MarComm Files #2: Branded Magazines

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Summer 09/10 Lookbook from Wild Pair

I have noticed a rise in the number of fashion brands and fashion retailers distributing branded magazines. Their popularity is no secret, we love them for their editorial eye candy and the instant gratification of knowing where we can purchase something.

Many stores now carry editorial-style brochures (often referred to ask their look books) for customers. New Zealand retailers Wild Pair and Lippy do a fabulous job of this (Wild Pair is pictured above). This is good fashion advertising, shoppers can see the clothes looking good and buy them almost immediate.

Pictured: The Acne Paper, Issue 7 from Acne Paper.com, Forever21 and ASOS Magazine

Larger brands are able to publish full fledged fashion magazines. Acne publishes a magazine bi-annually (The Acne Paper), with a fashion focus.  Forever21 and ASOS publish magazines extending its focus away from fashion, to beauty, lifestyle and entertainment. ASOS’s branded magazine is in fact the second most popular women’s fashion magazine in the UK.

Branded magazines, I would go so far as to say, are the holy grail of fashion brand and fashion retail advertising. To quote the Financial Times, “the investment makes sense: it gives depth to a brand in an environment they can control. It pushes product without the obvious “sell”, and in many instances may be cheaper than advertising.”