TeenVogue
OSP: Teen Vogue - background and textual
Our first Online, Social and Participatory CSP is Teen Vogue - the former print magazine turned online sensation.
25 Marks… this will be a big one!
Teen Vogue has generated a huge amount of coverage (and attracted a significant audience) by re-positioning the magazine as a socially conscious political hub for young women.
Notes from the lesson
Teen Vogue: background
Teen Vogue was launched in 2003 as a print magazine ‘little sister’ title to US Vogue. It focused on fashion and celebrity and was a conventional magazine aimed at teenage girls.
In 2015, in response to declining sales, the magazine cut back its print distribution and focused on digital content. After single-copy sales dropped 50% in the first six months of 2016 alone, the magazine went quarterly (four issues a year) before announcing the closure of the print magazine completely in November 2017.
Online growth
Led by digital director Phillip Picardi, the Teen Vogue website grew substantially as the print magazine declined.
Between January 2016 and 2017, Teen Vogue’s online traffic rocketed from 2.9m US visitors to 7.9m. The magazine then surpassed 10m unique users later in 2017. In addition, the magazine has 6m Facebook likes, 3.5m Twitter followers and a huge following on Snapchat.
Evolution and activism
The spectacular digital growth of Teen Vogue has been credited to the editor Elaine Welteroth and digital guru Picardi leading the magazine in a radically different direction to traditional teenage magazines.
Focusing on politics, activism and feminism, the magazine has developed a reputation for high-quality journalism while recruiting millions of socially-conscious, educated readers.
'Woke'
Teen Vogue considers itself a ‘woke’ brand.
Woke definition: a political term of African American origin that refers to an awareness of issues concerning social justice.
This means Teen Vogue covers issues of politics, racism and gender identity… and amazingly has expanded the appeal and reach of the brand while doing do.
Teen Vogue: background reading and textual analysis blog tasks
Work through the following tasks to complete your first case study on Teen Vogue.
Teen Vogue: background reading
1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?
- The article in question was an impassioned op-ed by 25-year-old Lauren Duca, a Teen Vogue contributing editor and award-winning writer for the likes of Vice and the New Yorker. Duca’s piece more than touched a nerve. With 1.3m hits and counting, it made an overnight sensation of its writer and marked what 29-year-old Teen Vogue editor Elaine Welteroth describes as a “watershed moment” in a gradual yet radical evolution of the title over the past 18 months.
- "Is Donald trump gaslighting America"
2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?
- Launched in 2004 as a little sister to US Vogue, Teen Vogue used to focus on the standard cocktail of fashion must-haves and celebrity worship.
- e.g A classic coverline from a 2005 edition was How To Get Perfect Party Hair
3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?
- But beginning with the August 2015 issue, the team, including then beauty editor Welteroth, engineered a shift.
- That issue featured three unknown black models on the cover, seemingly breaking all the rules (that you should have a famous person; and that having no Caucasian faces on the cover is a commercial risk).
4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?
- This morning’s stories (the team publishes between 50 and 70 a day) present a typically mixed bag of fashion, entertainment and current affairs.
5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?
- “I thought it was really important to talk about reproductive rights, gender. To dig into politics and the news cycle. Basically, by omission, we were kind of assuming that she’s not interested.”
6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?
- “Our sweet spot is 18-24,” she tells me. Also describing her readership as “genderless”, she explains that “it’s more about a sensibility. This is somebody who is sophisticated, conscious. We say ‘woke’ here
- The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the word “woke”, a slang term, as “a byword for social awareness.”
7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?
- Identity is big. We want to help make them feel better about themselves, whether that’s giving beauty tips, or empowering them with political information to have smarter conversations and feel they can stand up for themselves"
- Career advice “is an evergreen topic”
- “young people are craving something real, craving authenticity”.
8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?
- She believes the internet has created an “accountability culture”, where the relationship with readers is closer and more transparent, and says brands have had to respond to that.
9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?
- The recent presidential election brought to the surface a lot of important issues that weren’t getting as much attention as they should have: women’s rights, LGBTQ community rights, immigration.
10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?
Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles
Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of the Teen Vogue website and read notable Teen Vogue articles to refer to in exam answers.
Homepage analysis
Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:
1) What key website conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?
- Logo placement
- main navigation
- content hierarchy
- using a grid
- link styling
- buttons
- colours
2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?
- simplistic design that is reminiscent of the "teen vogue" logo + colour palette
- large, eye catching pictures to draw attention to the articles
- titles of articles in bold and large font
- includes option to sign up for a newsletter
3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?
- doesn't advertise other products, but does promote their own social media
4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?
- news & politics
- fashion
- beauty
- wellness
- lifestyle
- entertainment
- summit
- prom
- informs readers of the different topics of interest at teen vogue
- shows that they are aware of social interests, and are aware of their interests of their demographic
5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?
- 27 articles in total
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?
- news
- lifestyle
- campus life
- decorating ideas
- tech
2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.
- each article has a corresponding link, picture and journalist
- larger pictures used to draw reader to article, alongside short, concise titles
3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?
- simplistic design that is reminiscent of the "teen vogue" logo + colour palette
- random order to articles
- short & concise
4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?
- 18-24 year olds
- focus on the interests of students, and what they'd like to read about
- centred around the mentality of young people
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – why do they fit the Teen Vogue brand?
- "Here's why clothing sizes are inconsistent" - on brand, focused around retail and fashion
- "BTS were the most-tweeted-about celebrities in 2018, because of course they were" - relates to the entertainment aspect of teen vogue, and keeps up with trends in society celeb life
- "this college student's roommate covered her entire room in holiday wrapping paper"- to do with entertainment, brings joy and humour to readers
Five key articles
Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below for EACH feature.
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
- De Elizabeth: Netflix stars open up about representation and strong female leads
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
- the use of quotes
- celebrity opinions- eg OITNB
- talk about the effect the media can have on the reader
- videos
3) Why is this article significant?
- addresses modern day issues/ topics
- talks about female empowerment
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
- gives celeb opinions
- veers away from typical fashion, beauty orientated articles
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
- Lauren Duca, Trump's negative effect on USA
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
- the choice of words used to create a specific viewpoint
- the use of facts and evidence to support the viewpoint
- Todorov- suggests that the USA is in a state of Disequilibrium
3) Why is this article significant?
- voices the popular opinions of the public, and supports it
- addresses issues openly, that others won't
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
- reflection of current, modern views of teen vogue: politics...
- reflection of the opinions of the demographic
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
- Alexis Manrodt, new face of teen activism
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
- use of quotes and evidence to reinforce opinions/ideas
- talks about prevalent issues to engage the demographic
3) Why is this article significant?
- talks about serious topics that affect everyone
- encourages participation in teens
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
- encourages the demographic to engage in their own activism
- take control of their lives, find new ideologies to support
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
3) Why is this article significant?
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
- Samantha Riedel
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
3) Why is this article significant?
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
Industry is the final key concept to address in this in-depth study. It's important to remember that the exam question could cover anything from how Teen Vogue makes money to what attracts audiences to their social media pages. This means we need comprehensive knowledge across the board.
Notes from the lesson
Industry: Conde Nast
Teen Vogue is owned and published by Condé Nast, an American media organisation that publishes around 20 magazines including Vogue, GQ and Wired. The company targets a wide range of different audiences – 164 million consumers across its brands.
In March 2018, Condé Nast announced the launch of Influencer Platform Next Gen, a digital campaign that links advertisers and content creation. The goal is to “connect to a new generation of audience”.
Income sources
Teen Vogue’s main source of income is through selling advertising space online – adverts that are targeted using browsing history.
However, they also monetise their customer data and loyalty, encouraging readers to register online for updates, offers and access to the ‘Insider’ area of the website. This data can then be sold to other companies or used to attract ‘advertorial’ or sponsored content.
Teen Vogue also makes money through YouTube with plenty of 1m+ views on their video content. This is an example of digital convergence – a traditionally print-based product moving into multimedia and accessible on one device.
Teen Vogue: fashion industry player
Although Teen Vogue has been creating headlines for its political content in recent years, it is also an important part of the fashion industry. Both editorial content and advertising is designed to create a strong desire in their audience for products featured. This links to Condé Nast’s role as a major media company interested in maximising profit.
Some argue that Teen Vogue’s more diverse coverage offers a form of public service through its political coverage. But are features criticising capitalism hypocritical when the brand is owned by a media giant like Condé Nast?
Teen Vogue: Industry and social media blog tasks
Create a new blogpost called 'Teen Vogue Industry and social media' and work through the following tasks to complete the final aspects of your Teen Vogue case study:
Industry: Condé Nast
1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year?
- Esquire
- GQ
- Vogue
2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income?
- Advertising
- social Media eg Youtube
3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams?
- using social media
- being online only
4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry?
- sponsored content= money
- youtube
- it poses as an article so its looks more trustworthy
5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit?
- Public service media- provides entertainment & education
- clicks & profit- needs it to survive to can advertise on other forms of media
Closure of print edition research
Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below:
1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”?
- they have 6 million facebook likes, huge following on snapchat, 3.3 million twitter followers
- synergy, conversion, multi-platform
2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?
- articles target their demographic and encourages the user to keep clicking
3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine?
- Thursday morning’s news of Teen Vogue‘s print closure was further confirmation that the world is rejecting the mainstream media’s identity politics and Hollywood liberalism.
- will modernise and continue to calibrate
4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it?
- cant be a magazine without actually having a magazine
5) How do online-only publications make money?
- advertising
6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z?
- print Is very difficult to sustain
- naturally pushed to being online
- prensky- digital natives want it fast, free...
7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for?
- lavish spending - wasteful money, buying stupid things
- rich, glossy magazines
8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much?
- $100 million
9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach.
- traffic to TeenVogue.com has surged from around 2 million monthly visitors to nearly 9 million (editors)
- Teen Vogue from 2 million to 10 million a month (paper to online)
10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design.
- "Teen Vogue has experienced tremendous audience growth across its digital, social and video platforms this past year. We are aggressively investing in the brand and all of its consumer touchpoints,” read a Condé Nast statement addressing the magazine’s print closure.
- young female audience prefers to consume articles on mobile devices and via social media rather than in print magazines
Social media analysis
Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence:
1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have?
- 3.3 Million
2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website?
- it talks about everything
3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait?
- use hashtags and emojis
- headlines used to create specific ideology
4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images?
- uses both images and videos for articles
5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have?
- 5.9 millions followers, 10,000-200,000 likes
6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed?
- stories about people, politics, celebs, fashion, makeup
7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand?
- summits and meet ups
8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram?
- 2.4 Million
9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels?
- just picture not news articles
10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).
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