Karmarama’s Jon Wilkins on avoiding the ‘app graveyard’

Should brands be investing in apps?

Last week, ad agencies were warned too many are needlessly developing apps in their quest to reach mobile audiences, when they often have neither the skills nor the financial inclination to do the job properly.

In an interview with Newsline after the ‘Mobile: Old Rules, New Tools?‘ debate, Jon Wilkins, the executive chairman of Karmarama, outlined his thoughts on the challenges and solutions to getting it right.

After discussing the growing size of the branded “app graveyard”, Wilkins went on camera to say that he feels brands should be experimenting, but not in a “singular” way.

“It needs to be part of a connected, digital process,” he said. “Apps need to be viewed as living, breathing things rather than static campaign extensions.”

Wilkins added that people often confuse technology with the content.

“The content in apps is poor at the moment, but the actual functionality of what an app can bring to a customer is great, so we just need to use them smarter.”

In the short interview, above, Wilkins also discusses the challenge of keeping pace with new technologies, the growing use of ad personalisation, as well as providing an agency perspective on working with Facebook.