Taptu is a UK-based search engine that differentiates itself by providing results optimized for mobile viewing, particularly on touch-screen mobile devices. With the explosion in touch-screen phones in the US, Taptu needed to establish itself as a player in the US search market. For Racepoint Group, the challenge was two-fold:

• Establish Taptu as a player in the crowded and Google-dominated US search market;
• Differentiate the Taptu offering from desktop search engines commonly used on mobile phones

To create an initial surge of coverage, Racepoint recommended launching with the US-based media and analysts around Taptu’s new iPhone application. Racepoint and Taptu executed a national media tour to drive visibility and download consideration. To continue the dialogue about the importance of using a mobile-optimized search engine on mobile devices, Racepoint supported Taptu’s product roadmap activities with a combination of traditional and social media-based activities. Racepoint also worked closely with the company to establish a thought leadership platform about the emergence of the touch-friendly web, a subset of web sites that are optimized for viewing on touchscreen phones.

The campaign has achieved breakthrough coverage with influential mobile and technology publications, including PC Magazine’s AppScout, AltSearchEngines, MocoNews, SearchEngineLand, ReadWriteWeb, ZDNet, VentureBeat and FierceMobileContent. As a result of these efforts, Taptu’s iPhone application downloads and web search queries have increased throughout 2009.