Town & Country’s March 2015 cover
Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta were among the advertising partners in Town & Country’s March issue to reaffirm that they are chic to the effect of being “deceptively simple.”
The 204-page issue of Hearst-owned Town & Country included advertisements from fashion’s leading luxury houses as well as fine jewelry maisons to highlight the sentiment and lifestyle of the publication’s affluent readership. Advertising partners work to cement a publication’s standing among its audience by building up the surrounding content, especially fashion coverage given March’s complement to September books.
“Now more than ever, advertisers are embracing Jay Fielden’s fully realized vision for a modern and relevant luxury lifestyle magazine,” said Jennifer Levene Bruno, vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer of Town & Country, New York. “For the fashion community, March is the critical time to drive their sales and Town & Country has proven its unparalleled ability to create consumer demand and drive retail sales.
“With European brands relying more heavily on United States sales, Town & Country is perfectly positioned to help these luxury brands meet their goals,” she said.
Town & Country has approximately 695,000 readers with an average household income of $280,786.
Simple and chic
The March edition of Town & Country opened with a handbag campaign from Louis Vuitton starring actress Michelle Williams who has appeared in a number of optimally placed efforts by the French leather goods house.
Louis Vuitton’s inside front cover ad
This was followed by Estée Lauder’s campaign for the Pure Color Envy lipstick collection. Also in the front of the book was a Bottega Veneta ad effort for both men’s and women’s apparel.
Gucci promoted its latest collection in Town & Country in the front of the book as well. Others seen included Prada, Giorgio Armani and two full-page spreads from Italian brand Salvatore Ferragamo for its women’s wear and accessories.
Salvatore Ferragamo effort
Jewelers also placed ads in the attractive front of the book. For example, watchmaker Patek Philippe, jewelers David Yurman and Harry Winston and watch brand Rolex promoted their pieces in Town & Country.
Patek Philippe campaign
These efforts continued with a Tiffany & Co. campaign supporting the Tiffany T collection. This effort was printed on thicker paper stock than the surrounding ads and was placed opposite from the magazine’s “The Front Page” section.
Tiffany’s single page ad was followed by a full spread showing a model wearing pieces from the Tiffany T collection.
Lingerie brand La Perla and lifestyle brand Ralph Lauren both interrupted the table of contents listing while Cartier and Longchamp were placed opposite the paging list.
Cartier effort next to the table of contents
Within the interior well pages of the publication advertising efforts were seen from Fendi for its timepieces, Bottega Veneta for its The Knot fragrance and a Dior fragrance sample for Miss Dior.
In addition, brands such as Graff Diamonds, Lagos, Sisley, Backes & Strauss, Bulgari and auction house Christie’s were seen in the March issue.
Christian Dior closed out the issue in an interesting way by placing efforts on the back cover of the main March edition of Town & Country as well as the first volume of Town & Country: A Most Excellent Guide, a Paris travel guide tear-out curated by the publication’s editorial team. This 16-page guide was sponsored by the Parisian atelier and acts as an homage by Town & Country for a city that has captured its imagination.
Dior also placed an inside back cover effort as well. All three efforts were for its Diorama handbag.
Dior and the Dior-sponsored Town & Country travel guide to Paris
Town & Country’s March issue featured actress and “Hollywood’s one to watch” Gugu Mbatha-Raw on its cover as well as a dedicated interview along with content such as a piece on ettiqutte, a look at this season’s best fashions and profiles on actress Tilda Swinton, socialites Marella Agnelli and Lee Radziwill.
Fashion leaders
March and September vie for fashion-savvy reader’s attention and recently, March issues have been picking up steam to properly showcase the latest spring and summer trends and upcoming styles to keep readers in the know no matter the season.
For example, Fendi and Dior were among the fashion houses promoting the season’s “game changers” in the March issue of Condé Nast-owned Tatler.
Many of the brand seen in Tatler’s front of the book for March used repetition to show off their latest collections, as readers begin to swap out fall and winter fashions for spring and summer styles. Since March editions of fashion and lifestyle publications often focus on fashion, it was a prime opportunity for Tatler’s advertising partners to use this marketing method to stand out (see story).
Also, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior were among the leading houses showing off their spring fashions in W magazine’s advertorial of the season’s “greatest hits.”
Within the 402-paged March edition of W magazine, advertising partners relied on their most current collections to get readers ready for the change of season and the warmer weather ahead. Many of the brands such as Gucci, Prada and Versace relied on repetition to elevate their campaigns in the minds of readers as they switch out their wardrobe to account for the latest trends and styles (see story).
Town & Country’s approach to advertising and content naturally fits together to appeal to the interests of its readership.
“When you have a curated and relevant advertising base, the content and the advertisers’ goals align organically,” Ms. Levene Bruno said.
“Such is the case with the first-ever Paris Guide, where Town & Country’s legacy of insider expertise aligned perfectly with Dior’s positioning as a leading Parisian fashion house,” she said.
Final Take
Jen King, lead reporter on Luxury Daily, New York