TOI sits down with Narry Singh, executive chairman of Outfit 7, the firm behind Tom, to talk about Tom, how the cat brings in millions in revenue for its firm and what app developers should do or not do...
With over 250 million downloads, Talking Tom, Talking Ben and Talking Santa are now superstars in the world of smartphone apps. But how did it all start? Did the Outfit 7 team think that one day it could be so big?
Did the Outfit 7 team think that one day it would this big? No. The beginning was very humble. The Tom that you see in the app was actually a logo that one of the engineers in the team of seven saw in Europe. He liked the logo and bought it for 40 Euros. The team was working on the next-generation search engine. The guys had big ideas around how information should be indexed and archived.
Talking Tom came into existence because one fine day the team decided to have fun with the logo that they had bought. They animated it, turned it into an app by adding ability to repeat whatever it hears, and submitted it to Apple for approval in 2010.
And then you turned it into Talking Friends...
Yes. Around 30 days after Talking Tom entered Apple's app store, we got a call from Cupertino (Apple's headquarter) telling us that the app has been downloaded nearly 6 million times. We thought it was a prank and asked the caller to leave behind the number. When we dialed back we found the call was from Apple's head office. It changed our lives.
The search engine idea was pushed aside. Tom became a priority. Over the next few months, characters like Ben, Giraffe and Santa were added to the club. It became popular, very very popular. I had once worked with Steve Jobs so I knew him. We approached Jobs and because the app was really popular he agreed to endorse it.
The idea of a quirky, funny app turning into a viable business model sounds odd. How do you make it work?
(laughs) Yes, you can call Tom and his friends quirky. But that is exactly why it works. We are helping people have fun and we are doing it in a very clever way. Talking Tom is not the app. It's the tool. The app is the user. Tom just repeats whatever a user is saying or reacts to whatever a user is doing.
That's the secret sauce here: the effortless fun that people can have with themselves while talking to these cartoon characters. And I am pleased to say that it has worked very well. Outfit 7 has never financed its operations through debt. We have never been in the red. Though I can't reveal the actual figures, we are very successful.
When it comes to the monetisation, there are several ways. Currently, we offer 11 apps. Of these six are free. If people like them, they buy others. Then, there are in-app purchases. For example there are a few things that Tom can do for free. But a few other tricks are only available to paid users. We also allow customization of Tom or other talking toons. For example, even though Talking Tom is free, if you want him to wear a dhoti or a topi, you may have to spend some money.
The final part of the monetisation is merchandise. We have not yet started selling Talking Friends accessories or merchandise but we plan to do so. The best thing about an app like Talking Tom is that we don't have to invest much money in it. Result: margins are very high.
Google's Android or Apple's iOS. Most app developers worry about the choice of the platform. Which platform is better for developers?
For me, both of them are like father & mother. (Laughs) But I won't say which is father and which is mother. Currently around 60% of revenue comes from iOS. But Android is a game changer because it has brought down the prices of smartphones. In a country like India it has opened up new market for app developers and I feel that in 2012 it is going to offer lots of opportunities to us.
India is home to a growing number of app developers. As someone who has seen it all in the world of apps, what, in your opinion, are key ingredients for success?
Distribution and discoverability. The two Ds. These are key for success in the app world. There are over a million apps on various smartphone platforms. It is important to make sure that people discover your app and that you distribute them properly because unless you don't have a million users, it is difficult to get a steady stream of revenue.
Also, go slow. It's important that you have some ideas about what you are trying to do with your app. And no, making money is not the right idea. You need to believe in your product, you need to be passionate about your vision. Money will happen later.
If you are starting from the scratch, with no brand, consider using freemium model - free for basic use with advanced options offered at a price. Advertisements are great but make sure they are not obnoxious. Once you have established yourself, revenue through merchandizing is good option.
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