There’s a few GPS tracker-meets-basic-social-network apps out there, allowing users to track their runs and cycling, as well as keep in touch with their friends workouts. While there are some international competitors out there, like the Nike+ running app, from our region these apps include Copenhagen-based Endomondo, Helsinki-based HeiaHeia, and Helsinki’s Sports Tracker. Here we take a look at their monetization strategies.
Endomondo: Brands
Today we received a press release from Endomondo that their ‘Brand Pages’ have gone online, allowing companies to get personal to consumers in the app’s their tight target market. Their launch companies include sports drink bottler Powerade, who presumably wants to build their brand image with potential customers, as well as Jabra, which develops some headphones targeted at the sports audience.
“Companies with Brand Pages at Endomondo will be able to utilize our services to construct specific Challenges for users, organize and promote events, share specialized routes for exercise, host giveaways, and contain it all at a single destination,” Endomondo CEO Mette Lykke said in a statement. “We believe this will make our website even more interesting and engaging, and further our goal of making fitness social, interactive and fun.”
Additionally the company offers a “Pro” version of their app for €4.49, which offers additional features like graphs, an audio coach, and a low power mode.
The company was founded in 2007 and announced it reached profitability last October. By their count, they’re over 20 million users.
HeiaHeia: B2B
While HeiaHeia has their own GPS-style sports tracking app and built in social network, the company has focused on a more platform approach, opening up their API and allowing anyone to build their own fitness tracking app upon it. And on the monetization side, they’ve moved from a more consumer focused fitness tracking app, to where they see money in the B2B market.
On their employer page, they list names like Nordic banking company Nordea, handset manufacturer Ericsson, Pepsico, and wireless carrier TeliaSonera. These large and midsize employers realize that motivating their employees to move more often can save them huge money on insurance-related costs if their employees don’t suffer from preventable illness. To do this, HeiaHeia’s product focuses on team-based challenges and cheering on your friends or employees.
Sport Tracker: Devices
This aptly-named app has taken a different strategy than the previous two, leading its users to its own branded line of heart-rate monitors that integrate into Sports Tracker for deeper analytics. These monitors run around €79, and additionally they sell iPhone cases for your bike, as well as some scarves that will let those you run past know that you’re serious about tracking your progress.
I’ve heard some rumors from the Sports Tracker guys that they may be expanding their business model, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with next.
Top image Stefan Holm / Shutterstock.com
