In the waning, frenzied moments leading up to the launch of the iPhone, AT&T CEO Randall Stevenson told USA Today something that made me read twice: "[The iPhone launch] helps us complete our change from Cingular to AT&T and has created a halo effect for the re-branding."
You'd think that more than a billion dollars spent on re-branding by AT&T alone should buy some halo, but Stevenson would apparently disagree. The PR that Apple has been able to generate around this launch is so formidable, even the bluest of blue-chip brands is happy to take a back seat and enjoy brand equity by association.
But AT&T isn't the only company that can benefit from the massive iPhone awareness machine. The device itself opens many opportunities for any brand to design for the iPhone and tap into not only the brand halo, but also the hottest-selling, largest audience for a single mobile device since the ubiquitous RAZR.
While incredible that the iPhone features a more typical web experience than the average Smartphone, it's still not the same as browsing a website on a monitor.
Here are some tips on how to get your site onto the iPhone, and how to keep it there:
- Be compatible with Safari
The iPhone browser is based on the same WebKit technology that powers Safari. If your brand site works in Safari, at least you know that it will be basically operable in the iPhone.
- Create a new, short URL
As much as Apple has tried to improve the thumb-numbing experience of typing into a Smartphone, it's still aggravating to type long URLs into the browser. By creating a nice, short URL, you're helping users get to your site without any hassle.
- Use the regular site to promote the iPhone site
One of the niceties of the iPhone browser is that it automatically syncs with your desktop-based Safari bookmarks. Personally, I have a folder set aside in my bookmarks menu just for sites that are worth visiting via the iPhone.
If you have developed a site that is specially formatted for use with the iPhone, promote it on your main web property and in your email marketing. Aside from linking your brand with the "cool factor" of the iPhone for those who don't have the device, you're also giving the multitude of iPhone users a quick way to keep your site effortlessly accessible from the palm of their hand.
What Web 2.0 means to the iPhone
When Steve Jobs said that Web 2.0 made the need for special developer resources irrelevant, he was only partially telling the truth.
There are certain accommodations that need to be made to really hum on the iPhone, which are detailed in this fairly vague page on the Apple site.
My own experience developing video for the iPhone has proven that this Apple resource page is a good starting point for testing, but the final answers to what works can only be found through budgeting some time for experimentation.
The sites that have come out as "iPhone sites" end up appearing way too small in the iPhone browser. Sites with a ton of links close together don't work particularly well, either (probably why NYTimes.com makes such a good example). And if there are any rollover menus, well, just forget it.
What Jobs really meant was, "Keep it as simple as possible." The Apple site goes on to recommend columnar format and blocks of content. If your site doesn't adhere to these conventions, it's time to launch that mini site; and not just for iPhone, but for myriad full-screen handsets sure to wash up in the next tide of the market.
Have your Cocoa ready
The next big phase of development for brands (after they figure out a way to get Flash to work in the iPhone) will be when Apple does actually allow third-party development for the iPhone.
This will allow brands to create mini applications for the iPhone that make a difference in the lives of their users. I have already started my own wish list of shortcuts, like taking screenshots and being able to email them, saving attachments, or a way to easily go back to a mail message after linking out to the browser.
Once the iPhone is open to developers, brands can basically add features to the phone functions and increase their awareness by providing utility to this demographic that is obviously willing to trying new and expensive things.
The opportunities are seemingly limitless to mash-up phone, web and iPod functions in one application. Play a favorite theme song when a photo is viewed. Add a short-code link to download a coupon while looking for driving directions.
And now, the catch…
The way Apple has positioned the iPhone as open to developers via the browser means that third-party applications will likely only be allowed in Apple’s own Cocoa programming language.
While this isn't as utterly esoteric as it sounds, you'll want to know if your agency can do Cocoa programming, or line up some folks who can.
This ability comes in handy for adding your brand into many Apple products, like iTunes, AppleTV, and whatever else Apple will point the PR machine at next.
What it all means to the future of your brand
The iPhone is a perfect opportunity for brands to capitalize on the PR onslaught and, as AT&T called it, "The halo effect" for brands that are able to open their door to this affluent audience. And the best part is that the initial barriers to entry are fairly low.
Even more important to brands, however, is understanding that this is only the first wave. After selling over 700,000 units in the first week, it’s a sure bet that more iPhone models are on the horizon.
But where there are iPhones, there will be competition. The current hallmarks of widescreen viewing and multi-touch interfaces are bound to become technological standards in the next five years.
The Fat Lady hasn't yet sung for WAP sites the way we currently think of them, but the iPhone signals an important shift that says she's warming up in the wings.
Now is really the time to begin exploring the possibilities for your brand on the iPhone so you can be positioned for Christmas morning, when a whole new crush of users goes looking for iPhone-ready content and interacts with your brand in a completely different way.
Michael Leis is VP of Strategic Services for Publishing Dynamics. Read full bio.
