September is coming. And with it comes the September issue. But this time, fashion publications are looking beyond fat magazines and toward more innovative digital strategies around video and social media to lure readers.
Below is an overview of what some of the major fashion publications are doing on the digital side leading into September.
Harper’s Bazaar
The theme for Harper’s Bazaar’s September issue is “icons,” in this case Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, celebrities with a proven track record of driving traffic.
The 17-page photo spread — shot by Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld — is brought to digital life in behind the scenes footage on its Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Its video “In Bed with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West” has been viewed more than 43,000 times on YouTube and was shared by Kardashian herself.
On Snapchat, Harper’s Bazaar created a custom filter that will be accessible from its Bazaar Icons September issue party, as well as during the upcoming New York Fashion Week. During the event, it will also be broadcasting from Facebook Live and Instagram stories.
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is jumping on the Instagram Stories bandwagon right in time for New York Fashion Week. Each day during the course of the week, a major fashion icon will take over the account to share images and videos directly from runway shows or behind the scenes of the event.
Though the magazine is still confirming its roster of participants, Marie Claire’s creative director and Project Runway judge Nina Garcia will be among the notable figures taking over the account, which will likely also include an up-and-coming model and front row celebrity.
“The idea is to give the reader a guided seven day tour of the full Fashion Week experience,” said Jessica Pels, site director of Marie Claire.
Vogue
Vogue has long been synonymous with September issue hype since before the days of the 2009 documentary “The September Issue,” which chronicled the process of developing the magazine’s biggest issue of the year.
This year the publication is continuing to share teases of its cover photo shoot with Kendall Jenner on its social channels and offered a special promo code on Facebook for followers to get the issue on Amazon first before it hit newsstands.
GQ
Following the foundation of its new publication, GQ Style, earlier this year and the official launch of the GQ Style website this week, the men’s style magazine is focusing on exclusive video content for both of its outlets.
Will Welch, editor in chief of GQ Style, will host an upcoming video series on the site that will focus on menswear from around the world and include luxury sponsors like Tudor. GQ’s digital team is also working on innovative ways to take strategic cuts from more comprehensive videos to share on social.
“We’re doing a lot of video exclusive content and then finding interesting ways to do special cuts for social only, or trailers for print stories that are meant for social videos,” said Carly Holden, communications director at GQ.
Elle
While Harper’s Bazaar is focused on the biggest style icons of 2016, Elle is focusing on burgeoning fashion stars for its September issue, showcasing new style stars on the homepage of its site. Elle was also part of Hearst’s larger “We Are Fashion” initiative, a collaboration among Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Town & Country to promote the September issues in both print and on the web.
As part of “We Are Fashion” Elle and each of the other brands shared a personalized video on Instagram that teases September issue content from each of their magazines. The Elle post currently has 16,000 views.
Allure
Coming on the heels of the launch of its new website in July, Allure is continuing to focus on bolstering its digital e-commerce efforts, which was a major focus of the relaunch. This will include continued promotion of its “Try It” and “Buy It” buttons, that allow readers to both test and purchase products directly from the website.
“Our current site was built about five years ago, which in internet years is probably about 20 years,” editor in chief Michelle Lee told Glossy. “From a technology perspective, I wanted to think of us as tech company, though print is still very important.”
