At this week’s Launchmetrics Performance Summit, we joined a fascinating fireside chat featuring Alison Bringé, Chief Marketing Officer at Launchmetrics, in conversation with Paul Nesbitt, Global Vice President of Research and Insight at Condé Nast, where they discussed the crucial role that innovative legacy publishers play in today’s brand landscape.
The conversation highlighted how the digital age has reshaped consumer behaviours, with the majority now online, making publishers indispensable for brands aiming to maintain relevance and drive engagement.
Nesbitt emphasised that Condé Nast’s success stems from three key areas: their portfolio of globally recognised and influential brands, their ability to forge deep, authentic connections with audiences, and their long-standing tradition of innovation and creativity. He noted that Condé Nast’s brands amplify stories across numerous markets and languages on multiple platforms. They leverage their understanding of audience needs to build trust, which in turn drives revenue and growth for their partners. This innovative approach is evident in their history, including launching the first digital banner ad on Wired.com in 1994, and continues with their development of events and immersive content.
The discussion explored how Condé Nast has adeptly navigated the digital transformation. By ensuring their brands are present where consumers spend their time and tailoring content to each platform, they maintain authenticity and trust. Beyond content creation, Condé Nast focuses on creating cultural moments through tentpole events, which generate significant attention for both their brands and partners.
A key theme was (surprise surprise!) the importance of authenticity. In a world where brands are striving to connect with consumers genuinely, the legitimacy of established publishers, like Condé Nast, remains invaluable.
Consumers seek trusted sources, and the deep relationships built by media entities are crucial. Brands can benefit by seeing publishers as co-content creators, tapping into the trust and authority they have built with their audience. Often brands partner with publishers to enter new emotional spaces, reach new audiences, or connect with different generations.
The conversation also touched on the balance between data and creativity. While data-driven insights are important, they should inspire creativity rather than dictate it. Data can spark vision and provide audience, category and brand insights. The speakers agreed that the human element is crucial.
The discussion then moved to the vital role of events in creating physical connections, which have seen a resurgence after the pandemic. Condé Nast focuses on creating activations and experiences that become cultural moments, and then amplifies these events globally. They utilise both large global tentpole events, like Vogue’s Forces of Fashion, as well as smaller, locally relevant events, such as GQ’s Suit Walk in Taipei for example.
Launchmetrics’ Media Impact Value is used to measure the success of Condé Nast’s events, activations, and partnerships, including coverage in print, online and social media. Events like the Met Gala and Vogue World generate significant media impact value for both Condé Nast and their partners. Vogue World Paris was cited as a major success, generating thousands of stories across platforms, with much of the impact value created by the publishers’ editors and partners amplifying the message.
The importance of long-term brand value was highlighted. It’s not just about the immediate impact of an event, but also about the amplification and evergreen content. Brands should see events as part of a longer-term strategy to engage audiences, for example the multi year partnership between Coach and Vogue World.
A key point was that advertising partners come to publishers because they trust them to authentically tell their stories. Storytelling is essential for connecting with audiences, especially Gen Z, who are curious about brands and value authenticity. Despite the requirement for disclosure on sponsored content, as long as the story is told authentically, it can still drive high levels of performance and brand recognition.
Looking ahead to 2025, brands and publishers need to focus on consumer needs, prioritise where consumers spend their time, create immersive digital experiences, and innovate. They should also focus on authentic storytelling and measure impact as a tool to improve creativity, not dictate it.
The collaboration between brands and media is critical for navigating the evolving digital landscape. By understanding the power of data-driven creativity, authentic storytelling, and the impact of strategic events, beauty brands can create meaningful connections with consumers and build long-term brand value.
CEW members are encouraged to re-watch this session, along with other sessions from the Launchmetrics Performance Summit, to gain a more thorough understanding of these concepts and explore how they can be applied to their brand strategies. We will continue to summarise the sessions for members in the coming weeks.
