The developers who made the final round include Mike VanBeneden, who came up with an app called Share Happiness that lets you create a "Happiness Playlist" of songs on your iPhone and then find other people via Facebook who put the same songs in their Happiness Playlists. VanBeneden actually made the cut twice. His Reward Goals app was among five finalists for the Coke Zero brand.
Another app, by Mobext of Spain, called Happiness Is Everywhere, uses augmented reality to spot "Happiness Places" around the globe. When the iPhone or Android-based device using the app points to the Happiness Place, "iBottles" are revealed. Those who collect the iBottles get perks like contents and coupons.
Three winners, one for each brand, will be announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress on February 14 to 17 in Barcelona and given a prize of $10,000. The winners are chosen by managers on the brands and are likely to be notified today, a Coke rep says. The contest started on November 26. To sign up for future contests, visit mobileappchallenge.com.
While brands have previously asked consumers to make ads for them — in fact Frito-Lay and PepsiCo will air six such ads in Sunday's Super Bowl — the idea of making apps is new. It represents a new model of advertising, says Mattan Griffel, marketing coordinator for appssavvy. "It makes a lot of sense to outsource the development," says Griffel. "I'd encourage companies not to make their own apps. It's a bit counter-productive. You wouldn't make your own TV show, you'd advertise on one that already has a following."
Here's a full list of the finalists:
Coca-Cola
Mike VanBeneden, U.S.A. "Share Happiness"
Marco Reinbold, Germany "Happiness is Now"
Mobext, Spain "Happiness is Everywhere"
Ed Barlow, England "Coke Music Maker"
Hana Cadlecova, U.S.A. " Cokeoke"
Diet Coke
Intelmind, Poland "
Ron van den Berg, Netherlands "Light Moment"
Pete Herron, U.S.A. "Lighten Up"
Maksymilian Jorza, Poland "Diet Coke Extra Studio"
Antonio Garcia, Spain "Diet Coke Good Vibrations"
Coke Zero
Two Bulls, U.S.A. "
Mike VanBeneden, U.S.A. "Reward Goals"
Andrei Neculaesei, Romania "Cola Dance"
App Factory, Denmark "Meeting Your Favorite Pop Star"