The value of mobile applications to brands is indisputable — it’s increasingly rare to find a major brand without an app. Companies view apps as a unique way to build closer relationships with customers and to strengthen existing marketing efforts.
HTML5 represents the next generation of applications. Today, publishing a native app typically requires going through an app store, which enforces specific rules and approval criteria. While app stores offer clear benefits—most notably distribution—those rules can sometimes dilute a brand’s presentation or limit how companies communicate with customers.
App stores do provide valuable reach, but with millions of apps competing for attention, individual titles can easily become lost in the crowd. HTML5 gives brands more control over both the app experience and their brand identity by enabling them to deliver app-like functionality directly from their own websites.
Some major publishers have already begun this shift: for example, The Financial Times has moved portions of its offering to HTML5. But new opportunities bring new challenges. For HTML5 to succeed as a platform for branded apps, companies must find effective ways to monetise content while preserving the advantages of direct distribution.
Currently, app stores simplify payments by linking consumers’ credit or debit cards to their store accounts, allowing one-click purchases and subscriptions. If brands rely on HTML5 and sell directly through their sites, they need payment options that are equally fast, simple and widely accessible—without forcing users to repeatedly enter card details or excluding those who don’t have a credit card.
To monetise the direct model that HTML5 enables, brands need a payment process that is seamless for users, straightforward to manage, and available to as broad an audience as possible.
Carrier billing offers an effective solution. With carrier billing, consumers can pay quickly for digital goods through their mobile operator: purchases are either deducted from a prepay balance or added to a monthly bill, removing the need to enter card details. This method lowers friction at checkout and makes buying content easier, especially for users who prefer not to use or don’t have access to credit cards.
Carrier billing also expands the potential customer base because it reaches anyone with a mobile phone. By partnering with a billing provider such as Ericsson IPX, brands can offer a fast, familiar payment option and benefit from the trust that users place in their mobile operators. That trust helps drive purchase decisions and can improve conversion rates.
The result is higher revenues and stronger customer responses, which in turn increase word-of-mouth referrals and long-term engagement.
Jeremy Hamill-Keays of Ericsson IPX will discuss these monetisation opportunities and other topics shaping the HTML5 ecosystem on the “Is HTML5 the Future?” panel at Apps World 2012 in London. The session, featuring participants from Google, Facebook and other industry players, takes place at 10:10 on 3 October.