Secret Diary a top-10 ap

Renaissance Group chief marketing officer Warwick Grey (left) and chief executive Richard Webb...
Renaissance Group chief marketing officer Warwick Grey (left) and chief executive Richard Webb demonstrate a New Zealand-developed application for the iPad. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
The release of a New Zealand iPad application (ap) is the start of what technology supplier Renaissance Group chief executive Richard Webb hopes will be big things to come for the company.

Renaissance is going through something of a rebirth under the guidance of Mr Webb, who took on the chief executive role in January.

As part of the restructuring, in which no net jobs were lost, an aps development team was set up to concentrate on developing applications that could be used in Apple devices, but also other devices such as the Google Android phones and Telecom smart phones with Windows Mobile capability.

The first ap, My Secret Diary, spent two weeks in the iTunes top 10 and was downloaded 50,000 times.

The ap was aimed at teenage girls.

It needed to be different to what young iPad users were used to, he said.

It had to incorporate a diary-style format with the ability to upload photographs, videos and music - in a new way.

Apple liked the ap, as it fitted with its vision for iPad use and the users provided Renaissance with a captive audience for further aps being developed, Mr Webb said.

It was part of his strategy for taking the company's products to a global market.

As a result of the success of My Secret Diary, Renaissance had been approached by major publishing companies and asked to quote on developing an iPad ap for them.

"This is the tip of the iceberg if we can get out there early," he said.

An in-depth interview with Mr Webb and Renaissance chief marketing officer Warwick Grey will be published in Business & Money on Saturday.

 

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