MUMBAI: There are thousands of apps that are available in the mobile space. More come out each week. For them to be successful they need the three Rs - rich media, relevancy and ROI.

This point was made by appsnack director of mobile technology Jordi Duran i Batidor at the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)‘s Mobile Marketing Conference on Thursday. His company helps brands achieve their objectives of using mobile as a platform. The company helps clients build engaging, app-like creative experiences. The company also gives publishers and app developers the ability to better monetise one of their sources of ad inventory - display ads in mobile apps.

The company delivers intelligence and has built a global database. He noted that today‘s generation are media consumers and multi taskers. This means that while they watch the TV they also use their mobile phone during ad breaks to find out more information on the show that they are watching.

So the efficacy of a TVC will drop. Nine out of 10 smartphone users abroad do this. "Advertisers need to follow changes in consumer behaviour. For instance, if someone works in finance then it is better for a company like Lexus to target him on the mobile when he is at home. It is important to remember that people use devices at different times. So in the morning one uses the tablet to read the newspaper."

In terms of the three Rs which are important for mobile apps the first one is rich media. Apps are easy to use. They do not need a manual. Apps can be used to both save time and also fill time. For instance an app that lets you play Angry Birds helps fill time. But an app that helps you with the boarding pass of a plane helps save time.

The second R is relevancy which means that apps should target people who will buy those products. It is important to transform data by contextualising it. This provides intelligence that helps segment audiences. For instance ipad users tend to be heavier spenders. So a luxury brand can go there.

The third R is ROI. Awareness is important here. You need to know how many impressions, reach, frequency come into play. Then one can do branded studies. An efficacy of an app has to go beyond just clicks. It is about the user engagement with an app. Interaction rates are important. One can come to know about consumer‘s choices in things like shoes through this. One can learn about the kind of shirts, cars that people who engaged with the mobile ad love.