The rise of the App Store

In just over a generation in Singapore, I have seen the emergence of 3 types of stores that I would frequent. As a kid way back then, it was such a treat to go to the neighbourhood “Mamak” Store to get my daily fix of candy and snacks for a mere few cents. Then in my adolescent years (definitely not my best ones as a typical awkward teenager), a weekly visit to the Department Store to gawk at the myriad of products under one roof was a real highlight. Today the store of choice is not one in which I have to travel to, in fact it travels with me wherever I go, the App Store.

This pretty much sums of the state of things today in this wondrous digital age. Superfluous connectivity has accelerated the proliferation of information and services, which now constantly bombard each and everyone of us. We can no longer run nor hide. For any new brand intending to penetrate its markets, having such a wide range of choices of communications platforms in which to reach out to their consumers would be akin to unleashing the wide-eyed kid in a candy store (ok readers you can insert “Mamak” or “App” store depending on which era you grew up in).

Herein lies the danger or rather the potential pitfalls that can bring an emerging brand to a premature death. Too often these brands, just like the kid in the analogy end up literally biting off more than they can chew. In their haste to get their brand out there to as many eyeballs as possible, they reach out via every conceivable communications channels there is that their budget permits. The end result is usually a reminder that you can’t be all things to everyone at the same time.

More often than not they succeed in garnering plenty of their consumers’ attention but the tragedy of it all is that their brand promise and identity is not clearly defined and this initial consumer experience of the brand fails to make the desired impact. First impressions do count as we all know.

The best strategy for new brands that has remained relevant through the ages is to get the basics right.

• Launch with one key message
• Decide who is the core target audience and target them specifically
• Identify the essential communications platforms and then halve this number! Don’t over-extend your resources
• Ensure your PR efforts dovetail with your advertising campaigns
• Sounds so simple doesn’t it? Well easier said than done in practice as it is so easy to get distracted by all the glitzy attractions of the new digital frontier. Bottom line is still to get your core brand identity right from the start and build from a position of strength with a targeted base of key consumers. Get that right and all the rest will follow.

To sum up, there is no point in attracting millions of kids to your “Mamak Store” if you have no candy for them to buy. Disappoint them once and they will never come back again. Stock up the right kind of candy and you will only need a few of the neighbourhood kids to buy it and then they will be your team of pied pipers for you. 

Julius Toh, Director , Stellar Inflight Pte Ltd