Gap is bolstering its mobile presence by placing mobile bar codes on its static ad in Glamour magazine and offering consumers a discount when they scan the tag.

The company is among several retailers who are playing SpyderLynk tags on their advertisements within Glamour?s September issue. Readers can download the Glamour Friends & Fans app in Apple?s App Store for free to participate.

?For Glamour?s September issue ? the biggest issue of the year for all fashion brands alike ? the magazine worked with Facebook to bring readers its Facebook-enabled Friends issue,? said Mike Hofman, digital managing director at Glamour.com, New York.

?A first for any magazine, Glamour has snap-tagged the cover so readers can ?Like? it on Facebook,? he said.

?Plus, pages throughout the magazine are snap-tagged using Spyderlynk technology, and once readers download the Friends & Fans app, they just hover their phone over any snaptag, and quickly arrive on either Glamour?s Facebook page, or one of its advertisers? pages for special content, deals and giveaways.?

Mobile ad
Gap is among the brands advertising and using SpyderLynk?s snaptags with Glamour.

The static ad features the Facebook-enabled snaptag.

Consumers can scan the tag via the Friends & Fans app or snap a photo of it and send it to short code 77865.

Readers are then taken to a mobile page with a box that reads ?Like Gap and get 40% off any regularly priced item.?

After users ?like? Gap?s Facebook page, another message pops up that reads ?Thanks for Liking Gap! Use promo code GLAMOUR to receive 40% off any regularly price Gap item (in-store only). Promotion ends 9/6/11.?

There, readers can also share the promotion and let friends and family know about it via social features such as Facebook, Twitter and email.

?In keeping with Glamour?s Facebook friends issue, Rihanna graces the cover, but it?s not just for her fashion and musical prowess, but for her Facebook stardom ? she boasts more than 40 million fans,? Mr. Hofman said.

?Also, several celebrity ?friends? featured in the September issue will come alive on Glamour?s Facebook page, with stars like Kim Kardashian, Andy Cohen and Kate Bosworth hosting live fireside chats all month long,? he said.

Glamour invited 25 advertisers to participate in its Friends issue.

?And with big brands devoting more budgets, and energy, to building their audience through social media, this September issue is a surefire way to let them tap the magazine?s more than 12 million readers to grow their Facebook fan bases,? Mr. Hofman said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York