Media
Vogue Ads Skip a Step, Linking Readers to Target
By SYDNEY EMBER
Iconic images from the pages of Vogue are getting a makeover, courtesy of Target.
In an ad campaign running in the September issue of Vogue, the discount department store has reimagined classic images from the fashion magazine, dating to the early 1900s.
In this topsy-turvy world, carpets and curtains sold at Target replace high-fashion dresses, a chunky necklace stands in for a golden crown, and a feather duster serves as a peacock’s plume.
“This felt like a perfect way to bridge the relationship between Vogue’s history of creating iconic images and expressing that in a way that’s unique to Target,” said Todd Waterbury, the chief creative officer of Target.
The goal, however, is not just for consumers to admire Target’s cleverness with household products. Rather, with help from Shazam’s new visual-recognition technology, each ad becomes a portal to a “digital experience,” where consumers can click to shop for individual items.
Target, like many other retailers, is looking to streamline the online and mobile buying process for shoppers who like what they see. Plenty of technology companies, including Google, Twitter and Facebook, are introducing “buy” buttons to make it easier for consumers to buy products they see while browsing on their mobile devices. With its Vogue campaign, Target is trying to drive sales by reducing the steps it takes consumers to go from magazine-flipping to online purchasing.
“The ability to be one click away from a product that we sell is essential,” Mr. Waterbury said. “We’re always looking for ways to complete that experience in the easiest way possible.”
To unlock the additional digital content, consumers use their smartphone cameras to scan any image that is tagged with Shazam’s logo. The process is similar to scanning a QR code, said Daniel Danker, the chief product officer of Shazam, and the app can recognize the participating advertisers’ images.
About a hundred Target products appear in the company’s Vogue ads, with roughly 30 available for purchase using “shop now” buttons on the Shazam-enabled online site.
Shazam introduced its visual recognition technology in May and has worked with several advertisers, including Levi’s and the Walt Disney Company.
A big part of the appeal for these advertisers, including Target, was the ability to connect consumers with products “as quickly as possible,” even if the original ad appeared in print, said Mr. Danker.
Target declined to comment on how much it spent on the Vogue campaign this year, but the company spent $663 million on advertising in 2014, according to Kantar Media, part of WPP. For the first quarter of 2015, the company spent about $105 million.
The September issue, which is typically packed with ads, goes on sale exclusively at Target on Aug. 14 and more broadly several days later.
Vogue declined to comment for this article.
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