What Happened
Verizon is giving brands a chance to establish a presence on new subscribers’ mobile phones. The telecom carrier is reportedly offering to pre-install some apps from paying brands on Android phones it sells, seeking between $1 and $2 for each device. Verizon currently has 75 million smartphone subscribers and activates about 10 million new phones every quarter. It’s unclear whether Verizon has sold any branded app pre-installations yet.
What Brands Need To Do
Convincing a consumer to install a standalone branded app is usually a hard sale. According to a study by Deloitte, 80% of branded apps are downloaded fewer than 1,000 times, and only 1% of them are downloaded over one million times. In this regard, Verizon’s offer can be helpful for brands eager to push their branded apps and get them in front of a wider audience. However, Verizon’s offer does not guarantee app usage or engagement, as users are free to delete or ignore pre-installed apps. In order to truly win over mobile consumers, brands still need to focus on making their apps functional, easy to use, and provide true value to customers.
Source: AdAge