Having an App(etite) for Food...

An interesting article in the NYT today- Who's Ignoring Those iPhone Ads? Women.

Sarah Perez of ReadWriteWeb writes that "According to mobile marketing firm Brand in Hand, female iPhone users are the worst demographic in terms of interacting with mobile ads on the iPhone....So why are women ignoring the ads? Apparently, they're too busy actually using the apps....Instead of offering distracting mobile banner ads that get in the way of the task that needs to be done, food and beverage giant Kraft introduced their own iPhone app instead.This branded effort, dubbed "iFood Assistant" (iTunes link), is a recipe app that helps users plan meals. This fits in perfectly with how Brand in Hand claim women use their smartphones - they launch apps designed for a particular purpose. Yet this time, while doing so, the women (and men, too, we suppose) are also engaging with the brand itself because the recipes featured in the iFood Assistant app include Kraft food products of course.This app is so successful that Kraft is even able to successfully charge for it, something that rarely works for branded apps. But Kraft's app sells - and sells well - priced at 99 cents in the iTunes App Store. They even hit their 3-year download goal in a matter of weeks, said Ed Kaczmarek, Kraft Foods director of innovation...."

It is amazing that women need an "app" from Kraft to teach them recipes. Reading a good recipe book is far more productive, and is not based on a vendor/peddler's processed foods. But ah, who has the time to read a book?