Mobile ad exchange network Mobclix has concluded its iPhone App contest for Gap, and—to no one’s surprise—the grand-prize-winning application features a mobile commerce element.

Intuapp’s “Gap app” was selected as the grand prize winner from more than 400 entries based on its clean interface, mobile commerce capability and interactive “Guess the Price” game. Mobiteris’s “Dance Off” application took second place, while Infosys’ “Gap4Me” application won the People’s Choice award.

“We worked with Gap and leveraged our developer community to get more excitement and buzz around the brand,” said Krishna Subramanian, cofounder of Mobclix, Palo Alto, CA. “We’re working with Gap to get as much reach out there to the developer community and to consumers by letting developers present their own views about how Gap should be presented in the App Store.

“Gap let developers create any type of app they wanted, which created a lot of buzz amongst developers and other users who were constantly following the updates in the blogs and Twitter, almost mimicking a reality show,” he said.

“For Gap, it gives them a tremendous amount of ideas and lets them see how consumers look at their brand and what’s most interesting for a consumer in an application—the ecommerce functionality or the branding function of having a good application, both of which are very important.”

The Gap Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, CA, and founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher. The company, which operates 3,465 stores worldwide, has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta.

Gap remains the largest specialty apparel retailer in the U.S., although it has recently been surpassed by the Spanish-based Inditex Group as the world’s largest apparel retailer.

Mobclix is a targeted mobile ad exchange, an open marketplace for mobile developers, advertisers, ad networks and agencies. Mobclix helps developers manage their ad inventory with the goal of maximizing revenue and tries to help advertisers increase campaign performance.

For this contest, developers were asked to create an iPhone application that embodied Gap’s classic, casual American style that would appeal to the brand’s target customers—individuals in their late-20s and early-30s who breathe popular culture and value creativity.

A panel of esteemed judges reviewed the five finalists based on originality, innovation, ease of use and customer appeal.

Winners and prizes
Grand Prize: Intuapp’s winning “Gap app ” was awarded with a $1,000 Gap gift card and a $1000 Mobclix advertising package, which will include development of creatives and ad inventory. Many of the judges praised the app for its user-friendly interface and ecommerce capabilities.

Second Place Honoree: Mobiteris’s “Dance Off” application won a $500 Gap gift card, an iPhone 3G S and a $500 Mobclix advertising package

People’s Choice Award: Infosys’ “Gap4Me” application was selected as the most popular app among consumers who voted online during the People’s Choice contest. It won Gap jeans for a year, which will be awarded through 12 monthly certificates, an iPhone 3G S and a $500 Mobclix advertising package

Best User Experience/Function: Reandevou Software’s “Socialite” application won a $250 Gap gift card, an iPhone 3G S and a $500 Mobclix advertising package.

Best Visual Design/Aesthetic: NetSolution’s “Gap Style” app was awarded a $250 gift card, an iPhone 3G S and a $500 Mobclix advertising package.

Mobile commerce
Both the Grand Prize winner—the Gap app—and the People’s Choice winner—the Gap4Me application—have mobile commerce elements, where users can search for products to buy either directly from the app (Gap4Me) or from Gap’s online store (Gap app).

Additionally, Reandevou Software’s Socialite application features virtual currency, letting users buy Gap clothes for their avatars using points.

IntuApps’ Gap app and Mobiteris’ Dance Off application allow users to receive coupons

IntuApps’ Gap app, Mobiteris’ Dance Off and Infosys’ Gap4Me allow users to find the nearest store locations.

NetSolution’s Gap Style and Mobiteris’ Dance Off allows users to share their style or dancing videos on Facebook.

To help developers cash in on the current “App Rush,” Mobclix teamed up with Gap on this contest to provide both established and up-and-coming developers with an opportunity to work with an iconic brand and gain exposure with media, venture capitalist and consumer judges.

At the same time, Mobclix hopes the winning applicaitons will encourage other consumer brand marketers to seriously consider mobile applications as an engaging medium for building brand awareness, interacting with their core customers and driving sales.

“Gap will look at the features and functionality they created and the relationships they’ve formed with these developers and decide which apps get pushed out, or a combination of the functionality,” Mr. Subramanian said.

“Overall, the contest was a great success both for Gap and the Mobclix developer community,” he said. “It was an opportunity for developers to work with a top brand, which was very exciting for them, and the ideas that came out of this were exciting for the community voting for it, Gap and Mobclix.”