|
|
Project Overview
SteakMate takes the guess work out of cooking beef steaks. With an inbuilt timer and handy prompt displays, users simply enter the cut of steak they’re cooking, the method being used, the doneness they’re after and the thickness of the steak, and SteakMate will tell them exactly how to cook it.
The queueing functionality allows users the option to cook as many types of steaks as they like at one time. If a user has a favourite steak, they can add it to their favourites list so that they’re only ever one step away from cooking the perfect steak.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Creative Licence Digital
Project Brief
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) were looking to address a key barrier to beef consumption - confidence when cooking steak. They wanted to arm consumers with a simple tool to increase their confidence, which in fur would drive consumption of beef steaks. Launching in summer, a key season for cooking steaks, the app supported MLAs Summer Beef Campaign which focused on cooking steaks on the barbecue, easily achieved with the SteakMate app.
The first step for MLA was to invest time and effort in calculating the perfect algorithm for cooking beef. Depending the cut, the weight or size of the cut and the various taste preferences. After the calculations were tried and tested, an algorithm was delivered to Creative Licence Digital to turn into an easy to use, highly functional and effective smartphone app.
App reviews say it all: “A brilliant app which challenges you to actually trust it to be right - every time!! Just trust it and enjoy perfect steak every time” 5 Stars, Ewen man.
SteakMate is now being used as a tool to drive Australian beef consumption in overseas markets like Japan and Korea with local versions of the app due for launch in early August 2014.
Project Need
MLA are experts on all things beef. Their specially formulated algorithm has been developed by experienced chefs and food scientists to provide home cooks with a tried and tested utility that will never see them burn or undercook a steak again.
Additionally the queuing feature has been specially designed with home entertainers in mind. Each piece of meat can be individually named, and added to a cooking queue that will ensure all pieces of meat will be ready to come off the cooker at the same time for resting and serving. A visual as well as a audible alert has been enabled indicate when to turn each steak, perfect for a multitasking host. The user interface also features a cuts guide with key educational notes for the less savvy home chef, and a reference image so that they head off to the butcher ready to pick up the right cuts of meat.
From a technical perspective, the app has been designed using a lightweight HTML5 code base, for portability across both iOS and Android with native features built in for timer and alert functionality.
The younger, app savvy demographic do not tolerate poor UX or UI. It was imperative that we create an app that would hold up to the expectations of the target user. With over 50k downloads in the first 3 months, and a host of positive ratings in the App Store, it became quickly apparent that the app achieved this.
User Experience
The main goal of the app was to create a simplified and highly intuitive user experience. After opening the app, the user is able to set up and start cooking their piece of beef all from the home screen. Given most users will likely be handling cooking utensils, the app needed to be simple enough to use with one hand. By removing unnecessary steps and any reliance on the keypad, we’re ensuring the app can be handled by a single thumb tap select process.
Following the prompts, users select a cut of meat, measure the thickness of their meat, select a cooking method and their preferred doneness, then simply hit the start button.
The Timer shows a visual representation of the calculated cook countdown so that users can see how their cook is progressing at any point. On screen alerts then appear at the correct times and sound affects will also alert the cook to the different steps and instructions.
As the app targets a variety of cooking scenarios from a simple mid week meal to a weekend barbecue or special dinner party, it was imperative we allowed the app to be flexible, proving the ability to start a cook, and then add additional pieces to the queue at any time, to cater to those last minute dinner guests. In this case, we’ve managed to cater to a more organic home cooking environment as well as an organised dinner party experience.
Project Marketing
The SteakMate app was launched in conjunction with MLA’s Summer Beef Advertising Campaign that featured an integrated creative, media and PR strategy including TVC, Point of Sale, outdoor advertising and events. Unique QR codes, mobile advertising, Facebook advertising and calls to action on campaign point of sale combined to drive consumers to download the SteakMate app.
The App was also Featured on The App Store over summer 2013/14.
Project Privacy
Only anonymous app user tracking has been implemented to track basic user statistics. No personal data is captured or required to use the app at all.
Cooking
This category relates to applications concerning cooking information and recipes.
More Details