NEW YORK - A Hearst executive at the Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 Sept. 18 discussed with a panel of luxury retail experts the ongoing service that publications provide to protect and embellish brand images.
During the “Trends in Luxury retailing and marketing as the holidays loom” panel session, the executive discussed the trends she has seen as publication partnerships with luxury brands evolves. Both publications and brands benefit from the storytelling fostered by ads that reach highly targeted audiences.
We [publications] are a partnership for [marketers] on every level,” said Kate Kelly Smith, senior vice president, publishing director and chief revenue officer of Hearst Design Group, New York.
“We come together all year long and help our consumers live in their beautiful homes,” she said. “It’s a custom moment on many levels, but we are your partners.”
“Publishing is a 360-degree integration unit.”
Luxury Daily organized the Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2013.
Helping hands
Publications and luxury brands continue to have a lucrative partnership.
Publications are able to use advertisements to portray a lifestyle image that supports its editorial content and resonates with readers. Luxury marketers benefit from the increased exposure within a concentrated audience.
Panel members Ms. Rybka, Ms. Reed, Ms. MacDonald, Ms. Feetham and Mr. Kelly Smith (far right)
By creating a visual story alongside fashion spreads and product features, luxury brands can mine both niche and mass market publications and can distinguish themselves from competitors.
These partnerships continues to grow due to the greater amount of advertising opportunities afforded by smartphones and other digital platforms.
Ms. Kelly Smith notes how over the last 18 months, Hearst has begun using a new digital service, Digimarc Discover application to heighten its ability to engage consumers.
Hearst's Ms. Kelly Smith
By scanning a watermark found among editorial content with a smartphone, readers are brought to additional content or the ecommerce site of a given product. This will likely be a useful tool as the holiday season begins.
The September/October issue of Hearst’s Veranda, which Ms. Kelly Smith is publisher, was the first issue to feature digital watermarking. The digital watermarks are a part of the Digimarc Discover app that likely caught the interest of readers who wanted to learn more about featured content and generated buzz for the issue (see story).
On the up and up
Additionally, Veranda’s September/October featured ads from Patek Philippe, Cartier and Chopard among other jewelry advertisers. The issue saw a 4.7 percent rise in ad space and contained 56 ads from brands never before featured in the publication (see story).
This growth trend of ad space aligns with Ms. Kelly Smith’s comments during the panel session.
“You’re going to see a lot of watches and jewelry,” Ms. Kelly Smith said.
“Cartier and Hermès have stepped up all year long, but now the rest are following in the fourth quarter,” she said. “It’s tremendous step up.”
Placing an ad in a publication brings forth brand awareness for its collections and products in a creative yet traditional way.
“You’re coming to us for awareness and sales,” she said. “We are a visual world.
“It’s the opportunity to do storytelling.”
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York