Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Much ado about one percent

Kraft debuted it's new iPad app yesterday and it does everything you'd expect it to.

It's targeted at parents with children age 6 - 12 and includes recipes, videos, a shopping list feature and games. It looks well designed – maybe a little busy for my taste – and easy to navigate. Well done.



I love the iPad. I participated in the pre-release hype. I've played with one and can't wait to get one for myself, and I have no doubt its importance as a marketing tool will grow. But the fact that Kraft's app development was the first news item on AdAge.com today struck me as much ado about very little.

To date, Apple has sold a little over 3 million iPads. That's less than 1% of the U.S. population so we're not talking about a mass marketing vehicle here. Kraft is right to be developing programs that connect its brand to its customers on emerging platforms like the iPad, I just wonder if it's really the biggest story in marketing this week.

1 comment:

  1. I'm sure it's not the biggest story in marketing, but what if the idea is to change Kraft's image as a staid, working-class brand into a brand with more to offer a more upwardly-mobile demographic? In that case, I think going for a platform like the iPad, which has a bunch of viral backing and an already built-in demographic, could be good. Although, I don't really understand the kid-friendly part of it. If I had an iPad and a five-year-old, I wouldn't put them within arms' reach of each other! (Full disclosure: A close friend works for Kraft, and I fully intend to ask him what the poop they were thinking.)

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