Snapplify reflects on 10 months of explosive international growth and recognition
Just 10 months after its official launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2011, Snapplify – Africa’s leading mobile app producer on iPad and Android platforms – already boasts global recognition and lists an impressive array of achievements.
Earlier this year, the company won its first award at the Cape Town Entrepreneur Competition with its innovative ‘applification’ platform, which enables users to sell and distribute content of all formats into mobile apps, at the touch of a button and with no upfront cost.
Shortly thereafter, in June, it represented Cape Town at the Barcelona Global Entrepreneurship Competition, where it was placed fourth. Snapplify’s most recent victory came when it was chosen as a finalist in the run-up to the inaugural Asia Digital Publishing Awards this year.
Global growth and innovation
In its short existence, Snapplify has already attained global stature.
Undertaking a series of whirlwind global charm offensives since 2011 – including the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs – it has signed top-ranking clients in important markets. These include Ka Boom Studios in the US (the creators of the Peanuts strip) and Kotobarabia (the first online e-book store that specialises in Arabic content).
Launched last year with support for the iPad platform, it announced Android support in London and will be launching ePub support at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair where the Snapplify team will be exhibiting.
Snapplify’s cloud-based platform can efficiently service any company anywhere, and a global partner network supports clients with centralised, instantaneous distribution of locally relevant apps.
Snapplify maintains an aggressive channel recruitment campaign. The latest partner signings have come from Kenya, Nigeria and the United States, but Snapplify has for some time maintained offices in the UK to support partners further afield.
Metrics and insights
In the time since its launch, Snapplify has racked up considerable numbers and built up first-hand insight into the world of mobile apps.
“We’ve noticed excellent uptake among expatriates of content from their countries of origin. Much of it in our context has come from Arabic-speaking Americans requesting localised Middle-Eastern content, and South African expats requesting news from the old country,” says Wesley Lynch, Snapplify CEO.
Snapplify’s Android launch has given it traction in emerging markets, where it realised that uptake, still modest, would take time to pick up. iPad apps, on the other hand, have stormed the developed world.
At this early stage, Snapplify is the largest mobile content distributor in emerging markets, and is making an aggressive push in developed markets. It has close to 100 apps in Android and iPad app stores, reaching over 100 000 downloads across all apps and averaging over 1000 publication downloads a day.
Interestingly, media clients have marked an increase in advertising revenue with the addition of video content apps, and have thus been able to expand their rate cards.
The app model has further enabled new sales and distribution models. The library model has been particularly promising, whereby readers access books for a lesser charge than if they were to buy it. And with subscriptions, too, mobile apps have opened new doors on new commercial possibilities.
Let’s get applified
Industries across the board have content requirements and can benefit from the distribution-related and green benefits as well as the innovative consumption models and revenue opportunities of the app model.
With no upfront cost and instantaneous DIY conversion, Snapplify offers a winning way to get applified.
Visit www.snapplify.com to start using the platform.
About Snapplify
Snapplify, founded by CEO Wesley Lynch, is a mobile solutions provider that enables publishers, authors and content providers to package their books, magazines and brochures into digital publications for company branded Mobile Apps. These Apps are then distributed globally via relevant App stores. The company launch at the Frankfurt Book Fair saw Snapplify establishing a UK and South African office whilst servicing leading publishers both locally and internationally.
Snapplify
Wesley Lynch
Email: wesley@snapplify.com
Suhaifa Naidoo
Email: snaidoo@realmdigital.co.za
