August 22, 2007
Fashion Marketing: First video review of Shop Vogue TV (aka ShopVogue.tv)
(Fashion marketing news) Just launched ShopVogue.tv raises the bar in print/online integration. Fashion advertisers will be impressed, fashionistas will like the contents, but some features are not on par with those of leading fashion social media sites. Watch below a video of my take on the site.
As you may have read in the press (e.g. in the International Herald Tribune), Condé Nast’s Vogue has entered the fashion mag history by:
- publishing its September issue with a record-breaking 727 advertising pages
- launching the new generation of its Shop Vogue TV (www.shopvogue.tv) website
The two facts seem related, as Vogue tells us that advertisers were attracted by the possibility of combining print ads in the mag with coordinated online ads, videos, and product showcases on the website.
After visiting the site, I must say that it lives up to the hype: the products are well presented and ShopVogue.TV is a very clever mix of shopping and entertainment. You can watch short online video shows and alongside “shop the video”, i.e. see vignettes of the brand products introduced in the video. You can even buy them online on the brand’s site.
Yet, I find the “audience participation part” quite weak: you can upload some photos of yours, but there is no real community or possibility to interact with other readers. For instance, you cannot give a rating to what others put online.
I have just recorded a short visit and review of the ShopVogueTV website. Just click on the video to see it. If you cannot watch it now or cannot bear my French accent, you will find a summary below the video. Let me know your thoughts in the “Comments” section.
ShopVogue.tv, the video review
Overview of ShopVogue.tv
At first, you have to give time for the site to load: it is all Flash. I hate 100% Flash sites. But here, things go fast and you can even click the “back” button in your browser, which usually does not work on Flash sites. Great job, Vogue.
- Shop
- Watch
- Share
The Shop part is the most related to the Vogue print edition. You can find here high-resolution reproduction of the print ads published in this month’s magazine. Next to each ad, you see a tab that invites you to “Shop the ad”, i.e. to get information about each featured product, like its price, and to click on a link to brand’s site to shop there online. You do not actually shop on ShopVogue.TV, so the whole “shop, shop, shop” thing is a bit misleading.
You can see the advertised products by brands, trends, departments, or price.
The Watch section is the entertainment cum shopping section. You can online video series, such as Behind the Lens (behind the scenes show), 60 Seconds to Chic (instant makeover show), Trend Watch (obvious), and The Collections (catwalk videos). Each video is short, which is good given that the small attention span of web users. Next to each video, you can again see the “Shop the video” tab, which lets you buy the product featured in the show. Once again, this is very well done.
Finally, the Share part is Vogue’s attempt to join the social media crowd. It is also the weakest point of the site. You can upload your pics in a very well made form where you describe the brands you are wearing and where you can buy them. I like it but why cannot you rate the others’ pics, just like on StyleMob? Also, I think that idea of having her picture associated with brands may deter some women who do not want to be seen as living mannequins. You cannot create a user profile (or did I miss it?), unless you are uploading some pics.
There is no online community for readers to interact either. Maybe it is coming up, but for the moment, it makes the Share section a second ran compared to the Shop and Watch sections, as well as compared to fashion social media sites such as StyleHive, StyleMob, StyleFeeder, and MyShopPal.
Overall, I congratulate Vogue on the launch of this very impressive site. It is glossy, nice to browse, and it presents products very well. Fashion advertisers should definitely be there. By the way, shame on the brands whose products you cannot buy online. The ShopVogue.TV experience makes it even more painful to see that in 2007, you cannot buy some of the featured products on the web.
Some things need to be improved:
- the Share section needs to be on par with the competing fashion sites
- you can add a video or a picture as a favorite, but if you change computers, you will not be able to see your favorites. As there is no user profile, favorites are cookie-bases. Not very convenient if you browse during lunch time at the office and at home in the evening.
Filed under Fashion 2.0, Fashion Branding, Fashion Industry, Fashion Marketing, Fashion Merchandising, Fashion News, Fashion Sites, Internet Marketing, Opinions and Reviews by Fashion Fox
Comments on Fashion Marketing: First video review of Shop Vogue TV (aka ShopVogue.tv) »
What about advertising on the site?
From Web Geeking Gets a Whole Lot Prettier on CMSWire:
Vogue has always been dedicated to its advertisers, so it will be interesting to see if it can strike a healthy and advantageous balance in the online realm without letting one strength overshadow the other.
Advertisers who appear in the coveted September print issue are also offered an opportunity to appear online, with those who purchase multi-page spreads having the option to post additional content, “like behind-the-scenes video from their campaign’s photo shoots."
Sounds pretty advantageous to me…
I agree with you Ana, it is a great site for advertisers. But isn't there more value created here for Vogue advertisers than for readers?