That 25 -cent postcard in the gift shop may soon become a thing of the past. RogueSheep’s postage application is giving the traditional postcard a run for its money, as it allows users to send a digital postcard to their family members quickly and efficiently. RogueSheep is a software development and consulting company based in Seattle. Co-founders Christopher Parrish, Daniel Guenther, Matt Joss, and Jeff Argast founded RogueSheep as an Adobe Development shop.
The company specializes in graphics and publishing software while acting as a consultant to clients with their software development projects. One of the company’s most popular products is its mobile app “Postage,” iPhone’s first postcard application. The idea for Postage came from a business conference when Parrish’s business partner wanted to send a postcard back to his wife. The founders of RogueSheep thought this would make a great iPhone app, and development of this app began.
For $ 4.99 , iPhone users can purchase the app, choose from more than 90 postcard designs, customize the design by inserting their own photos, and send the postcard to their friends or relatives. Customers can personalize their postcards by adding effects, rotating or zooming in on the picture, and changing the font or style of the message. What takes a few days by regular mail can now take only seconds.
Connectivity based on digital communication keeps people connected in an instant. Social networking sites provide a way that consumers can connect and express their feelings, emotions, and opinions.
In the case of the RogueSheep Postage app, it provides better and more personalized connections than a traditional postcard. Each pixel of the app’s screens has been designed by RogueSheep designers. RogueSheep has become a major success in the software design world, winning Apple’s 2009 Design Award. Much of its success likely comes from the great care that RogueSheep puts into its Postage designs. Each postcard in the app is created by the application designer, and designs are continually added to give customers a range of options to choose from. Additionally, RogueSheep has broken into the social networking world by creating ways that users can share their customized postcards with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Now that social networking is more popular for personal communication than e-mail, RogueSheep’s app is perfect for social networks. Social networking also allows RogueSheep to spread the word about its Postage app and create buzz around the product.
To create awareness of the product, RogueSheep uses a combination of digital and traditional media, using Web advertising and traditional magazines like Macworld as promotional tools. RogueSheep has also encouraged trials of its Postage app by giving out promotional codes through Twitter to enable free trials of its product. In the business realm, RogueSheep’s Postage app could be used to send postcards to remind customers about their products or special events.
This application could potentially be customized to be a less expensive, more impactful business-to-consumer promotional postcard.
As more and more people become familiar with iPhone apps, RogueSheep must constantly adapt its products to anticipate and meet customer needs. Recently, RogueSheep expanded its product offerings with apps like RoseGlobe—
which allows users to place pictures of their sweethearts in a globe with swirling hearts that move as the iPhone moves—
and an Instaview app that allows users of the mobile photo sharing application Instagram to show and share these photos on a Mac computer. RogueSheep also offers holidayand romance-themed Postage apps for special occasions.
The company regularly investigates new designs for its digital postcards. By creating a new, efficient way to meet a consumer need, RogueSheep’s Postage app may supplant printed materials to become the future of postcards.
The business applications of sending RogueSheep postcards are unlimited and can be another form of digital marketing.
RogueSheep’s postage application, like all digital marketing activities, should be integrated into a marketing strategy that relates to the target market’s ability and interest in digital communication.

Questions for Discussion

1. How do you think businesses could effectively use RogueSheep postcards in their communications program?
2. Is it possible for RogueSheep to advance its digital postcards to those who do not have access to iPhone apps?
3. What are the advantages of the RogueSheep digital postcard over traditional postcards?