Cables Media, a new mobile marketing startup, has launched what they call “In Ur Face,” a customizable iPhone app platform that allows any “quick-serve” the ability to create their own coupon-based iPhone app on the fly.
“I don’t like calling it an iPhone application because it’s so much more,” says Jon Krutchik, president of Cables Media. “It’s really a mobile-marketing platform that happens to be disguised as an iPhone application.” The platform is aimed at giving chain-based businesses such as restaurants and other quick-serve services the ability to enter the world of iPhone advertising by pushing coupon notifications to willing consumers.
A team from Cables Media will meet with, and create a fully branded and customized iPhone app for new customers, and make it available in the App store within just a few weeks. Instead of being branded under the “In Ur Face” logo, any customized iPhone app will look like it was created by the customer solely, with their own logo and personal branding. From there, quick-serves pass along their coupon deals to Cables Media, which turns the deals around quickly and distributes them to app users—with no fee required from the consumer, unlike most text messaging systems.
“It’s really software as a service, and that’s exactly what we’re providing,” Krutchik says. “We handle everything from the customization to the deployment to even the campaign management itself. It’s hands-off for them because, again, let them focus on selling their food and doing what they do.”
The coupon messages, using patent-pending technology from Cables Media, delete themselves from each user’s device after they are redeemed or expire, leaving the customer with no responsibility aside from opting in to use the coupon. For quick-serve businesses, push-notification coupon distribution is a valuable asset, though it’s usually complicated and expensive for brands to go at alone. Cables Media has the right idea, it will be an interesting platform to watch in the near future.