Jumping off the page: How video and events are helping Condé Nast evolve – as seen in Vogue World Paris
From Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid in Hermes on horseback, to a performance by Bad Bunny and eye-catching appearances by Serena Williams and Katy Perry, the spectacular Vogue World: Paris event at Place Vendôme was the sort of party we’d all like to be invited to. And thanks to some clever thinking by the fashion bible, we all were.
With Vogue livestreaming its entire annual event, viewers could catch the extraordinary gathering – featuring over 500 athletes, performers and models celebrating 100 years of French fashion a month before Paris hosts the Olympic Games – by going onto the brand’s websites worldwide, as well as on YouTube and the Vogue Runway app.
Just how serious Vogue took the livestream can be gauged by the team involved – it was produced by Den of Thieves, directed by Sam Wrench, the person behind Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film, and hosted by supermodel Cara Delevingne.
Livestreaming Vogue World: Paris is the sort of off-the-beaten-runway thinking that has helped Condé Nast, who publishes the venerable fashion magazine, address a slide in revenues over the last few years.
In March, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch told Axios the media group posted flat revenue gains year-over-year in 2023. Losses in advertising, mostly print, were offset by growth in subscriptions, e-commerce and event businesses.
The company grew its consumer revenue 7%, while revenue from events was up 19% year-on-year. New digital subscription starts were up 100% last year and e-commerce up 39% year-on-year.
While Condé Nast fell somewhat short for the goals it set for itself, the figures are still good news for a group which last year saw a 20% slump in sales of its glossy magazines. Condé Nast in November announced it would lay off roughly 5% of its staff while implementing a new structure for the company’s top-line leadership across editorial content, audience development, branded content and video.
According to Lynch, moving to a place where Condé Nast is consistently breaking even has helped it invest in growth areas, particular in digital, with these investments helping to drive a more sustainable business long-term.
From page to screen
Condé Nast’s determination to extend the influence of its most iconic magazine brands far beyond its glossy pages was underlined in May this year at its annual NewFront presentation at Highline Stages in New York.
At the event – which showcased the brand’s global video network and offerings that span red carpet events, fashion, news, technology, lifestyle and sport – plans were unveiled to expand live programming, create 100 new pilots and return 235 original digital video series.
“At Condé Nast, we don’t just cover major moments of culture, our iconic brands are building the culture itself,” said Pam Drucker Mann, Condé Nast’s Global Chief Revenue Officer and President, US Revenue & International.
“Our video content generated more than 20 billion views last year alone, and this year we are expanding our reach with new franchises, additional distribution channels, and more live programming content than ever before.”
Anna Wintour, Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast, and Global Editorial Director at Vogue added: “I learned a long time ago that being unified is how you get results. And that is why I’m thrilled that we’ve merged our editorial and video teams. It means we can be more creative and flexible and do work that speaks strongly to who we are.”
The figures surrounding Condé Nast’s live programming are remarkable. Last year, the content generated from Vogue’s exclusive coverage of the Met Gala, which included a record-breaking 1.5 billion global video views across platforms, resulted in nearly 600% more consumer time spent than an average day on the internet – double the usual time spent with celebrity style content than any other day in 2023.
In addition to Vogue World, Condé Nast’s live programming from its cultural calendar include Glamour’s Women of the Year, GQ’s Men of the Year, and Vanity Fair’s coverage of the Oscars, which increased its viewership by 28% in 2024 with live minutes viewed up 190% from the previous year.
Condé Nast reached 20.9 billion video views in 2023 across all platforms, up 41% over the prior year. Brands have over 86.7 million total YouTube subscribers, up 12% from 2023 – the audience spending over 16.8 million hours per month on the platform consuming Condé Nast content.
Strutting into the future
Laying out its plans for the rest of 2024 and into 2025, Condé Nast announced exciting new video programming across four content pillars – live/red carpet, sports, news and lifestyle.
Some of the new video offerings include a Wired vertical video-led editorial strategy and global newsroom that will span from technology and politics to culture and gear, as well as an expansion of Vogue World and the Met Gala, with the goal of extending the reach of these moments beyond their livestreams.
When it comes to sports, GQ Sports will include a new slate of video programming and a collaboration with ESPN to host the first-ever NBA Finals watch party livestream. GQ will also create an original video series made with ESPN and Formula 1.
Driving the video strategy is Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE), a global film and television production and digital studio division that creates and distribute content in all formats and across all platforms.
CNE produces more than 4,000 videos a year (documentaries, animation, celebrities, and tutorials) distributed on around 60 platforms and 2,300 websites.
“At Condé Nast the video strategy is one of the most important and all IP content depends on it, and we are very clear about one thing, our video inventory is only marketed by us, so the revenues are quite significant,” Javier Esteban, Managing Director of Condé Nast LATAM told WAN-IFRA earlier this year.
“Whether it’s pre-roll, mid-roll or branded content, we offer advertisers the properties we generate for social media.”
Taking the inside lane
Condé Nast’s efforts to expand the influence of its magazines will get a boost in July when the Paris Olympics kicks off. And there have already been signs that the coverage across its platforms will be fresh and interesting.
For instance, on the Vogue website you’ll find a story about the running kit Team USA will be wearing at the Games – focusing on the controversy caused by Nike’s high-cut female shorts.
The site not only looks at the history of running shorts but also explores whether there is an inherent sexism in athletic wear. Mixing sport, fashion, social and political issues, it sets the tone for what should be some gold-standard reporting from a media group determined to cast its net as wide as possible.
