Brisbane City Council launched the Brisbane App in September last year to help residents, visitors and local businesses to ‘uncover local lifestyle businesses, places, events and experiences’. It is also part of Council’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is an initiative of the Economic Recovery Taskforce aimed at helping businesses that have done it tough during the pandemic.
“The cafes and restaurant sector, in particular, has struggled and the Brisbane App gives owners a free way to promote their business to new and existing customers.” Deputy Mayor Councillor Krista Adams said.
On the Apple App Store the app is described as being ‘your one-stop shop for everything in the city and suburbs throughout Brisbane. Find local hidden gems, connect with your favourite businesses, create guides to explore new and local areas and uncover events throughout the area.’
Business owners in Brisbane are encouraged to create a free listing for their business on the app.
Although it went live with several bugs in the system, these seem to have been largely ironed out, and the usefulness of the app now depends on businesses getting listed and the developers listening to feedback, which they seem to be doing.
Back in November Council reported that the app had been downloaded 100,000 times.
Brisbane City Council has apparently budgeted $4.1M for the development and marketing of the app over a 2 year period, including ads on buses and bus shelters, radio and TV and on social media.
The app is rated 3.6 out of 5 on the Apple App Store although to be fair many of these reviews were posted last year when bugs were still being ironed out.
As well as being encouraged to list their businesses on the app, there is also a decal (pictured below) for business owners to put in their window letting people know they are listed on it.
If you have listed your business on the app, or you’ve used it, let us know what you think of it in the comments below.
