Condé Nast Britain has launched its first standalone iPad app with the annual GQ Watch supplement this month.
The “essential guide to the world of watches” comes in an interactive digital format complete with special animated cover, enhanced editorial content and media rich ads. It was designed in-house at GQ and is also the first high definition app for the company.
Meanwhile, the main November issue of GQ is a dedicated James Bond special. It marks the 50th anniversary of the franchise and this month’s release of Skyfall.
In a press release for the launch of its autumn/winter 2012/13 ad campaign back in July, Levi’s said it would be revealing the “first-ever shoppable brand magazine” on social app Flipboard. Turns out, it’s finally here…
Referred to as a “social catalogue”, the initiative sees full-page spreads of the denim brand’s Go Forth campaign in nine publications already using the iPhone, iPad and Android platform. In style with the nature of the app, these ads then open to a magazine-like entity that pulls in content from across the Levi’s repertoire. The stories and images it’s sharing on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Google Plus for instance, as well as the videos on its YouTube page, and the product from its new collection, which can be both shopped (in-app) and shared with friends.
“Using the social underpinnings of Flipboard to create a magazine for individual brands is a great new way for advertisers to connect with Flipboard readers,” said Christine Cook, head of revenue at Flipboard. “For Levi’s they are bringing their beautiful, emotional ads to the specific publications they already know and love and expanding the experience using the social media content they are already creating. There’s very little work on the advertisers’ side, making Flipboard a simple way to reach the millions of people reading on mobile devices.”
The nine publications featuring the ads between now and October 31, 2012, are Vanity Fair, Glamour, Details, Elle, Marie Claire, Esquire, ESPN, Fast Company and Rolling Stone.
As reported by AdAge: “Flipboard has long promised to provide publishers with magazine-like advertising that takes advantage of the capabilities of tablets and smartphones.” With its now 20m users, and 3bn monthly “flips” (or page turns), it’s now doing so with integrated m-commerce too. Expect to see more…
Included below too is the most recent Go Forth film from Levi’s, a gutsy call for people who get dressed each morning with purpose.
Forget playing dress-up, forget virtual shopping malls, forget anything too girly or flirty, a new mobile game called Fashion Hazard has just hit the app store from Condé Nast that’s all about action.
Set on the catwalks of New York, London, Milan and Paris, it requires players to swipe, tilt and tap their way through all manner of obstacles to collect virtual currency, known as “bling”.
Competing to begin with as a naïve model called Ellie, there is everything from hissing snakes (a not-so-subtle metaphor for fashion industry types, says AdWeek) and retro stereos to contend with, not to mention the occasional can of red paint as though straight from a live PETA demonstration. As you progress, a more experienced model becomes available to play as.
“Begin as a model new to the world of high fashion and at the bottom of Fashion Week’s totem pole. Make a runway round-trip before the clock runs out without tripping, losing balance, or taking the ultimate spill,” reads the write-up.
“From New York through Europe, the rewards get bigger, the stakes get higher and staying on top gets harder. Stay in time, stay in line, stay in season…or become a Fashion Hazard.”
The idea for the game came from Juliana Stock, Condé Nast’s senior director of business and product development for its Interactive Product Group (IPG), whose 11-year-old daughter enjoys action games such as Temple Run).
“When we started to look at action and adventure with her interests in mind, which are girly, we didn’t find any,” she explained. “There was a need in the market to create an action game that was challenging, and yet still feminine and visually appealing to this demographic.”
It is currently available for the iPhone and iPad with an Android version due to follow, and costs 99c in the app store.
It also provides options for additional purchases including wallpaper and ringtones, suggesting future advertising opportunities could follow. It launches with a cross-promotional initiative with Frenzoo, developer of the Me Girl series.
The edition will be built around a “Read, Shop, Share” proposition, incorporating bespoke interactive elements such as video, directly shoppable editorial pages, and social media integration.
