Competition: the principle that is behind many of the innovations in today’s world. Competitors push one another to perform at a higher level in order to acquire the largest market share and reap the most profits. But as any business knows, competition can be the reason behind their failure. If a business does everything right but their competitor manages to do everything just a little bit better, the former will be gone.

Let’s consider the mobile applications market. Android users enjoy the ability to access and download 1.6 million apps, while Apple consumers take advantage of the 1.5 millions apps on their own store, the Apple Store. This market didn’t even exist a decade ago and is now blowing up. Programmers are moving out to Silicon Valley and making a living by developing apps that are worth millions and sometimes reach billions – such as the photo-sharing app Snapchat.

How should mobile application brands deal with such high competition? A brilliant app idea can fail if it doesn’t do things right, or even if it does some things right but then just falls off the map. In this dynamic market, consumers want the newest and most intriguing, entertaining, technologically advanced concepts out there. If something doesn’t captivate their attention for a certain time, then forget it – it’s yesterday’s news and today will undoubtedly bring with it new entertaining and better developed apps.

One way to break through this barrier is to create a connection with the consumer that they can’t just disregard the next day. Think about the mobile application Vine. They did a good job creating a base of consumers and creating connections with them. There was another application that came out around the same time as Vine called Cinemagram – have you heard of it?

A lot of Vine users loved the experience of having a Vine, creating it, and sharing their experiences with others on their network. This was easy for Vine, given its social media like nature. So how do brands that are developing applications that aren’t necessarily social by nature maintain a loyal consumer base? The answer doesn’t change. What changes is the method to attaining the answer: creating connections through experiential marketing.

The way that experiential marketing campaigns can be set up makes it extremely easy for mobile applications to be involved in the process. Brand ambassadors will be able to connect with consumers and ultimately convince them to download the brand’s application for a certain prize, chance to win a prize, or any creative reason that Factory 360 can help your brand come up with.

A single day of a social activation event can generate thousands of impressions, unique downloads, and tons of exposure to every consumer’s social network. Creating this fun atmosphere allows brands to forge a bond with consumers, enticing them to keep this brand in mind and think it’s still the “coolest” instead of just forgetting about it an moving on to the “newest.”

It’s also important to consider how most people learn about new applications. Snapchat wouldn’t be so big if it hadn’t been able to conquer a small base of consumers to spread the word. Consumers want to download apps to help them improve their lives and to stay connected with their friends.

Both of these reasons can be extremely well communicated through the art of experiences. Showing has always been better than telling, and it has never been truer than when it comes to mobile applications. Consumers don’t want to spend hours researching and reading reviews – they want to know what to download before they even open their Application Store.

If an app helps consumers improve their lives – by keeping all of their music organized, helping them track their fitness goals, giving them some sort of entertainment, etc. – then what better way to convey this to them than through an experiential event that actually provides them with the experience of feeling like their lives are improved by this app in a manner that stands out to them in their memory?

The same can be said about applications that allow consumers to connect with one another. If a brand ambassador can accurately and excitedly demonstrate how a certain app will help consumers stay connected with their networks, then these consumers will be convinced and bring the application to theirs own networks, increasing the applications’ users even more.

The experience will allow consumers to differentiate applications that at first may seem completely equal to them in the app store. Gain an edge on the competition by fostering these strong consumer ties, and it’ll be something you won’t regret.