Charities are doing exciting things with mobile apps. Kirsty Weakley takes a look at some that are great at engaging potential or current supporters for their causes.
With two-thirds of mobile users in the UK now owning a smartphone it's no surprise that apps and games are big business. Now charities are getting in on the act with by creating their own games or using gamification techniques.
Users are looking for something that can provide a short distraction when they’re queueing for something, waiting for a meeting or simply procrastinating at work. Charity apps have come a long way from just reproducing the website and screaming “donate”. Some even claim to cure cancer.
1. Friends of the Earth with Bee Count
Hot on the heels of last year’s Bee Cause campaign, Friends of the Earth is urging people to “Save bees while having fun” this summer, and the Bee Count app is a key part of that.
It’s free to download and once users have set up an account they can start counting the types of bees they see and where they see them.
2. Help for Heroes with Hero Bears
Launched last autumn, the Hero Bears app is the only app in this list that charges users to download it but at £1.99 it’s hardly going to break the bank.
Reminiscent of the Sonic the Hedgehog and early Crash Bandicoot games it’s a continual running with two bears carrying another on a stretcher. It speeds up as players progress and you need to avoid obstacles and collect coins along the way. Jeremy Clarkson is on hand to berate those players performing badly and Lorraine Kelly praises those who do well.
For people that might have grown bored of this app by December there is also a festive version.
3. CoppaFeel with iCoppaFeel!
As well as providing information and advice about breast cancer iCoppaFeel has a function that allows users to set a monthly day and time to be reminded to check their breasts.
Users receive a photo message from a one of the charity’s celebrity supporters on their chosen day each month. Alternatively users can nominate a boob buddy, add some photos of your chosen buddy and they will remind you each month to check your boobs.
4. Dogs Trust with iMutt
iMutt is like a slightly more advanced Tamogotchi. Once you’ve named your pet you need to make sure to feed, play, walk and train your virtual pet to prevent it from being taken into care.
As the game progresses users find our more about their pet’s back story and are given regular prompts to share the app on Facebook and Twitter, and of course donate.
5. Porchlight with Don’t Walk Past
Users choose to guide either Jon or Sarah through a week of living on the streets. For each day there is a new puzzle such as matching up pairs of useful items and players’ successes or failures in the game impact on the character’s physical and mental health.
Mark Parry, public relations manager, at Porchlight has written an article for Fundraising magazine explaining how and why they built the app. Subscribers can read the article here.
6. Cancer Research with Play to Cure
We’ve written quite a lot about this app, but that is simply because it really is that groundbreaking. So we couldn’t leave it off this list. By playing the space invaders-style game users are helping to analyse gene data, which will be used by scientists trying to cure cancer.
7.Comic Relief with Red Nose Day in Your Pocket
With a welcome video from Stephen Fry, the Red Nose Day in Your Pocket app is all singing all dancing. There are two games: a magic eight ball stayle game with celebrities from Keith Lemon to Mary Berry answering ‘questions’, and a Whack-a-Mole-style game where users have to hit the red noses away but spare the celebs.
The app also features a prominent totaliser showing how much has been raised, almost £94m this morning, news stories and videos.
Why they work
There’s no magic formula for building an app, but these successful apps all have a lot in common. They make good use of images, are focused on one or two key features, and will not take up too much of people’s time so that they fit into people’s busy lives. They are simple to use, easy to access, and they make it enjoyable to interact with the charity and its cause.
