VOgue: A media brand case study on conflict in fashion publication
Hailed as the world’s most influential fashion magazine since its debut in 1892, Vogue still remains one of the most recognizable fashion and lifestyle brands in the world. The magazine’s mission, according to publisher Conde Nast, is: “Vogue places fashion in the context of culture and the world we live in — how we dress, live and socialize; what we eat, listen to and watch; who leads and inspires us. Vogue immerses itself in fashion, always leading readers to what will happen next. Thought-provoking, relevant and always influential, Vogue defines the culture of fashion.” This mission established the intention and identity of the magazine through its evolution into the cross-platform, global, media producer it is today.
Founded in 1892, by Arthur Turnure, Vogue debuted as a weekly publication in the United States. From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York aristocracy, establishing social norms in a country that did not value class as highly as those in Europe. Purchased by Conde Nast in 1905, the publication was reduced from weekly to biweekly and expanded overseas, reaching an audience in Spain, France, Britain, and Italy by 1920. This began of an ongoing trend of reducing the number of publications per year while increasing subscriptions and expanding to new markets over time.
The magazine has had several prominent editors throughout its lifespan, often taking on the task of drawing a younger audience and conveying a more approachable definition of fashion. Diana Vreeland, in the 1960s, took over as editor-in-chief and the magazine began to appeal to the youth of the sexual revolution by focusing more on contemporary fashion and editorial features that openly discussed sexuality. Under editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella, the magazine underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes in response to a changing American lifestyle. The iconic covers transitioned away from artistic inspiration to focus solely on a model’s face until Anna Wintour was brought on board to again, ‘revitalize the brand’ by making it younger and more approachable. Wintour's influence allowed the magazine to maintain its high circulation while staff worked to develop trends that a broader audience could conceivably afford (Wikipedia.com/vogue).
While Vogue asserts that its mission is to benefit, inspire and positively influence its primarily female audience, there may be a conflict between that mission and the negative messages represented in the process of reflecting rather than defining values of the current cultural state. The question is not ‘is Vogue a successful media brand?’ Vogue has expanded into new markets, continues to gain new audiences and has built an iconic image that is synonymous with the fashion industry itself. The question is whether or not Vogue, as a current multi-platform media producer, is upholding its original identity, mission and heritage? How does/should Vogue convey its identity as a curator of culture and inspiration while remaining relevant in the current digital media and social landscape?
Analysis
Print and online subscription demographics are important elements to consider while assessing the overall brand identity of Vogue, but the inclusion of social media engagement, press, and cultural involvement provides a more accurate representation of both the reach of the brand and diversity of the brand’s audience.
Originally established as a lifestyle magazine for both men and women, Vogue’s core audience transitioned as content directed at men was phased out and greater emphasis placed on women’s fashion of the moment. The change is still reflected in the current demographic structure of the print magazine subscriptions, which according to Conde Nast, is 87% female with an average age of 38.5, and median household income of $62,000. The website audience, which reflects paid online subscriptions, is slightly older in age and is equally divided between gender (Condenast.com). While this is important for potential advertisers and content producers, the reach of the brand identity as a whole extends far beyond the paying subscribers and into the social and digital media landscape. The print and subscription based content generate revenue for the brand, however, free content offered online and and through social media circulate to a much broader audience, carrying the brands identity far beyond the control of the brand itself and into a realm of relatively undocumented, unpaid brand engagement.
Vogue’s print subscriptions and newsstand sales have dropped in recent years, which is inline with the general decline in the publication of print media. However, under Conde Nast’s multiplatform publishing initiative, the brand is moving forward to new platforms offering varied speeds, levels, quality, and costs for content. Vogue’s e-publication of the magazine has seen growth in subscriptions, accounting for 3.3 percent of total circulation, but not significant enough to offset the loss of revenue from decreasing print sales (Wikipedia.com/vogue).
The intensive multi-platform initiative, however, has kept Vogue in step with the evolving nature of the global media landscape. While social and other digital media platforms may not produce instantaneous financial returns, the Vogue brand is established across all major existing and emerging social communication networks. The brand uses the platforms with their intended methods of networking to access different audiences in the format they are most inclined to use. To further establish a presence and monetize social media through advertising revenue, Vogue began The Vogue Influencer Network, through which advertisers can use Vogue-appointed panel members to extend the reach of their products through social media, effectively increasing the engagement of a younger, more digital demographic.
