Kohl’s is leveraging a Twitter trivia contest and a $20,000 gift card giveaway to boost engagement with its merchandise and its brand heading into the crucial holiday shopping season.

From the Monday of Thanksgiving week, Nov. 24, and through Black Friday, Nov. 28, Kohl’s will tweet out trivia questions to followers and those with the correct answer to the current trivia question who use the hashtags #BlackFriday and #KohlsSweeps in their tweet will be entered for a chance to win a $500 Kohl’s gift card.

“It’s in the best interest of every brand to stand out as much as possible,” said Jamie Turner, CEO of 60 Second Communications and co-author of “Go Mobile.”

“Given that there are tons of Black Friday promotions, Kohl’s decided to run their promotion with a twist by using Twitter.  This helps the brand differentiate itself from the competition and has the added bonus of appealing to a younger demographic, which is an important consideration for Kohl’s.”

Top of mind
Kohl’s did not respond to media inquiries.

From 7 p.m. EST on Thanksgiving through 3 a.m. EST Black Friday, customers will have more than 30 chances to win. Details can be found at @Kohls on Twitter.

The Twitter trivia contest continues Kohl’s effort to stay top-of-mind for shoppers on mobile.

Kohl’s mobile-strategy moves for the holidays so far have included an updated application and buy-online, pickup in-store options for shoppers.

The retailer will be opening its doors on 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate consumers seeking holiday deals, and is offering similar incentives online and through the Kohl’s app.

Consumers can store Yes2You Rewards points and savings in the app, which is being updated to provide a seamless shopping experience despite the frenzy of the hectic season.

The new Kohl’s app will let customers browse by category, redeem their Rewards points and scan Kohl’s Cash and other deals to their mobile wallet that can be used at checkout in-store.

To save consumers time during the holiday season, Kohl’s is providing the option of purchasing items online and picking them up at more than 100 of the designated pickup stores across the nation. Additionally, 800 Kohl’s stores will now be able to ship online orders to local areas, which is expected to expedite the entire shipping process.

Kohl’s will be teaming up with television competition The Voice and the American Music Rewards for an exclusive retail partnership that will combine traditional media marketing with digital and social media. The retailer is also partnering with Jimmy Kimmel Live! to show consumers what holiday shopping is like inside a Kohl’s brick-and-mortar store.

Connecting with customers
A recent Nielsen study showed that more than four out of five smartphone and tablet owners use their devices for shopping, up 8 percentage points from a few years before, Mr. Turner said.

Accordingly, Kohl’s hopes that its mobile and digital presence will help it stay at the forefront of consumers’ minds during holiday shopping time.

Mr. Turner’s book, “The 60 Second Marketer,” did an online poll that found that if people leave home without their wallet, they will keep going, but if they leave home without their smartphone, they will turn around and go back to get it.

“That shows you how important smartphones have become in our lives,” Mr. Turner said. “Given that, it’s no surprise that Kohl’s and other retailers are coming up with new ways to use smartphones and tablets to connect with prospective customers.”

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York.