Idea Grove collaborated with Dallas-based Big in Japan to develop and implement the rollout strategy for ShopSavvy, a mobile application for comparison shoppers introduced in November 2008. The application has since emerged as one of the most celebrated and widely embraced shopping apps for Android, the iPhone, Nokia and Windows smartphones, with more than 20 million downloads and 11 million ShopSavvy users.

The Situation

Big in Japan approached Idea Grove in September 2008, after its new barcode-scanning application (then called GoCart) was selected as one of 10 winners among 1,800 entries in the Google Android Developer Challenge. With similar apps already on the market and in development, the company wanted to ensure that its application seized a leadership position in the fast-emerging market for barcode-powered applications and services.

The Solution

Idea Grove began promoting ShopSavvy by encouraging trial among influential technology media, leading to positive reviews and awards from TechCrunch, the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News and other outlets. We quickly expanded our efforts beyond the app itself to showcase Big in Japan’s founder, Alexander Muse, as a visionary in the space, leading to high-profile speaking engagements and Muse’s emergence as a go-to media resource. We broadened the attention by contacting Dallas/Fort Worth television stations to try out ShopSavvy and meet with Muse. This led to stories on local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates — which were then rebroadcast by hundreds of other network affiliates across the country. Idea Grove capitalized on this attention to land placements with national broadcast media.

The Results

ShopSavvy has been featured more than 1,000 times on national and local television programs and newscasts, including “Good Morning America,” “NBC Nightly News,” “Fox Business Network” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” The company has also generated repeated coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Mashable and other print and online outlets. ShopSavvy has earned awards and recognition at events such as CES, the Metroplex Technology Business Council, the Mobile World Congress and SXSW Interactive, as well as from technology blogs such as TechCrunch, VentureBeat and GigaOm. ShopSavvy has emerged as the recognized leader in barcode-powered shopping by mobile consumers.