How to create an iPhone multi-branded App?

Question

I'm going to develop an iPhone app, and want to make sure what I want to do is possible, and will be approved by Apple.

I'm going to create an app that will be fully branded on per submission basis. I want to have one app per customer (our customers are companies) with their logo, skin, etc. This apps will be downloaded and installed by the employees of each one of our customers. In other words, we would use the same base code (logic doesn't change), but will brand it for each customer. Something similar to what Magento (http://www.magentocommerce.com/product/mobile) does, they created an Ecommerce mobile app, and they brand it to their customer, but the app logic remains the same.

Would Apple consider this as duplicate apps? what is the best way to do it?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I would have said "no problem" until I read:

This apps will be downloaded and installed by the employees of each one of our customers

It sounds like what your creating is (a set of) private applications, which are intended to be targeted only to specific users - i.e. employees of the company.

Apple has a separate "enterprise" development program geared towards this - allowing developers to deploy programs for their own company - and do it outside of the App Store.

If your program is very specific towards the companies, Apple may make you do this - rather than putting the Apps up for general consumption on the App store.

See here for more details:

http://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/

Also:

If your application is really intended for a wider audience, and your could in-fact sell/distribute it a such - you could "skin" the app dynamically. For example, on first-time launch, when you "register" with some "service" - based upon your email address it could download the appropriate skinning graphics.

Answer 2

I can say I know of several companies built on this strategy. The code doesn't change one iota from app to app, only images and names change and they continue to bring in revenue.

EDIT: Note this is against apple policy and if they find out they have been known to ban accounts. They consider it spamming and prefer that you sell one app that provides in app purchases. Directly from their feedback on a particular group of app submissions:

Thank you for submitting your Photography apps to the App Store.

We've completed the review of your apps, however, we are unable to post them to the App Store because they provide the same feature set and simply vary the content. Apps that replicate functionality with different content create clutter in the App Store, hindering users' ability to find apps, and do not comply with the App Store Review Guidelines https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html:

   2.20   Developers 'spamming' the App Store with many versions of 
   similar apps will be removed from the
   iOS Developer Program