How do you turn an innovative app into a worldwide success? That is exactly what many iPhone developers are trying to do, so we wanted to share with you the story of a Japanese developer with global aspirations.
Helping MotionPortrait spread the word is Mark Lytle Hiratsuka, who explained how thinking big can help your app connect with customers no matter where they are.
Marketing Your App: Could you tell me about the HourFace and PhotoAvatar iPhone apps?
Mark Lytle Hiratsuka: Basically, working with Tokyo developer MotionPortrait on two apps based on their existing technology, we quickly realized a lot of iPhone users probably had no idea how powerful their handsets really are.
While the photo-aging app HourFace 
is likely the more impressive end product, its follow-up, PhotoAvatar , probably has more going on technically in terms of the impressive image manipulation at work, all of it taking place in the ‘cloud’ before being sent back to the iPhone.
In a nutshell, both apps take a still photo – either from the camera or the photo roll – and morph it into an attention-hogging animated 3D ‘movie’. HourFace spits out an older version of you, a friend or whoever, while PhotoAvatar turns them into a variety of alien creatures.
MYA: How have these two apps been promoted so far?
MLH: The difficulty with promoting such technically impressive apps, however, lay in the fact that any review is basically just going to say “Wow – these work!”, leaving the issue of how to speak directly to potential customers and get them firing up iTunes.
Fortunately, as we all know, that’s precisely where the social networks like Twitter excel these days. In our case, we leveraged an even broader – and dare I say it – better online tool in the shape of Posterous.
My personal Posterous blog not only quickly drew about 4,000 page views for each app posting, but also pushed the stories out to Twitter, Facebook and plenty more — boy, is this thing flexible!
The upshot? Both apps from an obscure Japanese developer hit the iTunes App Store charts worldwide from the US to Chile within 48 hours, driving sales we’re only now finding time to start counting! Color us impressed.
Both apps are available in the App Store by clicking these links: HourFace and PhotoAvatar
Do you have an iPhone (or even iPad!) app? Would you like to see it featured on the Marketing Your App blog? Find out how.
