Town & Country September 2014 cover
Dior, Gucci and Armani were among the fashion brands showcasing their ties to Hollywood in Hearst-owned lifestyle publication Town & Country’s September issue.
Town & Country’s “The L.A. Issue” focuses on the West coast city, with features centered on celebrities and the town itself. This Tinseltown theme helps Town & Country differentiate from other fashion-focused issues on newsstands, making the fall apparel campaigns pop within celebrity content.
“Los Angeles is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world,” said Jennifer Levene Bruno, publisher and chief revenue officer at Town & Country, New York. “Its rare mix of fashion, food, film, music and art makes it the ideal backdrop to show off the rich, vibrant luxury advertising in the issue.
“In addition to a four page cover gatefold from Dior, three consecutive spreads for Tiffany & Co., a three page unit from Carolina Herrera and scent strips from Giorgio Armani and Chloé, the issue also includes new business from Burberry, Nancy Gonzalez, Joie, Cadillac, Georg Jensen, Cle de Peau, Rolex, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chopard.
“It’s clear that our LA Portfolio resonated with our advertisers.”
Town & Country’s September issue advertising page count was up 25 percent year-over-year. The magazine has approximately 695,000 readers with an average household income of $280,786.
Famous faces
Dior opened the issue with a fold-out ad for its fall fashions, which shows a group of women lounging in a New York sitting room (see story). Following Dior’s effort was Hermès’ fall Metamorphosis campaign, which shows a woman with horses, referencing the brand’s logo.
Estée Lauder was the first beauty marketer, with an ad for its Advanced Night Repair Eye skincare.
Louis Vuitton ran two double-page ads for its Series 1 campaign, which features the work of three different photographers. After that, Bottega Veneta, Chanel and Giorgio Armani highlighted their fall collections.
Lancôme used the Hollywood-themed issue as a platform for its Kate Winslet-fronted campaign for its Rénergie Lift Multi-Action moisturizer.
Ferragamo and Donna Karan appeared before Tiffany & Co.’s six-page effort for its new Tiffany T collection, the first line designed by new creative director Francesca Amfitheatrof.
Valentino and Tod’s featured apparel and footwear, with Valentino spreading word about its new Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York.
Patek Philippe was the first watchmaker, celebrating its 175th anniversary with a message from its president Thierry Stern, which teases the unique timepiece being created to mark the milestone.
Kate Winslet was also the chosen face for Longines’ effort for its Conquest Classic watch.
Moncler rounded out the luxury fashion advertising before the content pages, with a multi-armed man in a bright orange parka.
To get notice, Longchamp appeared with a handbag ad across from the first table of contents page. Ralph Lauren Collection ran a placement between the directories.
Rolex placed an ad opposite the other table of contents page for its Oyster Perpetual Datejust, showcasing its position in equestrian sports with its Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.
Next British retailer Asprey showed off its jewelry and its global locations.
On the opposite page from Town & Country’s feature about its Web site and social accounts, Burberry featured its hand-painted fall handbags. Audemars Piguet followed with an ad for its women’s Le Brassus timepiece.
Carolina Herrera appeared next to the editor’s letter with a three-page campaign showing models reflected in mirrors.
In between the masthead pages, Nancy Gonzales showed off the range of colors of her crocodile handbags. Following the second masthead page, Giorgio Armani ran a fragrance strip for its Sí scent, with spokesmodel Cate Blanchett.
Van Cleef & Arpels looked to the contributor pages to promote its Perlée collection, equating them to pieces of fruit.
Within the front of the book were a mix of jewelry, beauty and home furnishings ads, with efforts from Restoration Hardware, Graff Diamonds, Marco Bicego and Chantecaille. In the early content pages, Chloé highlighted its eponymous perfume with a fragrance strip.
Bulgari ran a jewelry ad against the splash page for Town & Country’s “Bright Things” section, as well as another single-page ad in the first pages of the section.
Representing the mix inside the issue, Chopard took the inside back cover for its Imperiale collection, while Gucci placed its ad on the back cover.
Keeping to the L.A. theme, featured content included a portfolio of Angelenos to watch in fashion, food, art and music, a cover profile of Naomi Watts and a tribute to Hollywood from Mel Brooks.
“Town & Country is the longest-running continually published general interest magazine in the U.S., which gives us the unique opportunity to cover the best that the world has to offer across multiple categories, including fashion, jewelry, food, travel, art and design,” Ms. Bruno said.
“We tapped Liz Goldwyn, who bridges old Hollywood glamour with new L.A. cool, to guest edit this issue because we knew she’d bring our readers a side of Hollywood that they never get to see – the true insiders who are shaping the cultural scene,” she said. “Of course, the fabulous fall fashion you look for in a September issue is represented throughout the magazine and the 44 page portfolio – Mel Brooks wears Ralph Lauren and Rosson Crow wears Miu Miu – so it is presented in the Town & Country style.”
Marketing mix
Last year’s September issue from Town & Country was more focused on fashion content.
Bulgari, Chanel skincare and Gemfields advertisements were found among the fall fashion advertisements in the September issue of Hearst’s Town & Country to round out the typically fashion-focused issue.
Fall 2013 fashion campaigns were found in the front of the 204-paged issue, but taper off within the featured content where the ads switched over to beauty and jewelry ads. The focus on beauty and jewelry was likely used to add support to content pages with fashion trends and topics (see story).
Similarly, this year’s issue features fashion ads primarily in the front pages to draw attention to the new campaigns.
Town & Country often chooses to showcase fashionable personalities rather than lead with runway collections for its fall issue content.
Advertisers including Christian Dior, Hermès, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, Tod’s, Michael Kors and Fendi used the September issue of Town & Country to appeal to a completely affluent audience in a lifestyle element.
The September issue was up 7 percent year over year, correlating to the 10 percent year-to-date increase. Marketers who are either new or increased their presence included a plethora of fashion, beauty, jewelry and auto brands (see story).
Town & Country has seen growth in ad pages throughout this year.
“We’re proud to report that ad paging is up 23 percent January to September year-over-year, and the September issue is up 25 percent year-over-year, the largest September issue since 2008,” Ms. Bruno said. “Plus, ad page growth has seen double digit gains for the past seven consecutive months, so I’m really happy with the positive momentum we’ve built this year.”
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York