By Colin Gilligan

We love adventure. We love mobile. We love Jeep. So, you can imagine the fun we had developing Jeep®’s first iPhone application: TripCast™, a trek-tracking, geo-social sharing utility.

After a multi-month adventure, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of Jeep’s stellar application (if we don’t say so ourselves). TripCast by Jeep is an easy-to-use, free app and website that enables consumers to track a trip, share an electronic scrapbook of their adventures, and upload photos, videos, audio clips and notes. Users can also share their journey through Facebook and Twitter, and online through the TripCast website.

 

Check it out now. TripCast is compatible with iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 and can be downloaded free from the TripCast website, or from the iTunes App Store using “Jeep” or “Tripcast” as search words.

To make a splash in today’s interactive market, brands have to find innovative ways to facilitate sharing, especially as social media becomes a way of life for a new generation of consumers. As we’ve all read over and over, recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted online are now the most trusted forms of advertising.

So, when it came time to concept Jeep’s mobile application, we wanted to associate this legendary automobile brand with the most cutting-edge trends in real-time sharing of content and geo-location in the social sphere. Phew - that’s a mouthful! Really, we layered popular technologies, like those that power Gowalla and Foursquare, on top of other popular technologies, like the real-time social sharing of content along an adventure via Facebook and Twitter.

Most important of all was to provide an application that would appeal to both the Jeep core consumer and a mass audience that could identify with the brand’s adventure-loving lifestyle.

Traveling across the southeastern U.S. just a month ago, I broadcasted my trip via Twitter and TwitPic. My friends and family loved it, following me along the way and sending texts of enjoyment. But, I wished there was an easier way to transmit my trip – for my friends (miles away) to enjoy in real-time, for my family (waiting at our vacation destination) to know my real-time location, and for me to relive all the memories at the end of the trip.

Enter TripCast by Jeep – not just a road trip tracker but an adventure tracker. Kayaking, hiking, or biking, TripCast by Jeep makes it easy to share an adventure in real-time and save it like a scrapbook. Too bad I took vacation last month…

In the end, the top-funnel awareness this sort of branded entertainment application can generate is just the kind of soft sell to which consumers respond more favorably. By offering an entertaining, utilitarian experience, the Jeep brand can build interest, engagement, and trust with its potential (and current) customers. That’s something everyone can love.

Do you love mobile?
But, unsure how to harness this emerging medium to invigorate your brand?
Take an adventure with the Tocquigny team - contact us today.

About Tocquigny

Tocquigny is nationally recognized as a top-tier interactive agency serving global brands with creative branding and A Measured Approach™ to interactive. With an extensive breadth of services, Tocquigny can harness the latest trends and technologies in social, interactive, direct response and mobile marketing. Founded by Yvonne Tocquigny in 1980, the agency is propelled by innovation, proven methodologies and hands-on leadership. Tocquigny has been named the “No. 2 Interactive Agency in the Nation" by BtoB Magazine and a “Top 20 Interactive Agency” by Adweek. 

A personalized Tocquigny business consultation can be obtained by contacting Tom Fornoff.