© KRAPPS

Each and every company has a different way of doing business. This results in their brand message being received in a unique way apart from any of their competitors. The following is an interview with Alex from KRAPPS.com, the website that takes a look at the “anti-brilliant apps – slacker apps – not amazing apps” that have shown up in the iTunes app store. And according to their tagline “not all apps are created equal”.

The Cause Is The Habit: Let’s start with giving us some background on your company and yourself of course

KRAPPS: My background is Business Marketing. This is my first attempt at blogging. A friend of mine kept pushing me to get into blogging, but I kept putting it off. He kept telling me that I know a good amount about the iPhone and should share my knowledge. So after a few months I decided to give it a go.

I began “researching” apps I was going to review and I kept coming across apps that were totally ridiculous. The more I looked, the more crappy apps I discovered. So then it dawned on me. Why get into a niche that is already saturated with capable app review sites? I should branch off, start my own niche and voila, KRAPPS was born. .

How do you find your background in business marketing helping you in the short and long term at KRAPPS.com?

Well, at first KRAPPS was just going to be sort of a casual hobby- crank out maybe two articles a week and leave it at that. But from day 1 the response to KRAPPS was overwhelming. It just took off. So then I started to think I could actually spin this into something totally legit … cranking out content 5 days a week.

At that point I leveraged my past marketing experience to create a business plan, roll-out/growth strategies, etc. I also leveraged my past experience to execute PR campaigns and such. Couple these traditional marketing efforts with new social media efforts that I am also familiar with … lead the the continuing growth and exposure of KRAPPS

As far as the future of KRAPPS, where do you see your brand going? Partnerships? Monetization model? I know we previously spoke about a possible iPhone app…

Yes, a native iPhone app is defientely on the horizon. I would love that! And great timing with your question of partnerships and monetization. I am currently working on both and within days of inking two deals. I am rolling out a sponsorship program to app developers that is very different from traditional e-marketing. It will be unique and 100% out of the box

I firmly believe these out of the norm tactics will provide much moe value to the developers advertising budget than the traditional stoic approach. Partnerships are important for the growth of KRAPPS. Obviously it would need to make sense for both sites, but I am close to finalizing details of working with aery popular iPhone app review site, expanding the reach of KRAPPS and also entering into a different delivery channel. So I’m hoping great things lie ahead for the KRAPPS brand. 

So as far as partnerships are you just looking at app review sites or others? I can see an expansion of your business, by focusing on non-KRAPPS i.e. the anti-KRAPPS. There is such a glut of information on iPhone apps right now, especially with review sites. There definitely is a need for app users to be able to find the absolute must-have apps.

Right now I am only looking at iPhone app review sites. There is a natural and immediate fit, so for “phase 1″, this is relatively straight forward. Going beyond the first phase, I plan to look at “life humor” sites sites like FAIL Blog. The iPhone is quickly becoming a mainstay in life that I think there could be fantastic synergy with a non-specific iPhone site like FAIL Blog, where comedy/satire if the main point.

As far as “legit” apps… I’m at a crossroad with that one. KRAPPS is a niche and it has been working very well. There are many legit app review sites that already exist. The reason I started to do legit reviews was that I was receiving a ton of iquiries of “what app should I get” – so you are right, there is a demand for this. With 30,000 apps, there has to be some guiding lights but I’m not sure I want to dive in full on into this segment/niche.

For now I am focusing on quality content. Sticking with the girl who brought me to the dance (so to speak), while delivering the occasional 100% anti-KRAPPS Certified message. And yes, seeking out traditional companies ith iPhone apps is totally on my radar. There are plenty of companies and apps that have a snarky side and would benefit for an affliation with KRAPPS. My goal is to bring these types of companies into our “community” and postion them in a positive light not just some big, lame, boring and non-humrous brand but “them” real, tangible and relevant.

I’m so glad you broke down your strategy into phases. It seems like you have a really good long term handle on your brand’s development. A brand should be true to its core values while at the same time look for places to expand into that are a natural outgrowth. Focusing on two core values, snarkiness and niche best/worst is definitely the way to grow. Some companies focus on adding features, while I definitely see you focusing on growth through internal focus.

Agreed 100%. Core values are a must. Keeping true and real to your niche is imperative. Take a look at the surfwear brand Quicksilver. They had the perfect niche, but started to expand into skiing equipment, shoes, etc. They rapidly got away from their niche and now look at them … struggling for their “life“. As with the legit app reviews I will always try to grow and expand KRAPPS but it will be baby steps and not something that will sabotage my established niche.

That’s the key. A brand is built over time not over night. Either way you look at it, your brand focuses on quality apps.

Do you see an expansion into partnerships/sponsorships/advertisers who are more traditional companies that have iPhone apps that function as a brand extension i.e. Coke, Kraft etc? Do you see your company consulting for established companies without apps?

