Redken 5th Avenue has relaunched its mobile application to let hairstylists access thousands of haircolor formulas, as well as improve their client relationships.

The company worked with Branding Brand on the mobile initiative. Redken relaunched its app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

?Our objective is to provide stylists the tools and education they need on a device we know they use,? said Sarah Liang, director of interactive marketing for Redken. 

?Mobile is an essential channel for hairstylists since they spend most of their time standing behind a chair versus sitting at a computer,? she said. ?To achieve this goal, we looked at digitizing existing salon behaviors.

?A common behavior today is to tear pages out of magazines to create a lookbook. Through our Style Station app, we are offering the stylist the ability to customize photo albums to create a portfolio or leverage the looks provided by Redken.?

Redken provides salon professionals with products, education and exclusive salon programs.

Branding Brand provides turn-key mobile commerce solutions for leading brands, including American Eagle Outfitters, Anthropologie, Bath and Body Works, Carnival Cruise Lines, Costco, Crate and Barrel, Dick?s Sporting Goods, GNC, Ralph Lauren, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Steve Madden, TigerDirect, Timberland and Tumi.

New features
The Style Station 2.0 app features more than 1,000 Chromatics haircolor formulas that let hairstylists stay on top of the latest color trends.

According to Redken, stylists can use their mobile device as a conversation piece with their clients to demystify the color experience for consumers.

The app also features a lookbook that includes styling step-by-step instructions and lets stylists customize their own lookbooks.

Additionally, the Style Station app provides stylists with mobile access to Redken?s salon professional social network, "The Break Room."

Similar to Facebook, stylists can update their status, ask advice from the community, share photos of their clients and engage with salon industry experts.

The app also includes a timer with multiple alarm tones that can be set for several clients at once, helping keep clients on schedule and prevent over-processing.

?Redken continually looks to drive innovations ? not only through products but also through our digital offerings,? Ms. Liang said. ?We believe mobile devices and tablets will become highly ? integrated into the salon experience and is part of Redken?s future vision for the salon industry. 

?Redken?s Style Station application expansion is another step we have taken to giving stylists the tools and information in a way that integrates into the clients?  salon experience,? she said.

Getting the word out
To get the word out about the relaunched app, Redken is using iPads to feature the app at in-person touchpoints.

The company is also using mobile bar codes, which connect its print experiences to the app downloads.
 
Redken has integrated Microsoft Tags into product materials and on the packaging of the haircolor tubes purchased by salons and stylists. 

?Mobile sites are quickly evolving from nice-to-haves into must-haves,? said Christina Koshzow, cofounder/chief marketing officer of Branding Brand, Pittsburgh, PA. 

?Our data shows that by 2014, more traffic will come from smartphones than computers,? she said. ?With mcommerce growing at five times the rate of ecommerce, the need for retailers to have a usable, mobile-optimized site is taking on a new level of urgency.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York