The 125 Days of Prizes program gives customers a chance to win a prize every day between now and March 11 and July 12. Customers can enter to win via a microsite that has been optimized for mobile devices as well as on Belk’s Facebook page.

“Unlike other promotions requiring in-store or desktop only participation, the Belk 125 Days of Prizes promotion can be fully completed on a mobile device,” said Matt Kates, vice president of strategic services at ePrize, Pleasant Ridge, MI. “Global leader in digital engagement, ePrize, teamed up with Belk to roll out this promotion, understanding that mobile is the most important channel to engage with customers on today.

“2013 is the year of mobile and brands are seeing that their customers are relying on mobile for a deeper connection with their favorite brands along the path to purchase,” he said.

“Mobile is a strong method of interacting more personally and deepening engagement with your customers, especially through mobile tactics like geo-location to activate in-store behavior and SMS programs to start a dialogue with the customer.”

Building a database
Belk, Charlotte, NC, partnered with ePrize to power the sweepstakes with the goal of promoting and building buzz around Belk’s s anniversary. The promotion celebrates Belk’s 125 years of business as a retailer with 301 stores in 16 Southern states.

The program is also designed to help the retailer acquire useful consumer data and insights while driving brand engagement.

Daily giveaways include products from Michael Kors, Karen Kane, Calvin Klein and KitchenAid.

Customers can visit the microsite – http://www.belk125prizes.com – or Belk’s Facebook page for a chance to win every day.

Within the mobile promotion experience, the user logs in each day and the daily prize is immediately revealed on the page.

Path to purchase
Customers can earn bonus sweepstakes entries by referring friends or submitting their own Belk memories by uploading pictures.

Additionally, customers engage with Belk in the social space or become a Belk Rewards Card Consumer to earn bonus entries.

The program also offers users a custom daily calendar, where they can easily log-on for the duration of the 125 days to view the day’s prize and enter to win.

As smartphone and tablet adoption grows, department store chains such as Belk are embracing mobile as a way to connect with customers who are increasingly engaging in a variety of shopping activities on these devices.

“We’re seeing impressive mobile engagement results through these types of loyalty promotions,” Mr. Kates said.

“Across the board, retailers see a significant increase in traffic to their brick and mortar stores, Web campaigns and social media pages because most shoppers use a mobile phone to assist them on their path to purchase,” he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York