For the most part, iPhone app marketing comes down to getting listed on the App Store and maybe creating a YouTube video in hopes that a Mac blogger will pick it up. But some software makers take it to the next level. Take Jason Jacobs, the man behind Run Keeper, a pretty nifty app that tracks running, cycling, and walking using iPhone 3G GPS. It’s a lot like the Nike+ software, but with more features, such as mapping.
Anyway, in order to get the app a big boost, Jacobs didn’t stick with a typical viral media campaign or an e-mail blast to bloggers. He’s taking it upon himself to prove the utility of his application, Which is why he’ll run the Boston Marathon today dressed as an iPhone. The costume, which he worked on with a social media marketing class at Emerson College, includes a lot of black lycra, so we can only hope it isn’t too warm in Beantown tomorrow. The video above goes through their process.
And hey — the New York Times wrote about it. That’s a successful campaign already. So long as he finishes.
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
