Read Me: Brands as Publishers (Swide, Nowness, The Highlow)

This is a slow but sure trend that has been developing in the last 24 months. Brands have started to allocate marketing dollars to produce content similar to magazines (beyond a plain blog).

Are brands becoming publishers? Or shall we call them self-publishers? Well it depends. Dolce & Gabanna seems to have been one of the first with the launch of Swide, a site that focus mostly in promoting their own brand with all kinds of interesting and behind the scenes content. It also covers other fun and witty info ranging from style, faces and life – full of live and sexyness. Check out this post about a video made for Kiehl’s ("I LOVE YOU" directed by Stephen Blaise). Earlier this year (around February 2010) LVMH closed eLuxury.com and relaunched as Nowness, an online magazine, completely independent from a content standpoint, focusing on showcasing the most creative and international content about fashion, art, culture and travel with a luxury angle (very posh and great sources of insipiration). 

Liz Claiborne Inc is the latest brand to join the publishing bandwagon with the launch of The Highlow, a magazine style site that aims to celebrate the democratization of fashion. It reads like a not-overproduced fashion blog, written by a really nice girl (Felicity Loughrey) with an easygoing voice and fashion insights. The great plus for us are the industry headlines posted under ‘the thread’. They intend to keep the conent editorially independent as their mission is to start conversation and dialogue with people, and not make it read like an ad.

These are great examples of how content creation and marketing are evolving (and blending?) to create engagement and dialog. There are many ways to do it. It all depends on the brand’s comfort level and strategy. I personally think Swide is a great example as it is not shy about self-promoting by giving fans what they want, an opportunity to see more behind the scenes – how D&G do things, what the designers like and ultimately what they think. Fans want to be part of, identify with, belong to brands and have a say. Can magazines connect with readers the same way (and how are they going to make up for these repurposed budgets)? Who will be the first in beauty to do it? I bet it will be a haircare company.

Sources: WWD.com