Verragio has turned to mobile as an additional channel to help drive sales of its designer engagement and wedding rings.

Modoku was contracted to create and design the application. Consumers are unable and unlikely to purchase through the application as the product is highly personal and likely a collaborative purchase.

?As many companies are looking to the advantages that mobile has in garnering attention, likewise Verragio found that a mobile application could provide a new channel to sell their designer engagement and wedding rings,? said Nicholas Paredes, partner at Modoku, New York.

?The viewing and sharing of products is the primary goal of the application,? he said. ?Providing a mechanism to locate nearby stores is also very important.?

The iPhone presents a young and affluent demographic which is ideal for the Verragio brand.

With the average wedding age in the mid-twenties, mobile products will increasingly become a critical component for presenting products and services to those planning for their ceremonies.

Well known within the engagement rings space, Verragio is the first such company to produce a mobile marketing application.

The application will be promoted through the typical channels including the Web site, Facebook and Twitter, as well as through wedding planning guides and magazines.

The most powerful advertisement will come from the customers themselves when they post products to their Facebook walls and Twitter feeds.

Aspirational brands and products are particularly well suited to social channels.

?Application costs are not incredibly high, and with a few dozen sales could be easily recouped, so advertising would be a poor choice here,? Mr. Paredes said. ?Rather than thinking about such products as a capital expense it is more appropriate to think of them as advertising.

?Mobile products are today?s version of a brochure or a print catalog,? he said. ?Mobile and Facebook applications are very much the baseline for entering the social networking space.

?Planning for a meaningful interaction is critically important to using these channels well.?

The power of several friends discussing ring choices socially or grouped around an iPhone viewing products is quite strong, per Mr. Paredes. 

Measuring such sharing is important, and links are forwarded through a system which will analyze the metrics.

More advanced metrics are possible and would be an interesting addition in the future.

Modoku?s goal is to develop the ability to build targeted catalog applications using its iPhone application development CMS system.

"Attention outside of the typical desktop browsing situation, is critical,? Mr. Paredes said. ?Reinforcing the brand across magazine/guide, Web, mobile and social channels is important.?