Condé Nast revamps Vogue site with new commercial opportunities

The new site is built in HTML5 and CSS3, ensuring it adapts to both the small screens of tablet devices, on the largest of desktop monitors, and all sizes in between. It is also optimised for the new wave of 'retina' screens.

The bespoke HTML5 ads also adapt to different screen sizes and devices and Ralph Lauren has taken advantage of the new technology to showcase its autumn/winter collection for four days.

Advertisers can either create the ads themselves in HTML5, or use Vogue’s new HTML5 ‘ad builder’ which enables easy repurposing of existing assets.  

The site also still accommodates standard IAB ad formats including doubleskys, MPUs and leaderboards, as well as billboards, which are new to the site.

Jamie Jouning, digital director of Condé Nast, said: "The re-imagination of the Vogue site has been eight months in development. With innovative information architecture at its core and an underlying ambition to make the Vogue brand look as beautiful on the web as it does in print, whilst retaining our dynamic news agenda, the site delivers on every level.

"Commercially the site provides our upscale clients’ with a bigger creative canvas than anywhere on the web. Full screen, responsive HTML5 ads are available for key sponsors, and our best-in-class gallery experience provides advertisers with the opportunity to run hugely impactful gallery interstitials. 

"In-depth site analysis also guided us towards the creation of bespoke "in-content" ad formats that sit elegantly within the main article experience.  This plethora of new and engaging ways to reach the highly sought after Vogue audience sets the benchmark for the industry."

The site now introduces ‘topic sections’ which showcase all articles, catwalk shows, Vogue covers, blog entries and galleries, searchable by brand, people or events, providing an authoritative timeline for inspiration and research.  

When fashion shows are in full swing, the top panel will be broken up to highlight the most recent designer collections and models to walk, while at other times the top image may relate to one large image and story.

Vogue, which has just started publishing its iPad edition on a regular monthly basis, had an average print issue circulation of 205,033 copies during January to June this year, according to the latest ABC data.

According to Condé Nast's own Google Analytics data the site attracted an average 1.29 million unique users per month between January and June this year. The site does not have an ABC certificate.

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, said: "The redesigned site offers the Vogue.co.uk user an experience which is closer to that of the print magazine whilst continuing to capitalise on the timeliness, newsworthiness and excitement of the web.  

"The site’s reputation as being the leader for fashion and catwalk news gains from a more elegant visual approach, and is part of the general digital strategy of the magazine to play to our core values of fashion, intelligence, style and authority across all media."

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk