Compelling content reigns supreme in the age of apps

Michael Colombo

By Michael Colombo

The Internet Age cliché, “Content is King,” sounds about as relevant today as Netscape is to the browser wars. We live in a new era.  The Internet Age has given way to its heir apparent, the Age of Apps, and now content is only one element in a much richer experience that extends far beyond the printed page, the television screen, and even the web browser.

The “Content is King” cliché holds as a core premise that there are a limited number of content distribution channels, and so usage is directly related to the value of the content being distributed.

While Web 2.0 delivered an excess of new tools and resources for creating and distributing content online, there was really only one new distribution channel that needed to be considered—the web browser.  Today, however, the content consumption experience is changing significantly at an abrupt pace.

The new connected experience

In the short term, the changes impacting how people interact with digital content will undoubtedly come in the forms of ubiquitous broadband connectivity, exciting new devices, and the addicting applications and services that are being used on them.  Of those three, however, it is the applications that will be at the center of the connected experience.  Apps are the new context for consuming digital content, but an application’s success has as much to do with the experience that it delivers as it does the content it contains.  Many applications deliver similar content, but few rise to the surface of the app stores.

Beyond the browser

The kingdom of content is vast, and while it certainly includes consumer content—music, movies, books, news, social chatter, etc.—it also includes business content. Some of this business content, such as market research or financial data, might be the product of the business providing it while other content, such as sales and marketing information, is distributed internally to empower sales.  As more and more sales reps and meeting planners are equipped with smartphones and tablets, B2B app stores will become largely filled with sales enablement and CRM applications that will redefine the sales conversation in the Age of Apps.  In virtually any scenario you can think of, someone will need to open an app for you to make a sale.

Reigning in the Kingdom of Content

So, what is a good app strategy?  It begins with the app store.  The user experience is the “product” that goes into the app store, not the content.

While content is a critical component of the experience, a real premium needs to be placed on both designing and engineering memorable and seamless experiences.

Delivering a world-class experience is only half of the strategy though.  Equal focus needs to be paid to your access strategy.  It is not just about the apps that you make, but it is also about the apps that other developers are making.  If third parties can easily access your content, then your content becomes more valuable to them.  Whether or not you will be featured in the next “killer app” depends on both the demand for your content, as well as its availability to developers.  In the Age of Apps, often the latter trumps the former.  Today, developers are a new audience for you and a potential partner in your business. You need to make sure you are meeting their needs.

Flash on the Fly

Take Marriott, for example. Recognizing that meeting planners and corporate travel advisors operate on a global scale, the company was looking for a sophisticated and state-of-the-art sales enablement tool that would enable staff to create custom web-based movies on the fly, showcasing Marriott properties and area attractions for corporate customers.  Unable to find an off-the-shelf solution, they developed the Marriott “Flash on the Fly” application—a first in the hospitality industry.  Now both technical and non-technical sales staff can easily build customized, engaging presentations that tell the Marriott story while maintaining consistency of brand and message.

Getting ready for the Age of Apps

As apps are rendering obsolete everything from record and bookstores to local libraries, they will also relegate spreadsheets, floor plans, and catering menus to the back office of business communications.  Both the rise in wireless connectivity and the enormous array of new connected devices will put apps—mobile, web, tablet, TV, etc.—at the heart of the user experience, whether those users are consumers, business customers, or sales professionals.  Applications will provide the context for consuming content of all kinds, and those who deliver the most compelling context will reign in the Age of Apps.

Michael Colombo is partner and the CEO at Maark, a strategic and interactive B2B marketing agency headquartered in Boston, MA.  For more information, contact Michael at mcolombo@maark.com, or visit www.maark.com.