All this week we’re out in Mayrhofen, Austria, producing a real-time stream of news content for the official Snowbombing festival iPhone app by Eristoff – Vodka from the Land of the Wolf.

If you’ve got an iPhone or iPod Touch, download it for free while the event is taking place and let us know what you think. You’ll find news, gossip and interviews direct from the week-long festival, which sees artists like The Enemy, Editors, 2ManyDJs, De La Soul, Fatboy Slim, Vitalic, Doves and Friendly Fires playing to 6000 fancy dressed loons high up the Tyrolean alps.

Live Feeds

The app makes use of Alchemy Content’s specialist experience of developing and running mobile applications that go beyond the gimmicks; providing a useful, always up-to-date information service that’s constantly available in a user’s pocket.

Live feeds of high-quality custom content give people a reason to refer to the branded application repeatedly throughout their time at the event. For Snowbombing, we’ve devised an additional Eristoff Secrets feed, offering exclusive calls to action on things like VIP party access, ticket competitions and insider tips for getting the most from the resort.

Intense Usage

Mobile apps based around intense periods of usage, like major events or holiday locations work particularly well, so the Eristoff Snowbombing app is an ideal use of the technology and Alchemy Content’s editorial and project management services. See our Clubber’s Guide to Ibiza app for more.

GPS maps pinpointing and recommending local businesses, a fully searchable events schedule including artist profiles, plus user generated community feeds from YouTube, Flickr and Twitter all add to the application being an essential download for anyone – whether out at Snowbombing or not – with an interest in the artists or wanting an interactive guide to the best of Mayrhofen’s après ski.

Download the Eristoff Snowbombing app for iPhone or iPod Touch.

Mobile apps are all the rage, right? Yet the reality of the situation is that the majority of people don’t use them, yet. Apps are spectacularly useful when they make life easier – quickly, regularly, efficiently – but for owners of the more popular handsets, this simply isn’t the experience. Just finding and downloading them can often be too much hassle for starters. And the minefield of data plan charges and different operating systems are enough to scare off most people anyway.

Therefore it was good to see a consortium of seven mobile phone manufacturers and networks coming together to announce a new standard system for apps at the Mobile World Congress last week.

As far as we’re concerned this kind of initiative can’t happen fast enough. The average person has no interest in why the technology can’t deliver them a good media experience on their phone, but as soon as it does, they are going to wonder how they ever did without it. In the meantime we’re in the frustrating position where an amazing range of new content, tools and services are only really available to those who own an iPhone.

Despite all the buzz about mobile apps, designing a service that can be enjoyed across all the mobile platforms is still fraught with barriers and expenses. Mobile will only really take off when the focus changes from ‘how’ services are delivered to ‘what’ goes onto them, from the technical to the editorial.

Apple run a restrictive, closed system in an era when pretty much everyone else is working to principles of compatibility, yet theirs remains the platform of choice because they have streamlined the whole experience. Google’s more open, Android system is slowly gaining ground, but it will take a lot more cooperation to bring the overall mobile app/online experience up to the level that people will want to use it on all handsets.

We’re on the right path, but the progress of mobile media has been far too slow. Protectionism still reigns. Now Apple have generated all the interest, perhaps this latest announcement of cooperation will bring forward mobile media’s ‘broadband moment’ of mass adoption, and kickstart the technology/content revolution that is currently only enjoyed by a lucky minority of phone users…

We’re proud to say that Alchemy Content was a winner at the Mobile Content Awards 09 on Thursday night. Our work on the Ministry of Sound Clubbers Guide to Ibiza iPhone app saw us take the Silver Award for ‘Best Handset Application’, with the Financial Times taking the Gold.

This was great recognition from the mobile industry that our custom editorial production and management services are exactly the kind of innovation they wish to see more of on handsets in the future. As providers of all kinds of digital content and proponents of an editorial ‘feed culture’ this couldn’t be a more appropriate accolade, so we were very pleased to collect our award with Tom Bulwer representing MSHK/Ministry of Sound.

The final winners in the Best Handset Application category were:
Gold – Financial Times for FT iPhone App
Silver – Alchemy Content / MSHK for Ministry of Sound Clubbers Guide to Ibiza iPhone App
Bronze – Airborne Mobile for Homes on Mobile Phones Real Estate App

Great Feedback

While we’re banging the drum for the app, we’ve been particularly pleased with the feedback from users too. Here’s a sample of the kind of emails we’ve received:

“The app is brilliant. I used it in July and check it most days over here in the UK too. And these competitions are excellent!” Isla

“The iPhone app has been REALLY useful even in the run up to the holiday and I am sure it will be even more useful once we are out there.” Mark

And a couple from the iTunes App Store reviews, where the average rating is 4 out of 5 stars:

“This app is SO good! Totally essential if you are on your way out there, you lucky git!” banarydan

“I don’t normally ever write reviews but I got this 2 weeks before I’m due to go, was a bit apprehensive whilst downloading but it’s well worth it. Tells u all that is going on in the main clubs and how to get there too, and other studff like news and what’s on tonight… seriously get this.” Mamba man

Thanks go to Patrick Hagenaar for the original commission and Elliot Bowes at Active Guru for the development. If you’d like to speak to Alchemy Content about managing a content based mobile project like this then we’re ready to help and full of new ideas. Here’s to more awards and content innovation…

More details on the Clubbers Guide to Ibiza iPhone app.

The app is up for ‘Best Handset Application’, facing some healthy competition from the other nominees in the category including the Financial Times, Mobile Money Services, Airborne Mobile Inc and UMU Limited.

Feedback on the app has been overwhelmingly positive and the live feeds of news, special offers and over 50 free guestlist places a week have really captured the users imaginations.
The nomination is a great result for one of our key projects in this, our first year of operation.

Check out the promo video and download the app if you’ve got an iPhone. There’s still plenty of time to fly over for the Closing parties in September!

We’re happy to announce that the ‘Clubber’s Guide to… Ibiza’ iPhone application we’ve been working on for Ministry of Sound is now available for download from the iTunes app store.

This is a major project for us as it perfectly demonstrates the innovative use of digital platforms and content feeds that we provide as key Alchemy Content services.

The application has already been causing a stir for avoiding the gimmicky functions that are currently littering app-land and focusing instead on a suite of really useful features including:

• Vicinity-based island guide – we provided fully researched reviews, images and GPS

coordinates for 150+ of the best bars, restaurants and clubs around Ibiza.

• Daily news feed – Alchemy Content is producing a stream of stories throughout the

summer covering the day’s big club events, gossip and useful info updated direct to the app in realtime.

• Special offers – we are coordinating relationships with venues and promoters to

feature a range of discounts, offers and competitions exclusive to the app, saving users money during their holidays (turning their phone into a ‘loyalty card’) while offering business owners a totally new opportunity to attract customers via ongoing deals or instant call-to-action bulletins.

Other features include a regularly updated club listings feed & ticket sales (via phone or web), plus details of free wifi hotspots (to avoid roaming costs), first aid centres, taxis and petrol.

We designed the app around live content rather than as a static guide to retain users interest before, during and after their holiday. Ibiza is all about gossip and fast-paced changes to parties, making it perfect for rolling out a next generation app project like this. The aim is for a phone to replace the guide book, listings magazine, flyer, discount card, VIP pass and more.

Already sitting happily at number 16 in iTunes Top 20 Paid Travel Apps Chart in it’s first week and with a UK TV ad campaign about to start, we’re confident that the app will quickly become the standard digital media platform in the world’s nightlife capital.

Buy the app now for £1.79 and please contact us if you’d like to know more about our complete application development and content service for iPhone and other mobiles.