Here at the ‘pod, we’ve been tapping and swiping en masse since the original iPhone. We recently came across this article from Ad Age Digital and felt we could offer our perspective on the App Store buzz.

A successful iPhone app, like any application or campaign, is based a lot on its quality of strategy and execution. In other words, for an iPhone app to be useful, it needs to be a good app. Additionally the app needs to fit into a brand’s larger objectives.

That being said, mobile apps are here to stay and are only going to become more and more relevant for advertisers and brands. Whether the iTunes App Store will be the dominant platform or ecosystem in 5 years is unknowable. What we can expect is that engaging, capable mobile experiences that are easy to find, get and use will be the norm -- whether it's a "native" app or an experience hosted in one of the ever-more capable mobile web browsers. Just as marketing dollars are shifting from traditional media to digital today, it would not be surprising to start seeing digital dollars shifting to mobile initiatives. In a few years, we may see a primarily mobile campaign with PC web media supporting it.

We have a running conversation on whether to support and extend development to other nascent mobile platforms -- Android, Blackberry, WebOS, Symbian, WinMo. We feel it should be considered on a case-by-case basis. It is unlikely that multiplying design and development effort to build for multiple platforms will result in a commensurate immediate bottom line (or PR) return for our client or for us. Deploying an application on a mobile platform that is not the iPhone should be considered an investment on learning that specific platform. In the long run, the learnings of creating experience concepts, strategies and interaction design for mobile devices will be invaluable for the future, regardless of what platforms are relevant then.

We believe the iPhone represents the best current platform for brands to gain invaluable experience on designing and developing for the inevitable mobile world.

One side-note: complaining about breaking into the App Store Top 10 is wasted energy. Apple, in the end, cannot be relied upon to be any app's primary marketing. The App Store is great because it is a bulletproof distribution and ecommerce platform. Marketing for mobile apps and experiences will need the same attention and effort as any other online experience or campaign. Tweets, blogs, web sites, ads, PR and all the other usual efforts will be required to reach an app's audience.