December, 2012 – This article from Luxury Daily discusses luxury marketers advertising in Town & Country magazine to entice affluent post-holiday shopping. (http://www.luxurydaily.com/louis-vuitton-rolex-target-affluent-post-holiday-shoppers-via-town-country/)
By Erin Shea
Louis Vuitton, Rolex and other luxury marketers are targeting affluent post-holiday shoppers in the January issue of Hearst’s Town & Country magazine.
The 124-page magazine boasts advertisements from various luxury marketers such as Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Cartier, Chanel, Graff, Roberto Coin and Coomi. The January issue also features editorial content on Gloria Vanderbilt, after-hour parties at the White House and Town & Country’s beach guide.
“Luxury marketers that advertise in Town & Country benefit by reaching upper-income households that can afford its products by being in an editorial and advertising environment that bestows a certain credibility and prestige to the brand being advertised†said Ron Kurtz, president of American Affluence Research Center, Atlanta.
“The January issue is a good time to advertise products that might be purchased by using gift cards that were received for the holidays,†he said.
Mr. Kurtz is not affiliated with Town & Country, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Town & Country did not respond by press deadline.
Winter blues
The Town & Country January issue could be seen as an extra boost of holiday advertisements for some luxury marketers. A Rolex ad featuring Roger Federer has the inside cover page. Ads from Roberto Coin, Louis Vuitton’s L’Invitation au Voyage, Cartier’s Winter Tale and Neiman Marcus all take the front-of-book placements. Jewelry brands such as Graff and Gilan take up ads next to front of book editorial articles.
The editorial content in the January issue features articles on the untold story of Gloria Vanderbilt, a fashion spread of images of fur coats, Presidents’ parties at the White House, a profile of Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens, Max Mara and Town & Country’s beach guide.
Coomi takes the inside of the back cover, while a Chanel jewelry ad featuring the Camélia Brodé Watch in white gold and diamonds is on the back cover.
Town & Country magazine boasts a large affluent audience and serves almost as a lookbook for luxury marketers.
The magazine claims a total circulation rate base of 695,000. Women make up 69 percent of the reader base, while men make up 31 percent, per Hearst.
The magazine’s audience has an average household income of $280,786 and a median house hold income of $159,194.
“The audience of Town & Country is upper-income households, while the magazine also targets people interested in a lifestyle of traditional good taste in fashion, travel and in the home,†Mr. Kurtz said.
Holiday holdout
January issues of magazines typically can be sources of influence for late-holiday shoppers or shoppers after the holidays.
Luxury marketers such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Rolex, Saint Laurent Paris and Cartier are continuing to push for holiday and post-holiday sales among the pages of the comedy-themed January issue of Condé Nast’s Vanity Fair.
The 120-page issue featured quite a few two-page ads from luxury marketers and a Windows 8 booklet insert. Many of the ads in this issue are part of larger luxury-brand campaigns and are giving marketers a final push at the end of the holiday season.
Many of the luxury marketers that took out ads in the January issue of Town & Country also took out ads in the December issue.
Luxury marketers such as Chanel, Hermès, Estée Lauder, David Yurman, Dior and Rolex targeted the affluent readers of Hearst’s Town & Country magazine with two-page advertisement spreads in the 168-page December issue.
The two-page ads covered a variety of products including jewelry, apparel, beauty and fragrances. Most of the advertisements feature women’s products since women make up the majority of Town & Country’s audience.
Since the January issue typically is mailed out before the start of the month, it can be looked at as a last-chance for holiday marketing.
“The January issue of a monthly magazine like Town & Country is usually mailed in time to be received before Christmas, which means it could still influence holiday gift purchases,†Mr. Kurtz said.