What do you get when you cross apps with a groupon-like discovery model? Wurlpool.
Having made their appearance last night at the Tech Cocktail event I began to wonder, could Wurlpool be an app developers best friend?
Maybe.
Let’s walkthrough how it works..
- Users receive instant updates of new app giveaways as push notifications. (this is the same type of notification you get when: someone texts you, a new email arrives, or facebook notifies you that someone just tagged you in a pic from that crazy party last friday night)
- Users are then able to ‘enter to win’ these otherwise premium apps.
- Users are shown how much time is left until the promotion is over.
- Redemption codes are sent out to the winner(s) email address(es).
- Rinse and Repeat – a new giveaway starts all over again.
Pretty simple right?
Right..
But let’s really look into this, because I’m sure you’re wondering..
How do I know they’re not going to spam me with all these giveaways?
(like groupons deals for instance)
Who exactly is receiving my information, and how can they use it?
You can check out their privacy policy here.
How come I’ve never heard of Wurlpool?
..because they’re a startup. But also because they operate under their holding company Social Discovery which – by the way, builds software that focuses on driving more value for advertisers while providing a fun experience for people. Founded in 2010, Social Discover is based in Berkeley, California and is venture funded by angel investors. Social Discovery are the creators of Wulrpool. The giveaway ‘technology’ that allows people to win and discover paid apps from iTunes.
Futhermore, people use Wurlpool to discover apps that they would find useful or entertaining while getting a chance to win for free. Application developers use Wurlpool to create giveaways in order to reach new people. To me what’s really interesting about what Wurlpool is aiming to do (and in some ways already has) is giving users the ability to ‘group up’ (as you might with a service like Groupon) to receive things that would otherwise cost $, for FREE.
This type of model from a developers standpoint is VERY attractive because user acquisition and driving installs is a vital factor in ranking in the Apple App Store. As a user, sure maybe most the apps I see are only $.99cents, the average being $1.61 (among the 774+ thousand apps available for download) but what about those ones that are in the $4.99,$9.99, and even $19.99 range?
Are you aware that 47% of the revenue earned from in-app purchases falls in the range of $9.99 to $19.99? It’s true.
Also, (in the UK at least) 40% of people refuse to pay for apps.
So what does this all really mean to you?
As a developer: If you partner up with Wurlpool then you’ll now have the power to harness their platform (SDK) to push your app out to users who would normally not want to pay for apps, but would be willing to get it for free. Win-Win. You get downloads, they get your app.
As a user: By having the Wurlpool app you’ll be able to receive notifications when these events/giveaways are taking place to get the app you’ve been wanting and waiting for, but maybe haven’t felt like paying full retail.
FREE > $4.99 ?
I think so.
I can see this becoming quite popular among developers who choose to monetize their app by offering it as a premum app in the $4.99-$19.99 range. Which normally, (and without Adwurld – no doubt) would severally suffer in: downloads, rankings, discovery and the like..
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