Abby Carvosso, managing director of the lifestyle magazines division at parent company Bauer Media, said: “Grazia has always been brave, bold and innovative and the new iPad edition continues that ethos. Our influence comes from understanding what intelligent women are thinking, doing and wanting. We know they buy products recommended by Grazia, so the new iPad edition offers them the ease and simplicity to buy a product as soon as they see it in our pages.”
The move is part of parent company Bauer Media’s on-going multi-channel growth strategy; the aim to “deliver content whenever, wherever and however the reader chooses”.
Grazia is also announcing the mobile optimisation of GraziaDaily.co.uk from autumn 2012.
We all know video has become a massive part of fashion marketing, but what’s a touch newer is movie-style trailers to preview what’s on offer from the industry.
Mashable recently reported on one example from Esquire magazine to showcase a forthcoming issue, so too was there another from Burberry ahead of its spring/summer 2012 show. And now, British Vogue has released one to celebrate the fact its iPad app has just gone monthly.
Featuring exclusive video footage of cover star Karlie Kloss supplied by Nick Knight, and rotating imagery by Nice Images, it demonstrates the best of what’s included in the title’s September ‘International Collections’ issue (as above).
The move to monthly digital editions for Vogue follows an initial one-off launch with its December 2010 issue, and again for June and December 2011. The new offering includes a full version of the print edition alongside additional interactive content. Included in this first issue, now available to download from Newsstand on the App store, are 90 editorial fashion pages, as well as behind-the-scenes videos and images of models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Georgia May Jagger on their Olympics shoot.
Editor Alexandra Shulman, said: “This month is the biggest international collections issue of Vogue I have produced in 20 years as editor. Simultaneously we launch the new British Vogue app for iPad, now available monthly for the first time, which will enable you to experience the magazine digitally and allows us to bring some of its print features to life. Nick Knight’s shoot ‘Midas Touch’ is an excellent example of how the magazine and app can work together. It brings a new depth and enjoyment to the images you will see in these pages.”
There are also three brands who have launched media rich enhancements on their ads in the iPad issue, including Anya Hindmarch, Velvet and The Australian Wool Industry. “They are smart, stylish and show great originality,” said Rachel Reavley, associate publisher of the magazine.
Louis Vuitton has launched an iPad application based on its book, Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks.
Referred to as “a wonderful breakaway through the most beautiful creations of the Maison”, it details 100 pieces of luggage from 1854 to present day, and reveals the adventures of many of the owners.
Included are such treasures as the bed-trunk made for the explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, trunks for the illusionist Harry Houdini or the fashion designer Paul Poiret, the suitcase for Queen Elizabeth II, the vanity case for Sharon Stone, and the artist’s trunk for Takashi Murakami.
The app features more than 1,000 illustrations and unpublished documents, as well as 40 videos and sound clips, and 360-degree views of 10 of the most special trunks. It was designed in partnership with Les Editions de La Martinière and also comes available in four languages: French, English, Mandarin and Japanese.
Check out the teaser video above, and more pics below:
The newspaper’s Apps List 2012, the first section of which was published on January 22, features 250 of the best apps (the second 250 will follow on January 29), according to a team of experienced reviewers aided by several experts in specialist fields.
New York Magazine’s The Cut and Vice lead in the fashion space, alongside other entries across culture, entertainment, sport, food, travel, health and science.
Meanwhile, British Vogue has today announced the launch of its Daily News app, in association with Vertu. Available on the iPhone and Blackberry and soon on Android and Windows 7, it offers news updates throughout the day, backstage access, insider interviews, and party pictures.
“The Daily News on Vogue.com has become one of the strongest elements of the site over the last 15 years, bringing the latest updates and the most inspirational, stylish stories into the limelight throughout the day every day,” says Vogue.com editor, Dolly Jones.
“Whether you’re interested in the latest on the YSL vs. Louboutin court battle; the best new fashion labels; strongest trends; or just want to know which supermodel is wearing what and where every day, we offer the latest and most trusted fashion news resource. The fact that our readers can now read it on their phones will be a fantastic advantage.”
The UK’s Grazia magazine is set to release an edition for the iPad this autumn.
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