Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

While video cosmetic tips from pros is nothing new, this past week make-up guru Bobbi Brown took her prowess with a powder brush to Twitter, where she live tweeted personalized tips and advice to all those who asked.

The forray into mobile media came in honor of the launch of her Pretty Powerful campaign in which the beauty icon chose to use friends and "ordinary folk" instead of models, illustrating her long held beliefs that her looks are indeed achievable by mere mortals. The questions ranged from the practical, like "What do you like to apply first: eye makeup or foundation?" (answer: foundation), to inquiries into her favorite indulgences. At the end of the session, everyone who submitted their ponderances on deadline was able to have them answered. As a result, Brown got to reach directly to her fan base while those following were able to have their beauty conundrums answered by a reigning pro in the field.

Another make-up afficionado who is using her Twitter account to dole out indispensible advice is burlesque artist Dita Von Teese- who has given tips on everything from which company makes the perfect shade of red lipstick, to what her favorite perfume of the year was.  This type of information is especially interesting when you see how many followers she has (211,776) - all of whom could be considered potential future customers.

While using Twitter to speak directly to your fans is pretty much the reason for its invention, what these two examples demonstrate is a new way for brands to interact with their intended audience and get them excited about new products while also providing a useful service.  What's surprising isn't that these two women have achieved buzz through Twitter, but rather that more companies aren't taking advantage of their accounts to create brand loyalty. And while I'm hesitant to encourage more internet white noise, at the end of the day know this brands: You are what you tweet.

Fashion and Mobile is a weekly column that tracks how the fashion industry is using mobile and emerging technology in an age of digital marketing. Click here to view other posts in this series.

Lancôme has recently launched a mobile application for the iPhone, The Declaring Indigo collection with a tribute to its Parisian-style heritage. It is the first of its kind among global cosmetic companies where Lancôme hopes to make choosing cosmetics more "‘intuitive and truly personalized.'"

The app will enable users to create custom looks on their phone by choosing different colors and combination. Once created, these new looks can be saved for your next visit to the makeup counter. To further its interactive strategy, Lancôme  also launched its own beauty blog devoted to make-up tips from Lancôme makeup professionals as well as access to artists, backstage photos and videos, and video make-up how-to’s.

[via Marketing Magazine]

Janice Momoko Chow is a freelance strategist and writer in New York City.  She writes Momoko Mashups, a blog about ideas and inspiration for tomorrow.