Designing branded mobile apps: Fundamentals and recommendations

The development of mobile phone applications has become very important to companies, most of which are actively engaged in implementing mobile strategies and are developing or actively deploying portfolios of mobile phone applications. Hinchcliffe (2013) predicts that the development of mobile strategies will continue to be a major challenge and that branded mobile applications (branded apps) will be widely adopted in the coming years. Companies have to adapt to this new culture, ensuring that the profiles and competences of marketers properly adjust to new consumer behaviors in the market. Bellman, Potter, Treleaven-Hassard, Robinson, and Varan (2011) define the branded app as software that is downloadable to a mobile device and prominently displays a brand identity, often via the name of the app and the appearance of a brand logo or icon throughout the user experience. One reason behind the popularity of branded apps as marketing devices is that their high level of user engagement makes the advertising messages they convey highly persuasive (Calder, Malthouse, & Schaedel, 2009). Business Horizons (2015) 58, 305—315