US apps studio Appiction has announced a partnership programme whereby it offers to share the cost of developing mobile applications in return for a cut in the app’s future revenue. The company argues its approach has advantages for both itself and potential partners, with apps getting to market faster and with a greater chance of success thanks to Appiction’s experience. The company expects to gain from the success of its own work by being an investor in apps as well as building them.

The company first conceived of partnerships as a way to help its customers navigate through the app marketplace. It has been conducting trials to assess the financial return of partnerships and officially launched its programme with the release of an app in Apple’s App Store called Advice. The company claims Advice is the store’s first “peer-to-peer advice app.” Appiction has enabled the app reach a wide audience, and handled users’ responses, “while keeping the investment reasonable” for the app’s creator Julien Delepine. Appiction will release ten more apps over the next few months that will take advantage of the partnership structure. The apps will cover categories such as games, social networking, medical, finance and entertainment. These upcoming releases will be both free and paid, with the company sharing in the revenue.

“Apps aren’t products that get finished and put on a shelf. Both the product and marketing have to evolve with competition and user demands,” said the company’s CEO, Spencer Forrest. Appiction’s partnership programme illustrates how app marketing has become a growth activity as the numbers of applications have escalated. Developers can’t wait for their apps to be spontaneously discovered. Partnering with a firm that has the necessary expertise is an alternative to developers doing it themselves.