn!!!

Over the course of the day, Flex can track and record 

• the amount of steps someone takes
• the total distance traveled
• the number of “active minutes"
• the calories burned.

Your Fitbit account will be updated the next time Flex connects through either the wireless dongle or its application.

You can also use Flex to record your food and water intake, your weight and your sleep. You can even start an individualized “food plan”. But I’ll pass this one, I love food too much to start a food plan.

You can check your goals by simply tapping the wristband twice: five white LED lights will flash, indicating the percentage of your daily goal that’s so far been achieved – the dots representing 20 percent increments. This is awesome because you can check on your progress without having to launch the app.

  

My Experience

The device is my constant companion, my new best friend for about a month now. I feel informed about my activity levels and I’m very motivated to get moving and achieving my goals. It is fun because you can set daily goals for each aspect. The default goals which Fitbit offers are 10,000 steps, five miles, 2,852 calories, and 30 active minutes. You had to see my face when I had more then 10 000 steps a day for the first time!  

I find myself frequently tapping, just to see the pretty glowing dots appear and get an update. That simple action kept me more motivated to increase my activity, without even needing to open the app. So you can say that Flex has encouraged me to be (even) more active. 

Another reason why Fitbit keeps me motivated, is because you can earn badges! And now we are talking about marketing. Integrating the gamification aspect makes it more popular. We all, especially Gen Y, want to be the very best in everything. 

Even Pokémon said it: "I will be the very best, like no one ever was. Gotta catch 'em all! Every challenge along the way". 

Unlocking badges gives us the great feeling of success. By connecting your Facebook account and finding other Fitbit users (which is possible), you can compete with your friends. The company knew that integrating this feature, would be a clever thing to do. Because why do you think Foursquare or Nike+ are such popular apps? We want to compete and succeed, we want to be harder, better, faster, stronger! What we want, is INSTANT GRATIFICATION! And that is the main principle. 

Fitbit understands... 

It’s non-intrusive and easy to use. The battery life is good. I just have to charge my tracker once a week, which is great.

If I had one complaint, it is that the wrist band is difficult to fasten! 

SO I'M VERY GLAD I HAVE A FITBIT FLEX! Even going to my school, Ehsal - Digital Marketing in Brussels, is fun now cause every step counts! 

What do you think about these and other fitness trackers?

Source: appadvice: Take control of your lifestyle with the wearable fitbit flex

Author 
Brett Dufort - Application Inspiration
Student Digital Marketing at Ehsal Management school - ehsaldmc

• be.linkedin.com/in/brettdufort/