In the interest of full disclosure, let it be known that Origin worked with Skullcandy on a Kokanee Silent Disco brand activation at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard festival.
Yesterday, headphone/auditory culture-manufacturer Skullcandy released an iPhone app. Self-described as a surf, snow, skate music and more application, the Skullcandy lives up to the considerable hype it is garnering, if only for the fact that it’s the first comprehensive boardsport app. Overall, it’s a good tool for skate/snow/surf enthusiasts. I hesitate to say great because it seems like this app is long overdue and has room to improve in the social media department. However, Skullcandy still deserves huge congrats for being the first company to bring these sports together under one umbrella and to offer a go-to app for the boardsport Iphone user. But, I am more excited to see where it goes from here. Maybe the next version will enable users to connect with each other and car pool to skate/surf spots? Maybe Skullcandy should add a rating feature so users can rate skateparks or terrain parks at ski hills? There’s lots of room to grow on these apps and the boardsports market is surprisingly thin on Iphone apps that do more than provide games. This is good news for marketers – leaving room for improvement to foster the competition that will inevitably lead to a better consumer product.
The snow function (based off OntheSnow.com’s search engine) covers the resort landscape pretty well – Canada is well-represented with most resorts in B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Ontario included. The information at your fingertips includes snowfall, temperature, weather conditions, trail openings, terrain park updates and forecast. It also allows you to map a route to the ski hill from your location. Although helpful, it’s all pretty standard. A helpful addition would be a trail map function including Google Map help to find bathrooms, palatable on-mountain food and the nearest beer. Are you listening app developers?
Assuming all snow and skate users also surf (we’re so multi-talented!), Skullcandy has included Surfline.com’s mobile surf forecasting site into its app. The result seems pretty good to me, but I know as much about surf forecasting as I do about surfing, which only says I am as bad a surfer as every other ski, skate and snowboard wanna-be surfer. Go HERE for a more knowledgeable (and funny) review of the surf part of the Skullcandy app.
Skullcandy sponsors a stable of talented musicians and one of the added bonuses of the Iphone app is access to tunes by these artists. Songs by Del the Funky Homosapien, Slightly Stoopid and The Crystal Method, among others, are available via the Skullcandy music player. Not bad…but WTF, no Snoop Dogg?
Perhaps the coolest feature of the app is a skatepark locator. Notoriously much harder to find than a looming ski resort, locating the local park is usually a challenge without the aid of a local skate rat or shop. Now you can not only locate one, but you can peep its features (ramps, street, vert) and get Google map directions right to the park. Very nice work, Skullcandy.
Naturally, you can access the Skullcandy store or locate dealers via the Shop function. You can also keep abreast of the brand’s news on the Skullcandy blog, watch videos of their athletes and musicians, and download wallpaper created by Skullcandy Iphone users and fans. I can’t wait to see where this goes next. – MB
