What your brand can learn from Anna Wintour
By Landor, August 2012
When you think of the fashion industry, leggy models, fast and fickle trends, and the latest “it” bag may come to mind. But when you look closely at the business of fashion (after all, it is an industry), you see that one of its leading icons uses basic branding principles to engage her consumers in innovative ways, expand her portfolio, grow ROI, and most importantly, remain relevant and differentiated in an ever-changing, copycat industry.
As you may have guessed, this leading fashion icon is Anna Wintour, the British-born editor in chief of American
Vogue who has sternly, yet gracefully, transformed the magazine into the industry standard for fashion publications, if not the voice of fashion itself. The character Carrie Bradshaw on
Sex and the City put it eloquently, “When I first moved to New York and I was totally broke, sometimes I bought
Vogue instead of dinner. I found it fed me more." This sentiment epitomizes the strength and influence of the
Vogue brand.
Anna’s journey began in 1988: The once-mighty
Vogue was losing revenue and market share to new magazine,
Elle. So the powers that be called on publishing alpha-editor Anna Wintour to helm the magazine.
1 Her unwavering vision proved the perfect strategy to establish
Vogue as the definitive voice of the fashion industry.
So what can brands learn from Anna Wintour? I’ve extracted from her story 10 key insights to ensure your brand’s success.
Insight No. 1: Consistently execute a clear vision Wintour has forged Vogue as a visionary-led brand. Her vision—trendsetting, aspirational, sophisticated, elegant, ahead of the curve, the fashion bible—is consistently executed across all consumer touchpoints, from the magazine itself to the photographers and models, the celebrities that grace each month’s cover, and online at Vogue.com. Wintour’s management style is often critiqued, think
The Devil Wears Prada, but
Vogue’s prestige is never questioned.
Brand benefit: Although
Vogue and Anna Wintour have become essentially synonymous, the
Vogue brand stands on its own. Wintour was able to implement her vision while retaining the integrity of the magazine’s legacy.
Insight No. 2: Innovate but stay true to your identity Wintour has a flair for the unconventional—she spearheaded the “high-low” fashion trend now commonplace in the industry. Her very first
Vogue cover featured a young model wearing a $10,000 jewel-encrusted T-shirt paired with a $50 pair of jeans. The mixing of high with low was born.
1 Brand benefit: This is creativity and innovation at its best.
Vogue reached an untapped demographic, the aspirational consumer, without alienating the magazine’s built-in affluent consumer base. Wintour was able to appeal to both segments without jeopardizing
Vogue’s brand heritage.
Insight No. 3: Be provocative and push boundaries
Calling a halt to the supermodel era, Wintour opted instead to feature celebrities on the cover of
Vogue.
Brand benefit: Now celebrities widely consider
Vogue’s annual September issue the most coveted magazine cover on which to appear. The biggest to date,
Vogue’s 2007 September issue weighed in at five pounds and is the subject of a documentary (appropriately entitled
The September Issue), which chronicles the blood, sweat, tears, and sequins that went into creating it.
1 Insight No. 4: Have purpose
Wintour isn’t just about glitz and glam, she also gives back to the community, and she knows
Vogue’s brand should stand for something greater than how to dress, where to shop, where to travel, what to read, where to eat, and with whom to associate.
Brand benefit: Wintour tied
Vogue’s brand purpose to a public platform by helping raise over $50 million for charity through her fundraiser with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume department. In 2009, she famously helped found Fashion’s Night Out as a way to stimulate New York City’s economy following the financial crisis, an event that has since gone global.
1 Insight No. 5: Define the curve Wintour has used her influential position to be an evangelist for young and emerging designers, playing an integral role in launching the careers of Marc Jacobs and the late Alexander McQueen.
Brand benefit: Thanks to Wintour, scouting the new and next big thing is an industry standard, demonstrated by events such as GenArt and fashion shows like Bravo’s
Project Runway and NBC’s
Fashion Star. “New” and “next” are now highly sought-after brand attributes in an industry that previously heralded convention and tradition. It has become a coveted rite of passage for emerging designers to be featured in
Vogue.
To continue reading
What your brand can learn from Anna Wintour,
visit Landor.com 1 “Anna Wintour biography,” Bio, http://www.biography.com/people/anna-wintour-214147?page=1 (accessed 2 August 2012).