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Condé Nast

A profitable new fashion industry publication for Condé Nast

In its search for new revenue streams and audiences in the fashion industry, how could Condé Nast build a new b2b publication for Vogue – without exposing the world’s most iconic fashion magazine?

Our approach

We used a fake brand to test and iterate ideas with industry professionals. Over six months, we worked with a fast-growing editorial team, recruited thousands of subscribers and built high customer responsiveness. We developed a product that was valuable and differentiated enough to take to market. Vogue Business was approved, funded and launched as a newsletter-first product.

Condé Nast International asked us to help create and launch a new Vogue publication aimed at professionals working in the world of fashion, but without risking the Vogue brand. We spoke to dozens of industry professionals to understand their motivations and needs, and turned these insights into a series of experiments using Facebook and other channels.

Under a disposable brand, we advertised business news services that focused on the specific goals and motivations we’d heard from customers. In less than a week, we were able to validate and prioritise the themes.

Over the next six months, we worked with a fast-growing editorial team to recruit thousands of subscribers for Perspective, another temporary brand that we created so we could validate ideas without exposing Vogue. 

This period of under-the-radar work built a high customer responsiveness that is unusual in large media companies. We developed a product that was valuable and differentiated enough to take to market. Vogue Business was approved, funded and launched as a newsletter-first product. 

Condé Nast
Condé Nast logo

The impact

Our work led to the successful global launch of Vogue Business, gaining a million fashion industry subscribers in 50 countries in less than two years, operating in multiple markets, reaching a million professionals on Chinese social media and becoming a profitable business for Condé Nast.

1m
newsletter subscribers
1m
Chinese followers

Toby de Belder, Executive Director

Contact Toby at toby.debelder@wearemagnetic.com to discuss how we can help you answer big questions and design a better future for your business, your people and the planet.

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