Makeup manufacturer Benefit has released its newest eyebrow-related invention, a mobile optimized site that details how users should style their brows, to promote its brow-shaping products and services.  

The brand is known for its brow products and has recently rolled out a slew of services and promotions all in relation to eyebrows, to take advantage of the trending beauty theme. Benefit?s Brow Genie draws in consumers with the popular topic name, sizable pull of selfies and the personal aspect of the service. 

"It is extremely important for brands to take into consideration the platform in which they are going to be engaging with their audience," said Amy Leavitt, marketing director at Briabe Mobile. "By creating a mobile optimized site, Benefit is ensuring that their audience will have the best experience possible. 

"With the popularity of selfies, Benefit is also taking advantage of a cultural phenomenon," she said. "We love taking photos of ourselves with our mobile devices and sharing out on social media; what Benefit is asking consumers to do is not much different at all.

"Mobile friendly is consumer friendly."

Genius in marketing 
The Brow Genie is mobile optimized and allows users to take or upload a selfie to the site where it uses face-mapping technology to decipher where and how the user?s brows should be shaped and styled, step by step. The interface is unique and enjoyable, with a feature at the end that creates a fake brow filter on the user?s selfie and details the difference of the fake and original brows. 

The final step of the Brow Genie experience is a curated list of products recommended to the specific user and her brow needs, paired with a list of Benefit boutiques locations near the user. 

"A campaign that is interactive and fun can make brands more attractive to its consumers," Ms. Leavitt said. "For lifestyle brands, one of the biggest challenges is allowing consumers to try out products before purchasing online. 

"By incorporating an interactive mobile campaign like this, Benefit has essentially put a department store makeup counter in the palm of every woman?s hand, with only their products stocked on the shelves," she said. "This makes for an intimate and personal shopping experience that consumers love, all from the convenience of their mobile device."

This just one facet of Benefit?s brow-crazed promotion. The cosmetic brand?s Instagram is full of brow-related images and posts. 

For the month of Ma,y the in-store brow boutique is donating proceeds from waxing to the charity Dress For Success that provides underprivileged women the tools needed to succeed, to coincide with its brand image of women empowerment. The brand is promoting the charity partnership through its social media as well. 

Social grooming
Benefit also recently partnered with beauty retailer Ulta in a social media contest on Instagram where users share photos of their brows for a chance to win products, leveraging consumers? love of selfies and the current interest in eyebrow shaping (see more). 

Developing the Brow Genie Web site for mobile was imperative for the Benefit. The strong reach that mobile offers is ideal for a brand such as Benefit due to its millennial demographic. 

Numerous brands are releasing mobile optimized interactive platforms and Web sites to stay prevalent with younger demographics. 

Addressing millennial shoppers? desire for fast, personalized mobile experiences, Sephora recently launched a new service on its mobile site and application, Pocket Contour Class, to provide tailored, step-by-step instructions for makeup application (see more). 

"Optimizing for mobile is not an option anymore, it is essential but having a bad mobile site is almost worse than not having one at all," Ms. Leavitt said. "Brands should focus on functionality and user experience, because whether they buy something or not, you want the consumer to come away feeling positive about the time spent on your site. 

"If there is an element to your promotion that can be shared via social media, you want to make it easy for the consumer to do so," she said. "If purchases can be made, it should be a simple and seamless process. 

"Your consumer is coming to your mobile site because it is convenient, so they should not have to work hard to complete their intended task."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer