The ads are running inside Refinery 29’s mobile site. Estee Lauder has used similar mobile advertising efforts in the past to boost sales of particular products.

“Banners are becoming stale pretty quick but if the ad is targeted to an app or site that has relevance to the product it is promoting it will have a much better chance of leading to a sale,” said Mike DiMarco, director of media at FiddleFly, Columbia, MD.

“The future of mobile advertising, and really advertising in general is to cut through the searching and get straight to the mission at hand, much like how Estee Lauder is doing by sending users directly to a specific product page,” he said.

Mr. DiMarco is not affiliated with Estee Lauder. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Estee Lauder did not respond by press deadline.

Mobile beauty
The Estee Lauder ads include an image of a bottle from the brand’s Pure Color Nail Laquer collection. The ads encourage consumers to find their own nail color by tapping on the ad.

The banner ad then redirects to Estee Lauder’s mobile site to the specific product page of the nail polish.

Driving consumers to the specific page to shop is a smart move for Estee Lauder since it gives consumers quick access to the product advertised.

Consumers can then click through to see the different shades that the nail polish is available in, read product reviews, “Like” items via Facebook and add items to their shopping baskets.

From there, consumers can check-out either through PayPal or by filling out a four-page form. Consumers can also add a custom message to gift orders.

Users can also add free product samples to their carts before checking out. By offering other products at check-out, Estee Lauder is not only able to build brand awareness but is also able to potentially increase basket size.

Recommendations and personalization is key in mobile, especially in advertising.

The mobile site also includes a store locator and an offers section that lets consumers browse through current promotions.

Small-screen revenue
This is not the first time that Estee Lauder has used mobile advertising to push its products.

Last year, the brand ran ads in Glamour’s mobile site that encouraged consumers to shop from Macy’s (see story).

Additionally in 2010, Estee Lauder was one of the print advertisers in Martha Stewart Living magazine that incorporated an interactive component to the publication’s iPad issue (see story).

Compared to a lot of mobile ads circulating right now, what makes the Estee Lauder ads unique is that they are running next to Refinery 29’s contextually-relevant content. Refinery 29 is a fashion, beauty and shopping site with editorial content, meaning that consumers browsing the site are most likely interested in related products such as nail polish.

“The experience of mobile is very personal,” Mr. Dimarco said.

“People are addicted to their devices and are looking for better and better interactions with them so the more you can give them relevant content that is easy to access, the more success you will have,” he said.

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