Mega-Vogue's growth linked to shopping site

The September issue of Vogue has always seemed as though it should come with its own set of wheels; this September's issue is its biggest ever, with 727 advertising pages, proclaiming itself "extra, extra large".

The growth in pages, according to a story in the New York Times, seems to have been achieved by closely linking print advertising with ShopVogue.TV, a potent form of "added value" which offers links so viewers can purchase products featured in the print ads, and shows videos of runway shows, fashion ad campaigns. Each advertiser who bought a national page qualified for inclusion on the site.

For Vogue, which is owned by the Condé Nast Publications unit of Advance Publications, the channel is a major push into the world of fashion-related video entertainment; the channel will start with more than 240 minutes of original online video content.

“America seems to be very interested in entertainment about fashion,” said Thomas A. Florio, publishing director of Vogue.

ShopVogue.TV is not technically a retail site; the “shop” function allows visitors to click through to the Web sites of the advertisers or their online merchant partners. Vogue does not take a cut of any of the sales made through its site. (Condé Nast, which is privately held, does not disclose its finances and declined to say how much was spent on this campaign.)

Vogue expects to draw about half a million visitors to the channel in the first few months, or first “season.” The channel will be advertised on fashion Web sites, on the sides of 270 Manhattan buses, and, of course, in the print pages of September Vogue.