The year of 2010 was a big year for mobile APP launches in Hong Kong. Today, mobile APPs are the key drivers to shifts in brand and consumer interactions and behaviours, but back then, most brands simply designed their APPs as web extensions with simple add-on functions and promotional announcements. While the client’s brief to Twohundred was industry standard, we noticed that the MTR mobile APP design and approach was anything but standard. It was designed as a journey planner with AR functionality to provide users at MTR stations with the best routes between station and destination – it was as if a personal guide was at your back and call. This was true innovation at the time. In addition to being user friendly and relevant, we believed such an extraordinary product deserved an introduction of equal heft and magnitude. To create just the right level of anticipation and excitement, we leveraged on a launch party format similar to that of the APPLE Worldwide Development Conference and positioned the MTR Mobile APP as the 2010 APP of the Year. Hong Kong’s popular and down-to-earth celebrity Law Ka Ying （羅家英）was the perfect candidate for hosting the party and demonstrating the APP’s functionality. With but a simple projector and his charisma, the party attracted over 600 MTR Club members and 20 journalists, including reporting on CABLE TV and SCMP, and the event was shared virally over Facebook and YouTube.

The APP recorded over 1.3m downloads and 500,000 unique users within the first 6 months – standing as the top free APP on the Apple Store for 2 days and remaining amongst the leaderboards for 3 weeks.