About this project
Note*: The above video is just for fun but not an indication of how the site or statistics will be displayed.
Chugology is a free app for your iPhone and Android devices. Very simple and fun app that works like this:
- Download the free app to your iPhone, Android or tablet.
- Register using your social media account info (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or you can input your information manually.
- Sign a disclaimer that you are of legal drinking age.
- Input the quantity (12 oz. or 16 oz.) and brand of beer you are going to chug.
- The app will take you to a video screen with an embedded stopwatch.
- The user then chugs a beer while being timed (to the thousandth of a second). There are rules for a 'good' chug but we're flexible as long as you are having fun.
- Note*: You may only chug one time for free in a 24 hr. period. You may chug again one hour after the first for a $1 fee. After that, you have to wait 24 hrs.
Its as simple as that for the user. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS FUN:
- Chugology will store your video, information, and your chug time (you may choose not to make video public).
- We will allow the user to view statistical data showing chug time rankings and participation rankings for individuals and groups.
Users can sort and view all of the statistical data. For example:
- Michigan vs. Ohio State for total number of participants. Sorry Michigan, but my money is on OSU.
- USA vs. Ireland for most total chugs per capita.
- Fraternity vs. Fraternity for fastest chugging chapter in the USA
- Marines vs. Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force. I'm going with the Marines on this one.
- California vs. Texas.
These are just a few of the endless possibilities.
Risks and challenges
Please consider the next few sentences before you decide where to invest your hard earned money.
Kickstarter is an incredible place to view the human race at its finest. The artistic endeavors, the sheer imagination, and the technological brilliance is staggering.
Our hope is that you take a step back for a moment. I suspect that, throughout history, mankind has asked "what do we truly need, right now, to be happy?"... this is one of those times and we believe the answer lies in simplicity. With no pretense, not to win, not for money nor for fame, but rather to take a moment, with a friend, to create a personal and shareable experience......by chugging a beer!
We believe our biggest challenge will come from a marketing standpoint. The programming and execution of the app itself is relatively simple and a little more than half of our target of $60,000.
The marketing challenge is in the explanation of the app function. People tend to hear that it is an app about chugging beer and either think it's been done or think "why can't I just chug a beer, video it, and share via Instagram or Snapchat?"
In fact, this has not been done and it is much bigger than just sharing a basic video. The challenge is getting the potential user to understand the connectivity of the app and the competition that will result when they choose to represent their school, their age group, their state, their country, etc. We think it is most closely related to the ice bucket challenge.
In order to overcome this challenge, we will approach marketing in this way:
1. We contact our target market (early 20's, male college students). Fraternities will be key to demonstrate the app function and capability.
2. The data collected from step 1 will be invaluable to generate interest. Once we can show that one fraternity has 20 participants, we believe other fraternities will compete, which will lead to competition among alumni, sororities, universities, etc.
3. Approximately 30% of our budget will go to marketing. A large portion of those funds will be allocated to the creation of Chugology booths. Our booths will be set up at beer festivals, bars, concert events, etc. We purchase a keg, pass out free beer with the requirement that the user signs up for the app and participates in a chug. The more data we collect, the more we can demonstrate what is truly interesting about the app.