Mitt Romney’s VP smart phone app didn’t break the news that Paul Ryan would be the Republican presidential candidate’s running mate but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the local employees of Rockfish Interactive who helped develop the app.
A screenshot of the two Romney VP apps, launched July 31. Photo provided.
“Being involved in a presidential election is really energizing,” said Dave Knox, chief marketing officer of the fast-growing local agency. “It’s a little different scope of impact than our typical day-to-day work driving people to buy another product on their grocery shopping trips.”
Digital strategy is becoming key for the Romney campaign as it tries to compete against the social media prowess that drove President Barack Obama’s successful campaign in 2008. Already, the president’s digital efforts are being lauded as superior in this year’s election.
But the app, though it failed to beat reporters in breaking Romney’s news, has been considered a success too. After its July 31 launch, it became the 13th most downloaded app in Apple’s App Store. The app connects to Facebook, Twitter and a mobile donation site, giving it potential to live on throughout the campaign. Knox declined to share details of the app’s future.
Rockfish’s role came from a key local connection to the Republican party. Tim Schigel, co-founder of ShareThis and a former partner at downtown’s Blue Chip Venture Company, leads digital efforts for the Republican National Committee and works closely with leaders of Romney’s campaign.
“We needed to move fast with a trusted partner,” Schigel said. “I know the Rockfish team well. They have development experience and great background working with brands. Campaigns can learn from brand marketers, and brand marketers can learn from campaigns.”
Schigel joined the digital team in October 2011, and has helped the committee build a social media presence. In April, he helped launch the Social Victory Center, an application driving engagement on Facebook.
A screenshot of the Mitt’s VP app. Image provided.
Rockfish had only a few weeks to build the complex technology and design interfaces for both an iPhone and Android application. That work was done with employees at three Rockfish locations, including the office of 45 staffers in Cincinnati. Bentonville, Ark.-based Rockfish opened the shop in September 2010, recruiting Knox and Bryan Radtke from Procter & Gamble and Michael Stich from Bridge Worldwide (now Possible Worldwide) to run and grow it.
Today, Knox and Stich, chief operating officer, are members of the company’s executive team. Jason Bender, formerly of Possible Worldwide, recently became the firm’s third local executive. He serves as a companywide executive creative officer.
“We are a full service office with strategists, creatives, technologists … ,” Knox said. “We do everything from help our client with digital strategy to building mobile apps to structuring social media campaigns.”
The local team has completed online and mobile development for Walmart and Sam’s Club, PF Chang’s, EA Sports, the Travel Channel and Scripps Networks Interactive. The team recently built an iPad app for Anthony Bourdain’s new show, The Layover. A longstanding P&G relationship has led to online video projects with Frank’s RedHot.
The VP app pushed the Rockfish team to develop complicated technology under the tightest of time frames, a skill the firm will promote to win future work.
“It’s taught us a different way to go about business. That’s been the best learning from it all,” Knox said.
Reporter Jim Hannah contributed to this report.
