Are you a pushy parent who wants to get your kids into modeling? Well, there is an app for that – well in the US at least. Fashion retailer Gap has partnered with mobile entertainment agency Skyrockit to bring the clothes shop’s popular Casting Call contest to iPhone moms and dads, in the form of an easy-to-use iPhone app.
Using the app, parents can take or select a photo of their child, upload it, and then vote for their child to become the Fan Favorite winner. The app also encourages parents to engage their friends and family members in the Fan Favorite portion of the contest by giving them the option to promote their child on Facebook and Twitter. Parents who don’t have access to an iPhone can enter their children and vote for them at www.gap.com/castingcall.
“Now in its fifth year, we’re expecting Casting Call to attract over a million entrants,” said Olivia Doyne, director of engagement marketing for Gap. “We’re constantly exploring ways to make the contest even more accessible for time-constrained parents who live on the go. Our new iPhone app was the next logical step in the evolution of the contest.”
Twenty finalists—five baby girls, five baby boys, five girls and five boys—will be flown to San Francisco for a professional babyGap and GapKids photo shoot in mid-November. From December 6-20, America will choose the Grand Prize Winners (one child from each of the four categories) to be featured in the windows of babyGap and GapKids stores nationwide around February 2011. The four Grand Prize Winners will also receive a $1,000 Gap GiftCard while the 16 remaining finalists will receive a $500 Gap GiftCard. The Fan Favorite winner will receive a $1,000 GapGiftCard.
“Mobile devices are so tightly integrated into consumers’ everyday activities, and the Gap Casting Call app caters to those consumers who are living this mobile lifestyle,” said Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of skyrockit. “Gap is an iconic brand that has a place in so many people’s lives, and we’re excited to help give consumers yet another way to connect with the brand.”
Founded in 2001 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese firm, Faith Inc., skyrockit is the first true mobile entertainment agency. The company is known best for helping major brands innovate with new digital experiences through popular branded mobile applications, including the wildly successful Virtual Zippo Lighter app and the Romplr: Remix platform featuring content from the likes of 50cent tied to brands like vitaminwater.
The Gap Casting Call app is available today for free in the AppStore or here