Vogue.com, an extension of the printed publication, does more than serve as an additional platform to feature repeated print content. After receiving criticism that the publication was not as culturally relevant as it once was, Vogue placed greater emphasis on its online branding, earning a Webby Award in 2011 for Vogue.com which Wintour accepted with the five words: “Sometimes... geeks can be chic” (Fashionista.com). Now, the well-established website acts as the access point for all forms of Vogue content. Due to the nature and impermanence of digital platforms, the site is able to make overall changes to content and direction faster than the printed version and states: “In the overcrowded, unedited online space, who can you trust to curate the conversation surrounding fashion and culture? Positioning ourselves as the ultimate authority and resource, the aim of Vogue.com is threefold. One, to produce the strongest editorial coverage from the point-of-view of our internationally recognized editors, photographers and writers; Two, to engage Vogue.com readers in fashion’s most exclusive and educated online community, and lastly to provide vast outlets and opportunities for advertisers and consumers” (Vogue.com). Through Vogue.com and an extensive social media netwok, the brand is adapting to changes in the media landscape equally if not more effectively than competing women’s interest and fashion publications such as Vanity Fair, People, or Harper’s Bazaar.
Vogue’s brand consists of a variety of elements that influence the perceived identity. The identity, mission and long heritage are interconnected elements that established Vogue's relevance in terms of influence and representations of an ideal and luxurious, forward focused approach to fashion. This, in combination with highly influential and public personalities in positions of power, has created an authoritarian and highly respected perception of content and messaging that has earned the magazine the title of The Fashion Bible.
As far as brand equity, having a reputation as ‘the bible’ is clearly beneficial to perceived value and authority, but also brings a responsibility to question and continually strive to improve messages and imagery. While Vogue’s mission includes creating the definition fashion within our culture, the content of ‘women’s interest’ magazines is often scrutinized for perpetuating stereotypes and glamorizing the indulgent, excessive state of consumer culture. Rather than maintaining its positioning as a cultural barometer and forecasting cultural change, Vogue is instead reinforcing and even accelerating the overconsumption of both consumer products and media content.
Part of this perception, however, is due to a heavy reliance on advertising revenue. The messaging of the editorial content created by Vogue becomes diluted by advertisements for luxury fashion retailers, alcohol, cigarettes and beauty brands, both online and in print editions. Content created with the intention to inspire movement towards a more sustainable approach to fashion and lifestyle, is in conflict with the intention of the advertisers generating revenue for the publication. This means that Vogue, by representing and idealizing luxury fashion brands and their imaging, is by association, perpetuating stereotypes involving race, class, age, gender roles and general societal ideals of beauty created by corporations.
These ‘standards’ of society are in conflict with Vogue’s core mission, creating a mix of advertisements and content that confuse inspirational and aspirational, and leads to repetitive cycle of representing extreme and unattainable ideals. In attempt to maintain it’s position as influential and trend setting (rather than trend reporting), Vogue’s content often uses, ‘new, now, of the moment, ahead of trend,’ language intended to give readers a continuing need to keep up with what’s next. Not unique to Vogue, this language is similar in most women’s interest magazines and is accentuated by the addition of fast moving digital publishing. Rather than accelerating print sales, this language may actually drive sales away from newsstands and encourage readers to consume faster, free, digital content. The result is an ever-accelerating ‘more is more’ approach to consumption, stimulating the increase in production and decreasing quality in both apparel manufacturing and content production. While Vogue focuses on quality, luxury brands, these brands and the mass consumer brands they then influence, have declined in terms of production ethics and product quality. The ‘less is more’ guideline to fashion of the past seems to have been replaced by ‘more is more, and even faster,’ threatening the sustainability of production rates due to a globally increasing push for consumerism under aggressively capitalist mentalities. This is not necessarily due to Vogue’s practices as a media brand, but the brand in combination with the companies it willingly represents through both editorial content and advertisements.
Vogue’s biggest asset, a long and respected heritage, is also a liability that makes evolving away from these social norms more difficult and places even minute changes under intense scrutiny. The issues to focus improvements on are not those of distribution strategy or monetizing digital content, but rather taking a slightly deeper approach of making subtle changes to messages, content, and corporate partnerships. To be a successful leader of fashion and lifestyle ideals on a global level, a base ethical line should be drawn to promote a moral and sustainable lifestyle. What was created to provide inspiration and a voice for women’s influence and power is instead relying on the fear-based messaging of capitalism, indulgence, and glut.
While WIntour has made progress in terms of establishing a new foundation of ethical and human consideration in the world of fashion, there is still a long journey towards realizing the magazine's original mission as a cultural influencer. The Health Initiative, which bans children under 16 or those who openly admit to eating disorder related physical and mental health issues from appearing in the editorial fashion spreads, a Green Initiative and several other programs to promote a more ethical message have been established but go relatively disregarded. These and other issues of the highly unregulated fashion industry are not due to Vogue’s direct actions, but as the leading voice of the fashion industry, perhaps Vogue’s is the only voice that will be heard clearly and regarded with respect in the industry.
