Social Media and Fashion Magazines

Social media has taken a large turn within the last 5 years. In 2010, an article was published on Mashable and the Social media portion really stood out to me. Here it is: "What About Social Media? Fashion magazines are clearly trying to corner their own share of the ever-expanding online and mobile advertising markets. But of all of the publishing executives I spoke with, only two — Susan Plagemann of Vogue and Ted Nadeau of Elle Digital — noted an increased demand for social media-based solutions from advertisers, even though more and more marketers are allocating funds to social platforms. That's perhaps not surprising, given the number of luxury brands that advertise in these magazines and their general reluctance to engage with social media. As contributor Samir Balwani argued in a previous post, luxury implies a sense of exclusivity — ergo, not everyone should be able to freely interact with the brand on Facebook and Twitter. "It's difficult for a brand to selectively choose who to interact with and, unless done properly, this segmentation could cause a major backlash," he said. I spoke with Axel Dumont, who oversees media duties for Chanel North America at MEC, about the challenges that Chanel, as a luxury brand, faces with social media. "Chanel is a very creative-driven, luxury-driven brand. And right now they would not go with anything that doesn't showcase the brand and make it beautiful," he said. "They don't want any interaction with their brand consumers. Chanel belongs to Chanel. It doesn't belong to anyone else but Chanel." Given the company's attitude, it's no wonder that Chanel and other luxury brands aren't willing to let publishers run with their brands on social media platforms. Web and mobile-based solutions offer much more control, both in creative production and distribution. Although magazines will begin to announce ad page sales this week, we won't likely know any details about the success of these web and mobile-based promotions — at least the ones that aren't tied to print — until they are launched in mid-August. Of the solutions that these magazines are presenting for fall, which do you think offers the most value to advertisers? And, as a consumer, which offerings do you most want to engage with? Share your thoughts in the comments below." http://mashable.com/2010/07/20/fashion-mags-digital-fall/

Magazine Distribution: Three Types

Thanks to Wikipedia, I have finally seen the light (the good, realization kind of light). After 6 searches on Google to try and find distribution methods, I had only gotten countless statistics, charts, and how-to's on starting your own magazine. That made no sense at all when all I clearly typed was "magazine distribution", I guess it wasn't specific enough. I had avoided Wikipedia since we had been brainwashed since middle school to avoid it, but I was desperate and had no other choice. Finally, I clicked the infamous wiki link and found this: "Magazines can be distributed through the mail; through sales by newsstands, bookstores, or other vendors; or through free distribution at selected pick-up locations. Sales models for distribution fall into three main categories. Paid circulation In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee or monthly price is paid and issues are sent by post to readers. Examples from the UK include Private Eye Non-paid circulation This means that there is no cover price and issues are given away, for example in street dispensers, airline in-flight magazines, or included with other products or publications. An example from the UK and Australia is TNT Magazine. Controlled circulation This is the model used by "insider magazines" or industry-based publications distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free and determined by some form of survey. This latter model was widely used before the rise of the World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. For example, in the United Kingdom, a number of computer-industry magazines use this model, including Computer Weekly and Computing, and in finance, Waters Magazine. For the global media industry, an example would be VideoAge International." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine#Distribution

Fashion Industry: Media and Marketing

The following is an excerpt from Encyclopaedia Britannica article called "Fashion Industry" "Media and marketing Media of all kinds are essential to the marketing of fashion. The first dedicated fashion magazines appeared in England and France in the late 18th century. In the 19th century, fashion magazines—such as the French La Mode Illustrée, the British Lady’s Realm, and the American Godey’s Lady’s Book—proliferated and flourished. Featuring articles, hand-coloured illustrations (known as fashion plates), and advertisements, fashion magazines—together with other developments such as the sewing machine, department stores, and ready-to-wear clothing produced in standard sizes—played a significant role in promoting the democratization of fashion in the modern era. The development of effective and inexpensive methods of reproducing photographs in print media in the early 20th century led to the rise of fashion photography and of heavily illustrated fashion magazines such as Vogue. Magazine advertising rapidly became a principal marketing tool for the fashion industry." http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1706624/fashion-industry/296479/Media-and-marketing