June 21, 2012
Leading Global Brand Chooses Mobile Gamification Solution For Little League® Baseball Promotion
June 21, 2012 – Pleasanton, Calif. – Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB), a company known for its fresh and healthy food products, and FunMobility (www.funmobility.com), a pioneer in the art and science of mobile engagement, today announced the launch of FanFun, a free mobile app for both iOS and Android that connects customers with local retailers through an in-app “Chiquita banana finder” and features interactive games and chances to win prizes. Chiquita chose FunMobility's Professional Services group to develop and help bring their first mobile app to market for their deep expertise in the mobile industry and their ability to deliver a dynamic app across both iOS and Android in just a few months from product conception to launch. The app was developed on FunMobility's low footprint and cloud-based AppWidget Mobile Engagement Platform, which enables brands like Chiquita to create unique and scalable HTML5 hybrid apps for iOS and Android quickly and cost-effectively.
“We are thrilled to help companies like Chiquita and Little League International connect with their customers in ways they never imagined possible before,” said Adam Lavine, CEO of FunMobility. “Integrating mobile and gamification elements into a retail marketing strategy provides companies a unique opportunity to extend the conversation with their customers in a fun and engaging way.”
The two companies are partnering in association with Little League International, the world's largest youth sports organization, to offer Little League fans a chance to connect with the sport of baseball and their favorite teams through an app that is not only entertaining but promotes healthy living and eating habits. Chiquita Bananas are the official fresh snack of Little League baseball and softball. The app is an integral part of Chiquita's new multimedia campaign promoting their national sponsorship with Little League, Chiquita FanFun Sweepstakes, which began June 1 and ends August 31, 2012.
The Chiquita FanFun Sweepstakes offers consumers the chance to earn points towards an array of monthly prizes and one grand prize online, at Chiquita's Facebook and the Chiquita FanFun landing page, and by downloading and interacting with the free FanFun app. Contestants can play along and have fun with the mobile app's Chiquita and Little League trivia game, Little League Cardmaker, social media sharing and check-in feature at participating Chiquita retailers.
“Working with FunMobility's Professional Services group provided our team the ability to bring our mobile app to fruition quickly, across multiple platforms and on budget,” said Heath Osburn, Chiquita Director of Marketing and Insights. “Choosing an experienced partner to help define and implement our mobile strategy as part of our campaign allowed us the opportunity to focus on other strategic aspects of our multimedia campaign with complete confidence that we will have a winning app to provide multiple opportunities for consumer engagement as part of our initiatives to promote healthy living.”
The FanFun app is branded to compliment the Chiquita brand and campaign. The feature-rich app contains several popular mobile engagement features that were customized using FunMobility's recently announced AppWidget Platform for the campaign:
- Leaderboard - encourages continued app engagement and sweepstakes participation.
- Little League® Cardmaker -- co-branded with Chiquita and key Chiquita retailers, provides a fun way to create custom Little League trading cards, and email them to friends and loved ones, or share to Facebook.
- Chiquita Trivia Game – an interactive game within the app configured to promote nutritious snacks and healthy living choices. Questions are customized to cover Little League and Chiquita product topics.
- “Locate” and “Check In” – the app connects users with participating Chiquita retailers through an in-app “banana finder” and “check-in” functionality at the retail location for more chances to win.
The Chiquita FanFun app is free to download and is available on Google Play and on the Apple Store. For more information on the Chiquita FanFun Sweepstakes and complete contest rules please visit www.fanfunsweepstakes.com.
For more information on Chiquita, please visit www.chiquita.com. For more information on FunMobility, please visit www.funmobility.com.
About FunMobility
FunMobility is a mobile industry pioneer defining the art and science of mobile engagement. The company has over 10 years of experience building hundreds of successful mobile social applications for carriers and brands that have touched millions of users and generated billions of interactions. FunMobility customers include some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Verizon®, AT&T®, Disney®, Universal Music Group®, MTV®, Little and League® Baseball and Chiquita Brands®. FunMobility is leveraging their extensive mobile knowledge and expertise to give any business in the world the ability to deploy interactive and immersive mobile experiences. The foundation of the company's offerings is its cloud-based, HTML5 technologies that deliver custom and scalable mobile engagement solutions. FunMobility is headquartered in Pleasanton, California with offices in San Francisco, California and Baltimore, Maryland. Follow FunMobility on Twitter, Facebook, or visit www.funmobility.com to learn more about the company and products.
About Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) is committed to Improving World Nutrition as a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products - from energy-rich bananas and other fruits to nutritious blends of convenient green salads. The company markets its healthy, fresh products under the Chiquita® and Fresh Express® premium brands and other related trademarks. With annual revenues of more than $3 billion, Chiquita employs more than 21,000 people and has operations in nearly 70 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.chiquita.com.