Estée Lauder’s Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is leveraging augmented reality with an interactive print-to-mobile campaign that lets users browse and shop beauty looks.

The beauty brand is using the Blippar application to add an interactive element to the brand’s new campaign with actress Katie Holmes. It is the first time that the makeup brand has worked with a celebrity as part of a campaign, with mobile video and commerce playing a key role.

“Very often women see pictures in magazines and ads that inspire them to create a similar style, but they may not know which products are needed or how to use them effectively on their own,” said Lisa Hu, New York-based United States vice president and general manager at Blippar.

“The Bobbi Brown Cosmetics team has created a brilliant and beautiful campaign, and by partnering with Blippar, they have found a way for consumers to interact with it, not just accessing information and exclusive footage, but also expert, professional advice to help them get the most from their Bobbi Brown purchases,” she said.

Mobile beauty
When consumers that have downloaded the Blippar app scan the picture, a landing page pulls up with several different calls-to-action that consumers can pick from.

Bobbi Brown is promoting a soft, dramatic and fun smokey eye looks. For each look, consumers can view a step-by-step tutorial on how to create the look.

There is also a short behind-the-scenes video with footage from Ms. Holmes’s shoot with makeup tips that are narrated by the brand’s founder.

Underneath, a link lets consumers shop the products from Bobbi Brown’s mobile site. The products are filtered so that only two smokey eye products are shown, which cuts down on the amount of time that consumers spend searching the site for the right item.

From there, consumers can learn more about the products, read reviews and check-out straight from the retailer’s mobile site.

The piece of augmented reality also includes a feature so that consumers can find the nearest store location.

Part of the augmented reality initiative also includes an Instagram and Twitter sweepstakes. Consumers are prompted to upload a picture of their best smoky eye look with the hashtag #smokinghot. Entries must also be tagged with the brand’s @BobbiBrown Twitter handle.

The augmented reality content also lets consumers flip through other entries.

The Bobbi Brown campaign will run in-store within United States and British markets for the next few months.

The mobile landing page

Augmented ads
Bobbi Brown is not the only beauty brand that is leveraging augmented reality to make print ads more interactive.

CoverGirl also included a Blippar-powered component to a print media buy this fall (see story).

Additionally, Maybelline ran a campaign last year that leveraged augmented reality to let consumers virtually try on nail polish colors (see story).

Part of the reason why it seems that many of these brands are flocking to augmented reality is because of the ability to show off how products work to ultimately make a sale.

“Beauty brands like Bobbi Brown tend to have a wealth of stunning creative assets, and by using Blippar’s augmented reality platform, these can be brought to life instantaneously through interactive mobile experiences,” Ms. Hu said.

“In this way, print ads, product packaging or in-store creative can all act as triggers for consumers to watch how-to tutorials or exclusive video footage; quickly and easily unlock information on new products; buy products themselves; or even virtually try-on of different shades and colors to ensure a perfect match before purchase,” she said.

Final Take
Lauren  Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York