Product: Platform - Mobile Apps Role: Lead Product, Design & Marketing Year: 2014-2017
Description: Claim it! is a tech startup that allowed people to win free stuff on their smart phones. We created a unique product that combined branded giveaways, location triggered prize winning with beacons and hot pink prize trucks that users had to track. Claim it! raised over $2 million in seed funding and partnered with companies like
Sprint, Crumbs, Under Armour, Starbucks and more.
Challenges
Create a first of its kind giveaway app & platform
Establish credibility because of the inherent doubt in free stuff
Create a fun, repeatable experience for users
Ensure that the redemption process was reliable
Grow the audience and expand our partnerships
Messaging
Before we introduced our products to the world
we had to introduce our company. I designed the various forms of branding and communications from the logo and cards
to the websites.
Identity
Pre-Launch Messaging
A pre launch countdown page gave us the opportunity to collect email addresses of early adopters
for the launch.
Launch Messaging
Expansion Messaging
After operating for two years we found ourselves at a pivot point and again began signing up
early adopters and version 1 loyalists for the next chapter.
The Product
As a co-founder and leader of the product, I began working in
earnest on our MVP (minimum viable product) at the start of 2014.
MVP Version
When starting from scratch it really helped to flesh out the feel of the product with designs versus
wire frames and flows. We worked backwards from designs and saved a lot of time feeling things out.
Version 1 (iOS)
The MVP showed us what worked and what didn't. In the end those insights lead us to version 1.
To solve one of our major challenges we needed to ensure the availability of the prizes while having
some control over the redemption process. The solution was prize trucks that users tracked via the app.
Version 1 (Android)
We launched our Android version six months after launching on iOS. Technical support issues
presented the greatest challenge as we were aware and prepared for device and OS version fragmentation.
Version 2 (iOS)
Version 2 represented wholesale changes in various aspects for the app.
The biggest of these were moving away from SMS user authentication and physical
redemptions of prizes. We also changed the fundamental experience of claiming prizes.
Having two years of user data, research and a solid update process under our belts allowed us to
better observe and document user flows and experience designs.
User Flows
The flows helped us work out complaints and pain points reported by users
and ultimately explore better UX solutions for future versions.
Management
Despite being a lean startup team we still used the best practices
deployed at larger companies like project, feature and bug tracking with tools like Pivotal Tracker.
Users & Growth
Claim it! appealed to a wide swath of users but
the predominant audience were millennials. This was invaluable in helping us grow the user base.
Our Audience
Our platform incentivized users by giving them the chance to win free
prizes every week in exchange for watching a video ad. We consistantly exceeded the industry standard for return usage and retention.
User Acquistion
We took a very data driven approach to user acquisition because we were in the unique position
to see which prizes excited our user base. Using that data allowed me to create targeted app install
ads to grow our user base.
Twitter Ads
This approach worked well and helped Claim it! rise to a top 100 spot in the Shopping category
on the App store consistantly.
Instagram
We also leveraged the audiences of our brand partners to introduce the company to entirely new
users that might have not been exposed to the app otherwise.
Technology
One of our product driven technologies that became very successful was the unique use of bluetooth beacons.
We used them to let users instantly win prizes because of their proximity to a location.
Tools
In addition to the products and code we developed, Claim it! also called for a number
of internal software tools to operate the platform. These included an app to scan and redeem
codes.
Learnings
Few things can prepare you to operate your own tech startup and build a product from concept to launch. There are too many lessons learned to list but here are some of the most memorable.
Consumer facing apps require constant iteration and updates
Apps that offer valuable items to the public require fail safes and kill switches
Utilize multiple channels of communication for customer support
Simplify onboarding to the maximum degree
Users loved the geolocation discovery features.
Capitalize off behavioral trends and insights exposed by analytics
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