Print Provides Effortless Environment For Luxury Marketers, says WSJ. Magazine
Although the medium is undergoing a period of change, print is still an invaluable vehicle for luxury marketers to reach target consumers, according to the publisher of WSJ. Magazine at the Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2015.
During “WSJ. Magazine: Why Print Continues to Work for Luxury,” Anthony Cenname explained how print provides marketers with an effortless environment for luxury brands to showcase goods in a non-disruptive fashion. As a marketing tool, and even in a climate chock full of digital integration, print remains as the most engaging, memorable and luxury environment.
“I think that print is still the most effective and relevant choice for advertisers, particularly luxury brands, for a number of reasons,” said Anthony Cenname, publisher of WSJ. Magazine, New York. “One it is very engaging, it’s memorable and the environment is one that is effortless for a lot of luxury marketers.
“Luxury marketers don’t really like to be disruptive, every marketer wants to be disruptive to some degree to get your attention,” he said. “However luxury marketers really like to be effortless at getting your attention. Magazines and print tend to be able to do that effortlessly for them.
“With WSJ. Magazine it is pretty evident because our September men’s issue with Robert Redford is up 26 percent in ad pages while the women’s issue, called the September fashion issue, was actually our largest ever, and that is up 11 percent.”
The Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2015, held on Sept. 16, was organized by Luxury Daily.
Printing pleasure
While discussing print’s benefits for luxury marketers with Luxury Daily’s editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan, Mr. Cenname explained that for affluent consumers, time spent reading magazines is a treasured “me” moment.
Mr. Cenname continued by saying that these readers are highly engaged and reading with intention, while mobile readers who often are bored rely instead on suggested content.
An integral aspect of reading a print publication is the glamorous advertisements that accompany and lend support to the editorial content. Readers of WSJ. Magazine look forward to seeing new ad campaigns and the newsworthiness of a new brand effort is of interest and captivating.
Also, for marketers, print provides an ad blocking software-free zone, which has been on the rise and is set to increase with the launch of Apple’s latest iOS 9 update. Mr. Cenname shared that there are now 198 million global active users of ad blocking software, a 41 percent increase from the year ago, but with traditional print this is a non-issue.
WSJ. Magazine’s Anthony Cenname at the Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2015
Social media has also increased print’s value for marketers as readers are now more inclined to share their favorite reads and ad campaigns with their larger peer network through social channels.
“As a luxury brand your product is king and your core customers are your kingdom,” Mr. Cenname said. “For me, as a content company, I think that content is king and your audience is your kingdom. That’s very important when it comes to social media.
“Consumers like to have fun, and if they can have fun with your brand online it seems less disruptive to them, which is really important for luxury marketers,” he said. “It also helps build a strong connection with consumers and influence and ultimately creates want, which is what you’re also good at doing in the luxury field is to be able to create want, so you can drive premium prices.”
For WSJ. Magazine, 83 percent of its readership are active on social media channels monthly, spending an average of seven hours per week engaging. This is 134 percent more than the average affluent consumer.
In Mr. Cenname’s opinion, Instagram provides marketers with a platform for “exploratory luxury” due to the visual, visceral and emotional nature of its format and imagery in general because photos meld with the fantasy surrounding store windows and runway presentations.
WSJ. Magazine’s Instagram account, desktop version
Research has shown that since advertising was first introduced on Instagram in November 2013, the social platform has shown an immense amount of growth and effectiveness that can easily be harvested by brands for their own advantage, according to a report by L2.
While Instagram itself originally expressed hesitation about embracing advertising, over the past two years the platform has introduced a variety of advertising methods such as carousel ads and videos. In June, Instagram announced it will take its advertising to the next level by including calls to action and more seamless links to ecommerce that will likely have a major impact on brands using Instagram to connect with consumers (see story).
Wrapped up in print
With the holiday season approaching, Mr. Cenname and Mr. Alam Khan turned the conversation from print’s overall benefits to the medium’s potential for marketers for seasonal gifting, especially for those in the jewelry and watch sector.
WSJ. Magazine is supported by ad efforts representing various luxury pillars such as fashion and hospitality and has partnerships with numerous watchmakers and jewelers. This is correlated to the behavior of its affluent readers, half of which give the gift of a watch or fine jewelry to loved ones for the holidays, amounting in $2 billion in sales.
Seasonality of shopping is connected to consumer sentiment toward incremental spending.
On Sept. 14, The Wall Street Journal, the parent newspaper to WSJ. Magazine, reported that this year’s shopping season is projected to be excellent due to a host of factors including consumer confidence, low unemployment and falling gas prices.
For WSJ. Magazine readers these factors do not always directly affect their holiday shopping behavior, with nine in 10 saying in a recent survey that they are optimistic about their financial future. To this effect, the same survey found that 89 percent believe they are in a better position to withstand market fluctuations and 85 percent said their wealth is secure.
“I don’t know if my readers are immune, but research shows that [WSJ. Magazine readers] are immune [to global financial crises] because they are able to deal with ups and downs of the economy because they know how to make money and they are driven by success,” Mr. Cenname said.