Luckily we’re pretty tapped into the retail industry over at Digital Operative and we love watching to see what the giants are working on in the background with their big agencies. So today’s news comes from two well known brands: Target and Gap

Both brands are moving a bit of viral marketing and advertising in their apps to push products. So let’s take a look at each one and weigh in on what we think based off of the brief info and screenshots.

Target

Everyone loves snowglobes and if you go on eBay it’s a popular item this holiday season. What if you could shake your iPhone, be presented with a product recommendation and then either buy it or forward it to a friend? Sounds good right? Maybe.

What’s cool?

• Snow globed Products
• The actual shaking action to switch products
• The randomness or potential mystery behind what will it recommend next?

What could make the Target iPhone app totally chilled?

• Integration into online wishlisting app
• Rating the recommendations provided for better compatibility
• Random deals, coupons, codes presented as you shake snow globe

More info on the Target iPhone app here.

GAP

Imagine all your favorite Christmas carols remixed by popular artists and being able to play dress-up on your mobile phone and then buy the items you’re mixing. Enter the Gap “Merry Mix It” iPhone app. It features six music videos which are reproduced carols like “Jingle Bells” performed by Flo Rida and Trey Songz and models that you can dress up and buy items, utilizing the GPS feature.

What’s cool?

• Viral Marketing – Tapping pop culture and celebs to spread the word
• Options – Cool content + Interactive
• GPS Integration

What could make the Gap iPhone app totally chilled?

• Again, wishlist app integration
• Upload your own model
• Content syndication – output Mix Ups to Facebook, Myspace, etc.

More info on the GAP iPhone app here.

Summary

Overall it’s great to see the big retailers leveraging the iPhone community to promote their products, but beware the line of advertising for advertising sake. I’d like to see these iPhone applications more integrated into an already existing culture of social networking, profiles and social media.

More integration = better engagement = customer satisfaction