EMT App Millionaire Campaign

Years ago, EMT and TeliaSonera wanted to create something big and innovative with mobile apps. Then the decision of Appmillionaire was done. Telia Sweden did it in 2011 and EMT in 2012. Both campaigns were based on local needs and were different, but both Telia and EMT wanted to create innovative image for their brands and put people to talk about them. They both succeeded very well!

The idea of the App Millionaire campaign was simple – the carrier announces a competition for original mobile app ideas. The winning idea was developed by the carrier into an actual app, which will be sold at AppStore and Google Play. The carrier will cover the cost of creating the app, whereas owner of the idea will keep all income from sales and copyright of the app.

What’s in there for the organizer, EMT? Since the world of mobile apps is one of the fastest growing segments within the mobile market, going along with this field and putting ourselves into the shoes of a leader shows EMT’s innovative spirit and supports its pioneering image. Additionally, this type of contest grabs the attention of both younger and older people, as well as the whole ICT and technology community.

Just as in Telia’s campaign, EMT’s App Millionaire jury panel features famous innovators and IT visionaries. Prominent jury adds credibility to the contest and helps to attract attention of the public as well as media. This approach yielded success in getting all the attention we needed  in Estonia.

Estonia is having low smartphone penetration and relatively modest usage of mobile applications, had to start with introducing apps to people through series of PR activities, including publishing articles and speaking on TV and radio shows during two months before the campaign. Additionally, creative solution of the campaign focused on showing what apps can do and how they can help in different life situations.

Almost 10 000 ideas were submitted to the competition in Estonia. EMT kicked off with over 3,000 submissions in the first two weeks.

The App Millionaire contest was developed further by EMT by adding public's favorite award – the jury selected 10 best ideas which were presented to the public, and people voted for their favorite. From the ten finalists, the jury picked the overall winning idea that was developed into an app, and public’s favorite received a special award from EMT – Samsung Galaxy S III.

The competition was mostly targeted towards 18-35 year old people, however, ideas have been submitted by people of all ages. The marketing objective of the App Millionaire contest is, first of all, to introduce new possibilities of daily communication and mobile life, as well as generate new and smart ideas with the help of our customers, as it has always been EMT’s role as market leaders and innovators.

The campaign was also visible in all mobile channels. The website of the campaign was made to stand out – it has a unique approach with its navigation and design that has not been used in Estonia before. www.emt.ee/appmiljonar  

The winner of EMT’s App Millionaire competition was announced on November 19, 2012. Development of the winning app should be finished in July 2013.

We encourage everyone to take ideas that have been successful in other countries and work with them in their home market.