Thursday, February 9th, 2012
While other advertisers are rushing to print, TV, product placements, and branded entertainment, Target?the retail giant?is pioneering a new advertising venture: iPhone applications.
To meet the holiday rush, the company has developed the Target Gift Globe, which mimics the holiday tradition of the snow globe. Once it?s downloaded in an iPhone, users can shake their iPhone to produce an on-screen snowfall that clears to reveal a gift idea from Target. If the user likes the gift idea, he/she can purchase the product through an embedded link in the Target feature, or he/she can purchase it at the nearest Target outlet, which will be stated by the program. If the user doesn?t like the idea, he/she just needs to shake it another time.
San Francisco-based AKQA created the application for Target, after the retailer discovered that most of their mobile traffic came from iPhones.
?It?s just the first step for brands to see how people react in general,? said Tina Unterlaender, a management Supervisor from the AKQA mobile division. ?It?s about getting our feet wet and finding what’s possible.?
AKQA aimed for ?utilitainment,? Unterlaender added. By making the Target application will be useful and fun.