The publication has moved forward with society, creating an archive that over time, does tell a story of women, whether the story is as claimed or not, “Vogue’s story is the story of women, of culture, of what is worth knowing and seeing, of individuality and grace, and of the steady power of earned influence. For millions of women each month, Vogue is the eye of the culture, inspiring and challenging them to see things differently, in both themselves and the world.(Vogue.com)” And to capture the essence of the earned voice of women over time, Vogue must continue to adapt content and and enforce new ethical policies at an increasing rate. The fashion industry that Vogue is synonymous with is still functioning on fear and exploitation to benefit corporations rather than the consumer. If Vogue aspires to generate followers in a new generation, the company needs to share content that is what it claims: inspirational, influential and thought provoking.
Recommendations
Vogue is an incredibly successful example of a media brand that has effectively adapted to new platforms and emerging forms of communication. By establishing an extensive online presence to maintain and amplify the identity and voice of the brand, a more diverse audience is continually cultivated. Those engaging with the brand and developing a relationship through unpaid interactions may not be solving the immediate problems of declining subscription rates, however, the relationship created through social media and direct interaction with the entire entity of Vogue will most likely be more beneficial to the brand as the world of digital media continues to evolve into a more authentic and trusted means of participatory engagement.
The assets and liabilities of the brand are interconnected and require not an either/or solution, but finding a balance between opposing forces. While Vogue is focusing on its assets of heritage, being the first, and most trusted voice in the world of fashion, there is an associated liability rooted within those strengths. The heritage and image of the magazine’s identity is so established that changes cannot take place abruptly, but must happen much more slowly over time. Three issues in need of shifts are: balancing the authoritarian voice with one of leadership, increasing quantities of content without disregarding quality, and creating a perception of exclusivity and prestige while remaining inclusive of a broad audience.
This voice of authority, established in a combination of the brand and Wintour’s strong personal image, should strive to become a voice of leadership to effectively interest a new generation. Putting more emphasis on its role as ‘curator’ and making the ‘optimistic, editorial eye’ of the publication more honest will encourage independent thinking rather than blind acceptance of an authoritative voice. Without alienating its existing audience, Vogue can serve to empower women’s ability to accept and understand themselves and the role that fashion plays in their life while encouraging independent and informed decision making.
Vogue is diversifying forms of media to convey both higher quality and larger quantities of content across the appropriate platforms. This process currently involves overlapping and repurposed content distribution, but content is also being generated specific to the medium of distribution. Letting the immediacy of the subject matter distinguish the appropriate platform will encourage the printed editions to move away from immediate news coverage and towards more in depth reporting. Moving the printed publication in the directing of quality vs quantity will have an effect on advertising, encouraging content specific budgets and concepts rather than repurposing one ad across many platforms. This could mean that fewer advertisements are printed but the perceived value and exclusivity of the publication rises. Digital media can then create a balance of quality and quantity content that can stand alone or supplement the consumer experience for both paid and free content consumers. Creating separate strategies for different mediums will give a different perceived value to the media platform not the brand identity as a whole.
This is connected to the inclusive/exclusive dichotomy. In the pre-digital environment Vogue’s content was able to achieve exclusivity more simply. Those who subscribe were the only viewers of Vogue’s exclusive content and viewpoint. With the onslaught of digital media, Vogue cannot be first to reveal runway exclusives or celebrity gossip, making its perspective the only exclusive experience Vogue can offer. Creating a viewpoint through curation and voice that generates the same level of demand as ‘news’ content previously achieved is underway in Vogue’s digital media landscape. Exclusive content becomes a VIP experience, but when the content is available from a variety of sources instantaneously the VIP experience is created through accessing relevant, curated information that interests a wider audience more individually.
Implications
With its long and well established roots in print publishing, the Vogue brand and identity has grown far beyond the reach and limits of a monthly publication. Continuing to move forward by establishing and extending the voice of the brand across emerging platforms will generate new audiences by offering differing qualities and forms of content. With this, changes to messaging, viewpoint and the definition fashion will naturally follow.
Curating and approving advertisement selections based on more than financial interest would create a more prestigious magazine, giving more relevance to those brands creating advertisements of a higher caliber. Fashion advertisements are a significant portion of what vogue identity encompasses and using partnerships with major luxury retail brands could encourage and stimulate sales of a lower page volume, higher quality print publication.
The Vogue identity has grown, adapted and maintained relevance and influence for over 100 years. The changing media landscape, while affecting print subscriptions negatively, has benefited Vogue’s prominence and relevance in the day-to-day world of the fashion industry. Keeping afront of changing media first, and messaging second has, in fact, landed Vogue in a position of power and influence. While the current state of culture is one of indulgence, excess, and instant gratification, Vogue has the established structure and ability to push the fashion industry forward in a direction of sustainability and cultural defining rather than reflecting messaging and content.
