Swagg allows consumers to send and receive gift cards, make purchases and access account information from their mobile device.

“Firethorn wants to make sure consumers have access to the content they want, when they want it,” said Chip Fishburne, vice president of financial and merchant services, Firethorn Holdings.

“We are creating a fresh and exciting mobile revenue channel that will bridge relationships among consumers and their favorite brands,” he said.

Firethorn creates branded commerce channels, linking retailers, consumers, financial institutions and wireless carriers. Chipmaker and telecoms specialist Qualcomm owns Firethorn.

Flower power
1-800-Flowers consumers can use the Swagg application to shop and place orders, receive and redeem gift cards, and view accounts or loyalty points directly from their mobile device.

The florist claims to be the world’s leading floral and gift shop. It also creates gift baskets from brands such as Cheryl&Co, Fannie May, the Wine Tasting Network, Geerlings&Wade, 1-800-Baskets.com and Celebrations.

Swagg last month made public their work for Discover Financial (see story) and American Apparel (see story) to create a similar application for these brands.

Swagg’s core target demographic is 18 – 34, Mr. Fishburne said.

“They are life optimizers and who are on-the-go and have trouble keeping track of their money,” he said. “Thus, it costs them both time and money.

“This core demographic tends to skew female and be slightly more affluent than their peers. They are college educated, or have some college education, and want to get the most out of their life.”

1-800-Flowers first went mobile in 2008 with a mobile storefront (see story).

The retailer last year expanded its mobile operations to include an Android application (see story) after launching its iPhone variant (see story).

Swagg brag
Swagg has been promoted at events such as the Consumer Electronics Show, South by Southwest Festival, BET Awards, the Bridgehampton Polo event and a Kid Rock performance.

Firethorn is also focusing on building relationships for Swagg with consumers through experiential, social and digital marketing.

“In order to build a brand, it’s important to develop a culture of being able to communicate directly with the consumer in engaging and compelling ways,” Mr. Fishburne said.

“It will be distributed on iTunes and we will be working with our merchant partners to maximize usages through their distribution channels,” he said.

Firethorn will continue to announce its Swagg partnerships with merchants as it gears up for the holiday shopping season.

“Our technology creates easily accessible, branded and personalized mobile commerce channels that give consumers access to their accounts, offers and transactions while on the go,” Mr. Fishburne said.

“We are bringing this expertise to the merchant community as the world continues to move toward the mobile lifestyle,” he said.

Editorial assistant Rimma Kats reported on this story.