Interesting about consulting … to be completely honest, I’m already doing this. I have established many relationships with various developers who ask me questions about positioning, description copy, pricing, messaging, etc … I think perhaps they picked up on my writing where I’m not just blasting an app, but in the occasional article I offer constructive crticism with m opinion how to make it “right”.

Most devs don’t have a marketing background … and why should they, they are geeks who are phenomenal coders … but coders don’t market and marketing is key. The actual product and the marketing go hand-in-hand … especially now there are 30,000 apps … very difficult to be “seen” without a sound marketing strategy.

So yes I would love to consult and help devs deliver and market to their fullest potential.

A Motrin menstrual cycle/calendar app would be pretty cool Or a Motrin how to properly wear your baby in a sling app.

That would be a great extension down the road. Obviously you have your finger on the pulse of what people want, considering the DMs we’ve had

Currently you mainly focus on really bad quality apps, but quality is a main value of your brand. Your voice is snarky. A lot of these app review sites are so soulless, just giving the feature run-down. For an extension into good-quality app reviews your voice would definitely fill a void.

Yeah, from the very beginning I decided to write how I speak. I wanted to make it a conversational blog/writing style. I didn’t want to worry about “proper sentence structure”, etc … screw that … I don’t hang out with those types of “proper” people and I think those types are few and far between. I just want casual conversation with my readers … low key, all good … like we are chillin’, sharing a few beers and laughing at all the dumb ass apps Apple is approving.

That is my angle for my writing. Approachable is the word I’m looking for .. I’m just a normal dude .. I want to be appraochable … with soul and a smile.

I’m glad you feel that way. That’s why I wanted to do this interview via a chat client. It’s more natural. This way we can just figure things out based on what we each give back to one another.

Right on – i hear you …. chat interviews are cool … you convinced me … now pass me over a beer please 

Back to consulting- there is definitely a need for app consulting as the iPhone app store has become a huge market. Some developers are making money hand over fist, while others are just wasting their time. A big part of this disparity has to do with marketing, so I definitely see a future there for your company. KRAPPS consulting basically. 

Yeah, I think most devs are not making much money at all … but it’s sad, because there are many fantastic apps, but they are getting BURIED in the app store … that’s where marketing comes in … being heard over the 30,000 competing apps.

One thing that I DID notice recently when downloading apps is that developers are keyword loading their app descriptions with what they think are popular apps that their customers will download. Almost like the early days of Google. Obviously that strategy doesn’t really work for SEO as blatantly as they are doing.

Yeah … customers who like iFart will like iVomit … yes, I’ve seen this too … not really sure where this is going … I would think if you had an effective app description, this would not be necessary … heck, who knows … maybe Apple will be pimping the Pandora for Apps pretty soon and all these devs are gearing up for it.

Getting back to the future iPhone app & app sponsorship opportunities, are there any specifics that you’re able to tell us?

Hmmm … well, I’m inking the deals now … but if you check KRAPPS you’ll probably see the first step in a sponsorship roll-out with a specific brand/developer

Considering your brand is comprised of another’s brand failure (to some extent) talk about Apple’s branding efforts with the apps that they let in their store. You recently wrote an article that was critical of Apple with letting in a certain app into their store that has curses in it.

Yeah – it blows my mind how Apple can let such apps appear in the App Store … and it’s not just the apps, it’s the app’s description, the language they use, the price they charge … it’s insane … I would frankly be embarrassed if I was Apple … come on, letting the “C” word slide by in the Sexy Spinna app’s description is inexcusable … I feel Apple is too focused on driving the number of apps they have (30K currently) u and up and up …. so that when their main competitor Blackberry hits the market,

Apple can clearly be way ahead of Blackberry in terms of sheer numbers. But at what cost?? Too many KRAPPS, not enough quality. But you really can’t blame the devs … it costs $100 to become a dev … and there you have it … free to submit whatever they want … the barrier of entry is very low so naturally it will atttract KRAPPS … in the long run this is so damaging … even now, like I said, there are some great apps but no one can find them cause they have to step through all the KRAPPS (so to speak).

So Apple needs to do some serious thinking … it’s too much of a Wild Wild West ou there … when you are letting the “C” word slip by and it becomes associated with your brand, you are screwing up big time. I would love to have just 5 minutes with Steve Jobs to talk about these things .. bro, what is going on .., Apple is too awesome, you don’t need to go lighting fast and take on 30K apps … slow it down Steve … its all good … get some better quality control … you have a brand to protect!!

Add to the list Peep Show app … Urinating assistance apps … spanking apps … if Apple is just trying to be cool letting in all these “racy” apps, they are totally blowing it.

It’s been great chatting with you. You’ve delineated a well thought out branding business strategy for KRAPPS. Apple is definitely cutting into their branding by focusing on quantity over quality.You don’t need my advice on that one. You’ve already taken that lesson to heart.

Thank you Damien … I appreciate the time you took chatting with me … it’s been a pleasure and I’m glad we established a friendship via Twitter.

Likewise. We’ll be looking forward to seeing the exciting new developments to come with KRAPPS in the days to come.