Anything that gets people talking about a company or product has the potential to increase brand awareness. The critical component is getting the right consumers to take notice. When building brand awareness, marketers must seek out new audiences. These audiences may not be aware of a brand, or just may not have formed an opinion about it, which limits the brand’s ability to convert them into customers. Third-party apps improve the likelihood of not just name recognition, but also brand affinity by exposing the brand to a new market.

Apps offer a unique opportunity for CPG brands that other marketing methods can’t. They allow a brand to choose its audience and target users who may be new to their market. Apps with significant download numbers are in high demand among these marketers. The mobile developers gain followers by leveraging concepts like gamification, rewards, and video, which are proven conversion mediums. Through third-party apps, brands can gain access to the right consumers to expand their market share.

Selecting Gamified App Options to Increase Brand Awareness

Gamification isn’t reserved for apps strictly designed for gaming, but for those with practical components. An excellent example of gamification would be within an app that allows users to perform an activity in return for rewards points, such as scanning barcodes. Through this, consumers collect rewards points for locating items in the shopping aisle and scanning their UPC codes. Consumers are encouraged to physically locate and pick up products, priming them for purchase, and boosting engagement. With this activity, brand recognition is enhanced and so is sales potential.

Shopkick uses this as a strategy within its app. By offering rewards for scanning UPC codes, the app can direct consumers to the product in the store. This can enhance shelf visibility by making the consumer proactively seek out a product, and drive consideration by encouraging a consumer to pick up a product they may not have before. It’s a subtle way of building brand affinity by offering a simple reward that creates a favorable impression of your brand.

Gamified apps, particularly those designed for in-store use, are ideal for gaining brand recognition among new audiences. Consumers can be primed for purchase with physical engagement. This also enhances their ability to recall a brand spontaneously. The route to future sales is paved by the enhanced customer experience.

Choosing Shopping Apps to Build Brand Affinity

Shopping apps are hugely popular among consumers. Customer rewards apps also see high download numbers. As consumers must continuously use the app to earn points and collect deals, retention is encouraged which makes a partnership with a shopping app ideal for CPG brands. When selecting a shopping app with which to partner, brands should look for the following qualities:

• Secure payment methods: Apps should offer secure payments as well as safe user experiences. The reputation of the app will extend to the brands it partners with, so it must be trusted by consumers.
• Multiple brands: Partnering with numerous brands within an app will encourage consumer use and improve brand visibility. Brands should seek out apps which allow them to stand out amongst the top competition in order to gain market share.
• Active monthly users: High download numbers are critical, but active monthly users are even more important. Individuals who use the app regularly are the ideal demographic for CPG brands, as they typically represent household purchase decision makers.  
• Diverse demographics: Brands may reach market saturation with one demographic quickly but struggle to gain a foothold in a new one. A shopping app which reaches multiple audiences will provide an opportunity for brands to pivot in a new marketing direction.

Brands that find the right third-party shopping apps gain significant opportunities in audience exposure. The individuals using shopping apps often make a lot of purchases, which is what motivates them to download such apps in the first place. Through a third-party partnership, brands can improve affinity with a new group of active shoppers. The brand can then translate that user experience into sales during future campaigns.

Non-Disruptive Advertising Through Rewarded Video

One problem with video advertising is it’s disruptive. Typically, ads come as pre-roll video that plays before featured content. Consumers view these videos as a disruption and will skip them when possible. In some cases, they’ll let the ad play as they check another site or do something else, entirely missing the message.

This is where rewarded video is superior. Consumers are encouraged to watch and listen because of an incentive. They may receive items like game loot or rewards points which can be exchanged for gift cards. As this is a positive, non-disruptive experience, the app can serve to improve positive brand awareness.

The best way to increase brand awareness is to reach out to and engage new audiences.

The best way to increase brand awareness is to reach out to and engage new audiences. Third-party apps offer exposure to those audiences while limiting marketing overhead for the brands. These apps can act as an excellent way to supplement an existing app program or as a means of announcing a new product. Through third-party apps, brands can create scalable campaigns that leverage customer approved strategies.

Shopkick builds brand awareness for our partners via a gamified, shopping app with a high active user base. For more information on how our app can improve the customer experience, contact us.

Image courtesy of Jirsak