Red Magazine's Site to be Re-Designed
The news that Red is re-launching its site later this year with an integrated ecommerce focus marks a bold step on a road that upmarket consumer magazines have only stepped on tentatively to date.
Red’s current basic site is going to be overhauled with a range of dedicated content designed to give their readers a reason to come back on a daily basis. Content will range from features including shopping tips from Red’s panel of experts to advice on ‘What You Should Eat Tonight”. A daily deals section will also be included – a mechanic which has proved popular on social shopping sites such as Groupon
The re-design is being overseen by Digital & Brand Strategy Director Anna Jones and editor-in-chief Sam Baker. According to Jones, the new site will be unique in the market, with the new content offerings backed by “strong commercial partnerships offering exclusive deals and content for visitors”.
Publishers branded shopping channels, such as the one available on Glamour.com in association with ShopStyle, are not new. In addition, Conde Nast Traveller offers a hotel booking service on their site to convert editorial interest into commerical returns. In fact, Red already has its own dedicated shopping site with exclusive offers for readers at RedDirect.
What I believe will be different about this re-launch is that the editorial will be overtly linked with reader offers and a seamless click thru to the ecommerce channel to enable readers to easily purchase the products featured. At present, editorial recommendations tend to be accompanied with a link to the retailer’s website, but in most cases the link is to the homepage rather than to the relevant product page. Even if the consumer does find their way to the relevant part of the site, there’s no guarantee the item will be in stock.
This move is a logical step for magazine publishers looking to leverage their sites’ commercial potential. At present, most sites are aimed at deepening relationships with readers and potential readers to sell more magazines, and to capitalise on the potential for online advertising. However, as readerships either stabilise or decline, and whilst publishers wait for the reality of online advertising revenues to catch up with the potential, capitalising on the power of their editorial recommendations to drive purchases makes sense. The growth of online fashion sites such as Asos and My-wardrobe and online jewellers such as Astley Clarke demonstrates that there’s money to be made.
So why haven’t more walked more boldly down this road? I think there are 3 factors.
Firstly, if consumers see that publishers are overtly profiting from their recommendations, it may undermine the integrity of those recommendations. Readers will want tips on products that the editorial team genuinely rate, not just ones they can get exclusive deals on. Red will need to tread carefully.
Secondly, there is the fear that it could put off advertisers as competing brands are promoted. However, Red’s publishers could always dangle the carrot of combining advertising with the exclusive offer to maximise its impact and promote other complementary items from the brand.
Thirdly, it may just be that the platforms that publishers use to manage the content on their sites are simply not suited to integrated ecommerce.
For advertisers who aim at Red’s ‘thinking woman’ demographic of mid 20s to mid 40s, it looks like a good opportunity to more overtly combine their PR and advertising efforts to increase sales, both for the specific items mentioned and complementary items.
Certainly Red, with its older, affluent and, as per the latest ABCs, growing audience is well positioned to make this initiative work. What is for sure is that other publishers will be looking at the re-launched site and tracking news of its success (or otherwise) with interest.
