Procter & Gamble is bringing its online beauty magazine Beauty Recommended to mobile via a new application, providing users with interactive tours of some of London's best beauty-related spots.

Beauty Recommended is a free online magazine reaching an audience of 1.8 million and offering expert advice, monthly competitions and product reviews. The mobile app version is launching in time for the summer Olympics Games in London, which are expected to draw large crowds of visitors to the city.

?With a readership of 1.8m accessing Beauty Recommended online, increasingly so from mobile devices, it was imperative for P&G to extend the proposition to the mobile channel to sustain engagement,? said  at Adam Levene, chief strategy officer at Grapple Mobile, London.

?Mobile is the most personal device and always nearby, giving beauty and grooming brands the perfect opportunity to present expert advice and tips when and where consumers need it,? he said.

?An app provides the fully immersive ?in the moment? experience that only mobile can offer.?

Eye of the Beholder
P&G produces several leading beauty brands in Britain including Olay, Pantene, Max Factor and Wella Professional.

The app invites consumers to explore London through a beauty lens with exclusive virtual tours. It was created by Grapple Mobile.

There are three virtual tours of London featured on the app. The Eye of the Beholder tour provides a tour of the National Portrait Gallery while showcasing how the concept of beauty has evolved from Tudor times through to the 1940s.

The Art of Shopping tour takes users on a tour of some of London's best and most beautiful shopping hot spots. The London Beauty Scoop tour highlights hidden beauty treasures in London's theater district and elsewhere.

?The mobile app takes the best of the Beauty Recommended online concept and importantly, presents it to readers when and where they need it most,? Mr. Levene said. ?The mobile-only ?Beauty Spots? offer virtual tours of London to coincide with the events in London this summer adding a whole new dimension and helps to ensure the proposition stands out in a crowded market.?

Branded content goes mobile
The app features step-by-step expert guides and videos to recreate the latest styles seen at fashion shows and on celebrities, beauty tips and product recommendations, exclusive monthly competitions with beauty prizes and the ability to share beauty tips with friends via Facebook, Twitter and email.

The app?s content will be updated monthly. It is free to download for iPhone and Android.

P&G has been active in the mobile space across its extensive brand portfolio, having deployed numerous mobile advertising campaigns around products, tapping QR codes to drive product sales and with mobile content such as apps.

?As consumers shift their interactions away from desktop and towards mobile and tablet, more than ever, leading brands are adopting the mobile channel,? Mr. Levene said. ?Recognizing that when used correctly, mobile is by far and away the most sticky and immersive digital channel; our clients are introducing branded content as a way to drive repeat usage of their applications.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York