Later this month at The Mobile Marketing Conference Sarah Liang, Director of Interactive Marketing, L'Oreal USA will be presenting "L'Oreal Maximizes Mobile Investment to Increase Loyalty and Purchases." Sarah was kind enough to share a quick interview with us in anticipation of her session, read on:

First off, can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming session at The Mobile Marketing Conference?

I’m excited to share how L’Oreal’s salon brand, Redken 5th Avenue NYC, uses a mobile application to increase brand affinity and loyalty with our hairstylist community. The session will cover our strategy, process and the results we’ve found since launching.

How did L’Oreal come to the conclusion to start using the mobile medium?

We’ve been watching the mobile industry for a while now. I’ve been with the organization for 7 years and one of my first projects was to launch a test SMS campaign in 2006. It wasn’t until 2010, when the iPad finally launched and we the saw the smartphone numbers escalating in the US, that we finally committed to mobile.

As someone who has been there, what would be your advice be for brands that are just starting out in mobile now?

Like any new channel, it’s important to have a strategy in place – but be open because you might find that your initial thinking is not how it turns out! “Mobile” is big area that touches everything we do today, from email marketing to your website – and expands the opportunities with applications, QR codes and SMS campaigns. Create a flexible road map and find the right technology partners with mobile experience. It’s going to vary for every business but if you’re ecommerce site or if search is a key part of your desktop strategy, your likely first step will be to launch your mobile website.

What do you see happening in the future of mobile, both for L’Oreal and in general?

L’Oreal is a large organization with over 20 best-in-class beauty brands. This year I believe that mobile strategies will continue to roll out through all of our brands. Although I can’t speak for all my counterparts, I think most brands will start with a mobile website. Whether it’s a custom website built for the mobile experience or putting in place a transcoding technology that re-configures your existing website to streamline updates and resources – it will start with the basics and continue to grow from there.

Thanks so much Sarah, we'll look forward to your session at the conference!

For more on Redken's mobile app, check out our feature here. Plus, save 15% when you register for The Mobile Marketing Conference with code TMMC12DIGITAL here. 


Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com