The Institute of Communication agencies has partnered with European app developer Bundeling to launch its first-ever app.

Available for both iOS and Android devices the ICA Community app bundles member communications and resources into a single secure platform. It’s exclusively available to the approximately 7,000 people who have an email address belonging to an ICA member agency, said president and CEO Scott Knox.

The app houses content and resources including training tools, leadership sessions and Effie Canada updates, while members will also be connected securely via a built-in messaging component.

“This is our version of an intranet,” said Knox, who said the app could ultimately become the ICA’s primary communication tool.

“If they allow people to interact with you as they need and want, you stop becoming an irritant,” he said. “We’re just saying ‘You’ve got lots to do, you’ve got clients to focus on and an agency to manage, so we’re at your fingertips.’

“We really want it be [members] getting what they want at their fingertips, as opposed to having to navigate in a cumbersome way,” said Knox. “When they’re in a meeting, they can access a document and refer to it in real-time and have it all at their fingertips.”

Earliest adopters have been production professionals, who have used the app’s chat function to discuss pertinent matters such as shooting protocols, he said.

The T1 Agency, an ICA member that is partnering with Bundeling to introduce its app solutions to companies in North America, brokered the deal. The ICA is the first North American client for Bundeling, which works with more than 500 clients and organizations, including more than 150 professional sports clubs, more than 75 of them professional soccer clubs.

“We’re unique within the Bundeling ecosystem, so it’s going to be really fun to a/b test and figure things out,” said the ICA’s executive vice-president Leah Power, who led the deployment of the new app.