Some fashion magazines are using multi-media and mobile technologies to create additional opportunities to help advertisers reach consumers via Web and mobile platforms. According to a recent article by Lauren Indvik at Mashable.com, fashion magazines lost nearly a quarter of their ad pages in 2009. In response, some fashion magazines are looking to use Web and mobile offerings to update their business model, making it more relevant to how advertisers want to reach consumers.

Indvik provides some great examples of how some leading fashion magazines are embracing digital offerings to attract advertiser interest. At the end of her article, Indvik asks readers to provide opinion on which digital advertising solution offers the most value to advertisers and the most interest to consumers. Here are my thoughts.

InStyle’s Virtual Boutique

InStyle will use the Stylefeeder shopping engine to power its InStyle Boutique – a flash-based virtual boutique with individual stores readers can browse. Participating advertisers will “own” a virtual store in the boutique that features a promotional video and up to 20 products readers can click to purchase.

InStyle will also include videos about fall fashions trends with pre-roll and overlay advertisements. The boutique will also feature rewards and incentives designed to motivate readers to log in regularly and ultimately to shop. InStyle Boutique will launch in conjunction with InStyle’s September print edition, which of course will feature cross-promotional ads for brands participating in the virtual boutique.

My Two Cents: Time, Inc acquired Stylefeeder back in January. Many saw the move as a way for the Time Warner magazine group to ease the sharp decline in advertising revenues through the integration of e-commerce on their online properties. The InStyle experiment will provide a test of the new model.

The virtual boutique is an intriguing idea as long as the videos and any pre-roll or overlay advertisements included don’t impede my ability to browse the stores in the boutique or view an item I’m interested in purchasing. This is especially true during repeat visits, and you can be sure both InStyle and its advertisers want readers to visit often.

For advertisers, the virtual boutique gives them the opportunity to promote select merchandise via a fun, and hopefully convenient shopping experience.

The Mobile Push

W magazine is launching three interactive, mobile-based promotions in the coming months. Two of the promotions are geared to entice the interest of consumers during New York Fashion Week, while the third promotion is slated for October.

• Mobile Showcase using Microsoft Tags – a glass-panelled trailer with live models wearing advertisers' merchandise will travel through New York during Fashion Week. Using Microsoft’s Tag Reader, mobile users can scan QR codes featured on the trailer to learn more about the brands featured in the mobile showcase.
• Foursquare Campaign – W magazine will have brand ambassadors check-in at various New York locations using the location-based service Foursquare. The first follower to arrive at a check-in point will win a prize donated by the magazine’s advertisers.
• Microsoft Tags in Print – W magazine will feature Microsoft Tags as part of select advertisements in its October issue as “a way to create more interactions” between advertisers and consumers. Readers scan the codes to receive exclusive offers, view promotions, videos, etc. The magazine did a similar campaign for its July issue with great success and hopes advertisers will see similar results with the October issue.

My Two Cents: I can only assume the Mobile Showcase will move slow enough through New York streets to give passersby the chance to scan the tags. ;) And will there be a different showcase of models and merchandise every day, every few hours? This campaign will be localised to New York residents and those attending Fashion Week but that’s part of what makes the campaign compelling. It’s centred around a prestige fashion event and is designed to reach consumers on the go.

The Foursquare campaign has the opportunity to draw a lot of interest, because who doesn’t want to win free stuff? Of course success will depend on how many Foursquare users follow W and/or know about the campaign.

As for both the mobile and print campaigns using Microsoft Tags, I’m curious about how long the tags will remain active. Will there only be a narrow window of time to take advantage of promotions or discounts offered through them? While there are benefits of using Microsoft Tags over the more commonly used QR codes, I have to wonder how many people will have the Microsoft Tag Reader already installed.

Apps to Help You Shop

Marie Claire will use image recognition technology and its “Shop the Shoot” iPhone app to help its readers locate and purchase advertiser products featured in its print magazine and to access bonus content via their mobile phones.

Vogue is moving slowly into the digital advertising foray, offering opportunities via e-mail marketing campaigns and its Vogue Stylist iPhone app.

Elle Magazine plans to use multimedia to expand on features and advertisements in the magazine’s September print issue.

My Two Cents: As Indvik states in her article, Marie Claire, Vogue and Elle are all moving slowly in their approach to digital advertising. The iPhone apps are interesting but unless the multi-media is truly compelling and offers information of value, I don’t see those campaigns garnering much interest from readers. Especially if they take a long time to load or don’t deliver on the promise of “helping me shop”. In that case, I couldn’t be bothered.

For more on the mobile push, we wrote an article in April on how many consumer brands are planning to invest in mobile apps.

Slow Uptake With Social Media

In the article, Indvik asserts that for some brands, especially luxury brands, social media is not an advertising channel of interest. It seems luxury brands are instead more interested in Web and mobile-based advertising solutions that offer more control in how the brand is portrayed.

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.

My Two Cents: Social media by its very nature involves brands inviting and being open to user-contributed content, opinions and feedback – good and bad. This means engaging with and listening to consumers and giving up some brand ownership and control.  While it may be taking time for some luxury brands to embrace social media, others luxury brands are doing it.

Burberry has found a way via its The Art of the Trench campaign, a kind of social photo album, filled with candid shots of people wearing Burberry trenches on the streets of London, Paris, New York, Venice, Sao Paulo and Berlin. To date, Burberry has over a million and a quarter “People Like This” clicks on its integrated Facebook page.

Only time will tell how many of these new initiatives will be successful. One thing is certain though - the industry has recognized that it needs to get creative to attract advertisers’ dollars, and that comes through offering additional value to its readership.