7 Reasons Android is Where Marketers Need to Be

I work at an office that is primarily dominated by discussions of iPhone, iPad and whatever else Apple may come up with, and very little conversation about what should be done in the Android market. Not that everything Apple does isn’t pretty darn cool, but to be honest I am not overwhelmed by the superiority of the iPhone like I once was. Android phones have come from the ground up and the Android OS is not far behind what Apple is.

1. Third party analytics. With their latest OS, Apple effectively stated that no third-party analytics will be allowed on iPhone apps. Anyone that is involved in digital project development knows that one of the most important things we need to have is analytics. If a developer doesn’t know how people use their tool and what they do, they can’t hope to improve their app. This is bad thing for consumers. And equally as important, this is a bad thing for developers and marketers hoping to leverage the power of apps. Meanwhile, Android does not have any restrictions on implementation of third-party analytics. In fact, Android is working to provide easier solutions to integrate analytics into app development SDK.
2. Advertise with any ad network you want. Along with the restrictions on third-party analytics, Apple also announced the launch of iAd, the new Apple advertising network. While not quite as restrictive as their analytics, iAd was launched to effectively remove certain mobile ad networks (Google AdMob) from having access to the very important iPhone app marketing. This has received much criticism from Google, as well as from the goverment who turned their gaze from Google to Apple upon this announcement. As a pharma marketing guy, this single move gives me a lot less incentive to want to advertise with iAd. From my level of knowledge, Apple does not have a very significant amount of data available for a marketer
3. The Android marketplace is much less saturated. Obviously, everyone has focused on iPhone app development for the past several years because for the longest time that was the only place to be. Now, with Android growing their share every month, I would argue it is time for people to consider the Android market. There are around 50,000 apps currently in the market on Android, compared to 200,000+ within the iPhone market. From a pharma/health perspective, the Android market is fairly wide open. Big health apps primarily focus on calorie counting and general health-related apps. ePocrates has recently (in February 2010) become available on Android, but that is the most notable app currently. As a marketer, this is a relatively untapped opportunity that should be explored.
4. Faster adoption rate. If recent trends are an example, Android phones are going to have a much quicker adoption rate than iPhone for the foreseeable future. Sure, there are the Apple addicts that will live and die by Apple products, but the larger general audience wants to have the fancy features in a more affordable package that makes sense for their needs. Android offers this opportunity (you can find very affordable phones that leverage Android OS while Apple products tend to be a bit skewed toward techno-geeks).
5. Better long-term saturation levels. Android continues to roll out into new markets across new carriers while the iPhone maintains close to saturation level with AT&T. There are only so many people in the AT&T network, and those that want an iPhone likely already have one (for the most part). With future openings across 5 or 6 carriers gives Android a much wider path to expansion and competition than anything iPhone can offer. Even if iPhone opens up to the Verizon network, I wonder if they will be able to take a significant amount of the Droid shares.
6. Multiple carriers/more accessibility. By being locked into a contract with AT&T, this could be a major downfall for the future and ongoing growth of iPhone adoption. Personally, 2 years ago when I wanted to make the switch to a SmartPhone, I went with Android only because I can’t stand AT&T. I’ve had a bad history with service and support at AT&T and decided that I would not go back to that simply to get the coolest gadget. I stuck with T-Mobile and got the G-1 (and shortly after upgraded to the MyTouch). Since then, Android has exploded onto the scene with dozens of different phones that can attract a much wider audience than the iPhone. You can find Android phones with T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and coming soon to AT&T and US Cellular. For Sprint and Verizon, the flagship phone (Evo 4G and Droid, respectively) run on the Android OS. To put this in perspective, AT&T hold ~25% market share while Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile combine for 55% market share.
7. Google trumps Apple. Steve Jobs is getting a big head and a bit combative. If I was a betting man, I would say to Google has the will and ability to take the battle to Apple should they so desire, and make Android a superior product. The history of Google is that they take innovations and make them better, and they find the people that will make that happen. With the fact that Android has only been around a couple years and already are a close match to the iPhone OS, I would say Apple needs to open their mind a little bit and branch out, or they will be surpassed by Google-fueled Android.

Bottom line, as you can probably tell I am not currently a big fan of what Jobs is doing with Apple (to say the least). Maybe I have iPhone envy? I don’t know, but I strongly believe that pharma marketers need to think about engaging the Android market to continue driving mobile app success.

Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of Intouch Solutions.