Gaffer is a media company, publishing photoshoots and editorials on high-profile footballers and musicians. They also sell merchandise and organize exclusive, invite-only events.
From running editorials on some of the world's biggest names in sports and entertainment, to building a successful ecommerce brand, Gaffer has grown a lot in four years.
The next step of their growth was to launch an app, which came with some ambitious demands. MobiLoud helped them launch this app, without limitations and with none of the overhead of building an app from scratch.
Read on to learn more about their story, and what brought them together with MobiLoud.
About Gaffer
Gaffer is part media platform, part contemporary fashion brand. They began with photoshoots and editorials on high-profile footballers and musicians, distributed in print and digital mediums. They now also sell merchandise on their website, as well as organizing regular invite-only events.
The site began on WordPress and migrated to Shopify as they moved deeper into this multi-faceted approach, combining editorials, ecommerce and offline events.
In time, as CEO and founder Jordan Wise explains, they felt they needed to expand their platform even further and add their own mobile app.
“As an extension to our website, we wanted to have an app that had the same identity; an application to which we could add different elements that were unique to the app, for our community outside of our website.”
The Challenge
As primarily a media company, relatively new on the scene, Gaffer didn’t have the resources to develop an app in-house - nor did they want the extra complexity and hassle.
The core of it was that they wanted to convert their website into an app. However, Jordan wanted the app to go further, and offer an exclusive experience for when they ran events.
“When we throw events, it gets frustrating to need to do an RSVP email list where everybody who's attending sends an email to us. I wanted to build a more centralized, cleaner, more efficient process. It was one of the key elements why I wanted to have an app.”
Let’s not forget the media side of their business. Essentially, they wanted three apps in one:
- A shopping app;
- A magazine-style media app;
- A hub for all their events.
They wanted to do this with minimal overhead, cost and learning curve, and keep their team’s focus on the operational rather than technical side of the business.
The Solution
The idea of creating an app had been in Jordan’s mind for a while, and he’d been aware of MobiLoud as a potential solution for around two years before he ultimately went ahead with it.
When he finally got in touch with us, we showed him how we could quickly and easily create an app that retained the same look and feel as their website, while also offering the app-exclusive experience they wanted.
“For ease of use and also from a cost perspective, not needing to develop an app from scratch was very useful for us.”
We also provided peace of mind by taking care of all updates and maintenance for the app. They wouldn’t need to bring in additional staff to manage the app, or add additional overhead after launching. We handled everything to do with the app.
“It wasn't just that they helped us from design, to development, to going live with the app. It was also the aftercare of knowing that we had a team of people available to us that we could turn to for the ongoing management of the app, be it a small problem or a small change. We knew that we could always rely on our relationship manager helping out.”
Results
The first win was being able to ship the unique app experience that Jordan was looking for, without a huge expense and prolonged timeline.
The next came when they actually threw an event and saw how well the app resonated with their audience.
“Our initial response from the first event that we threw was very positive. One of the things that was quite refreshing was people commenting on the aesthetic of the app and how easy it was to use. I think quite a lot of our audience had never actually gone on to our website before but they were brought to the website by having the app.”
MobiLoud Helps Businesses Build Unique Mobile Apps without the Cost, Time and Hassle
We were able to help Gaffer launch an app that retained their existing identity, built on it, and added a new element to their business.
We did all this quickly, affordably, and with minimal effort required from their team. We became their app development team, lending our experience of more than 10 years and 2,000 successful app builds.
“I was looking at multiple options when we were considering developing an app, but what was clear to me was the transparency and their expertise and experience. I felt at ease from the first phone conversation I had, all the way through the development process. At every step of the way, if I was unsure of something there was someone I could speak to or I could email, and the process became easy for me.”
“ A lot of people have asked us who did the app for us. That gives testament to how good a job MobiLoud has done in terms of working together to create a Gaffer App.”
MobiLoud is the best fit for any online business who wants to expand their web experience into an app, including those who want to build app-exclusive experiences.
You’ll be able to go to market for much less expense and in far less time than you would with a custom-developed app, and you’ll save over 90% of the maintenance costs (not to mention saving time and headspace moving forward as well).
If you want to learn more, and grow your business by launching an app, get in touch with us now to book a free consultation.
Gaffer is a media company, publishing photoshoots and editorials on high-profile footballers and musicians. They also sell merchandise and organize exclusive, invite-only events.
