Emma Geary (British Vogue): "The print and digital propositions are entirely complementary"
Publicado em 26/05/2015
Emma Geary is Digital Creative Solutions Manager at British Vogue; she spoke at the ICT Spring Europe conference in Luxembourg on innovating the user experience. The Leaders League team interviewed her on British Vogue's digital strategy.
Emma Geary. Our clear editorial strategy is to not only drive positive traffic growth but to develop the depth of our users’ engagement with the content; this reflects the trend away from objective CTR measurements and towards a more subjective dwell time metric as the real benchmark for reader immersion. This can be achieved by tightening up our UX strategy so that users can flow through the site content organically, as we encourage readers to deepen their relationship with our content. Nourishing this relationship is particularly crucial within our mobile experience, as over 50% of all Condé Nast UK traffic now arrives through mobile devices, rather than desktop. Vogue delivers breaking news but also crafts visually-led narratives, and each user experience should be a journey through thoughtfully recommended, contextually related articles, galleries, interviews that add rich value to the user’s reading experience and encourage them into the heart of the brand.
The second strata of development will be data-influenced and -informed editorial plans, which will naturally extend to native content plans too. Our programmatic ad exchanges can provide us with incredible insight into what our readers are coveting, which brands they’re exploring and which issues pique their interest, so we can not only tightly tailor editorial to our readers’ interests but we can forecast trends also.
Thirdly, 2015 will be the real advent of video content for Vogue; we have installed an exceptionally dynamic, experienced and innovative new video team to launch fresh video content across the Condé Nast UK portfolio.
Leaders League. How is British Vogue's digital strategy integrated within the wider Condé Nast UK digital strategy?
E. G. Each brand has unique development strategies; however we’re delighted to announce that Vogue will be the first brand to pioneer new standout video content in June 2015, with the launch of Vogue Video. Also all Condé Nast titles are leading with mobile-first design across all of our digital disciplines this year, as Vogue alone sees up to 65% of its web traffic delivered through mobile devices- the US and China sites led the charge with mobile prevalence last year, and in the UK it’s now the leading experience.
Leaders League. Is your Vogue.co.uk attracting different brands compared to the print proposition?
E. G. There is much duplication and alignment between Vogue online and in print, in advertising brands as well as editorial ‘voice’, however the real variants are in the slight demographic difference and the nature of each medium.
The average age for Vogue.co.uk is 28, whereas the print average age is around 34 - we also have a Miss Vogue microsite embedded within Vogue.co.uk with an average age of 19. Due to the younger skew of the site, we tend to carry creative copy which is either aspirational for the readership (such as haute joaillerie, very premium skincare) and also accessible (designer sunglasses, premium fragrance, premium cosmetics). The latter are products which allow a girl to say she is wearing Dior, even if she means sunglasses perhaps over a full ready-to-wear look. Also digital lends itself a little more to FMCG branding which need to see a very direct and quantifiable ROI - the metric reporting Vogue provides allows media planners and buyers to be really accountable to marketing teams, as they can clearly see the campaign engagement outlined.
In terms of the nature of the media, print has a three month lead-time whereas with Vogue.co.uk we can publish, edit, optimise and revise in live time; this allows us to feature experiential copy which promotes a certain date, such as festivals, book launches, gallery exhibitions, theatre performances - we can also target geographically and by time of day, to create a tightly efficient, fully-optimised campaign recommendation.
Leaders League. What are the new revenue streams that you have identified for British Vogue?
E. G. We’re incredibly interested to see how the social landscape evolves. At Vogue we were lucky enough to meet Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram [editor's note : find here Kevin Systrom's portrait], and he outlined what he feels ‘native’ advertising might look like on the platform - it was centered on the appropriation of existing community memes, such as #selfeet or #todayimwearing - native for Instagram is a definite watch-this-space idea! Also we’re keen to explore how we can develop our iconic print supplements into immersive digital pieces, similar to the parallax native offerings at the Telegraph Media Group and the New York Times. Vogue is an international synonym for what’s on trend, so evolving our trend reports digitally will be a moment of experimentation and play - this a great editorial opportunity but can be a commercial endeavour too.
Leaders League. Print media are suffering- do you think we are entering into a fully digital era with no room for print ?
E. G. Absolutely not - this is quite a reductive view of the media landscape! British Vogue in print has remained staunchly at an impactful circulation of circa 200,000 for the past ABC periods- this consistent demand is a testimony to its relevance and cherished value in our readers’ lives. The print and digital propositions are entirely complementary - they cater to one collectively influential audience at different times in their day, and as a brand - across social, online, tablet, print, Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, Vogue Festival, film - we empower the reader to become the editor of that space of time they carve out just for themselves- selecting the media depending on their mood, and the articles depending on their mindset, and integrating them seamlessly into their day.
Leaders League. Brands are slowly turning into publishers by generating their own content, so they can directly address their target demographic. Is this perceived as a threat for media owners?
E. G. As creatives ourselves, we find it incredibly exciting when brands innovate and challenge consumers’ perceptions of their unique proposition. Vogue are a publisher but we are also a brand in our own right, and the ambition and drive of our advertisers always inspires us to provide new and fresh solutions to their ever-evolving needs. Brands are true experts in their fields, and Vogue’s expertise lies in exceptional reportage, beautiful and impactful photography, discerning editorial, news delivery and of course trend forecasting - we will always have a place in the modern cultural consciousness, so we will always be able to supplement brands’ own content with our commercial offering, which will elevate, endorse and affirm that brand’s place at the forefront of fashion and beauty. Vogue is 100 years old in the UK next year, and more than ever the weight of heritage creates a unique authority that is unrivalled internationally as well as on our own shores.
H.W. (@hugo_weber)
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To go further : The media industry: a palpable air of uncertainty (on Leaders League Website from innovation technology & Intellectual Property 2015 report)