Vogue India

( Term Project )

A report submitted to
Prof. Prakash Bagri

In partial fulfillment of requirement of the course

Strategic Marketing

By

Anupam Piyush (166017)

Priyanka K (166118)
Coline Helmreich (Exhange Student)
Vipul Goyal (1705022)

On
27-02-2017
Contents

COMPANY ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 3

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................. 7

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION ................................................................................................................ 9

COMPANY ANALYSIS
Vogue India – An overview

Conde Nast is one of the major editing company in the world. It owns several reputed magazines
like The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and of course Vogue. In 2013, the group counts 137
publications all over the world and has developed its content through integrated media: print,
digital, mobile app, video etc.

The company decided to be the first to enter the Indian market in 2007 with the launch of Vogue
India. Vogue was well-established in major western companies and its reputation was already
well-known as an high-end, classy magazine with luxuous tastes.

The launch – 2007

Conde Nast decided to launch their reputed magazine, Vogue, in the Indian market. It was quite
a challenge for them because India represented a huge market opportunity. The market was
expecting to grow, and the advertising expenses through magazines too. Moreover, with the
growing population, more and more Indians had a better way of life and a stronger purchasing
power. They represented an important market potential for the brand although they still had to
adapt because of the different mindsets in the country, particularly concerning beauty, fashion
and women empowerment.

Vogue managed to seize the opportunity in the market by entering India with a 100% foreign
direct investment ownership, which had been impossible in the
past. That enables the company to fully own the magazine in the
country.

They chose to enter the market by redesigning their first edition.

They asked Indian designers, jewelers, famous brands and
Bollywood celebrities to be a part of the magazine in order to have
more impact on their target. They chose colors, designs and
content that speaks to Indian women. They made market
researches and found out that Vogue had a 100% awareness in
their potential market, Vogue was seen as the fashion bible.
Finally, they launched 50,000 print copies, along with a website, Vogue.in. It costs RS100 and
contents more than 160 pages of advertising.

Vogue India was launched in 2007 on multiple platforms such as online, Facebook, twitter, iPad

and Blackberry App.

Today situation – 10th anniversary

That’s been 10 years that Vogue India has been established. It has expanded through a multi-
platform magazine with the website but also iPad and mobile apps. It is a respected women’s
fashion magazine in India and has kept its core values: elegance, luxe, women-orientation,
premiumness. It has benefited from a growth of the spends of print advertising in India, that is in
line with their 2007’s expectations.

Today, the brand has a 250,000-monthly readership, with 2.6 million unique visitors on
Vogue.in. They have also built a strong digital community with 1.9 million likes on Facebook,
1.09 Twitter followers, 1.2 million Instagram followers and 162k subscribers on YouTube.
Concerning the print edition, they still run 50,000 copies each month and distribute it in more
than 100 cities in India, and at 4,500 retail outlets. In 2015, they redesigned their website and
reached a record audience of 1 million in the first month.
The famous magazine has also expanded with supplements like Vogue Wedding Book, Casa
Vogue, The Vogue Art Report etc. and with some well-advertised events like India Vogue
Women of the Year, India Vogue Beauty Awards etc.

Today, they boast of their 10th year of leadership on the market. Indeed, they revenue market
share in 2017 is 77%, they have record brand associations and they have more than 300 print
advertiser relations. They are rated as key players the in fashion and lifestyle segments in India.

Value Proposition & Positioning

First, Vogue India entered the market with a strong background advantage. Indeed, Conde Nast
gained permission from the Indian government to have a 100% ownership. It enables the group
to manage on their own the magazine in India. They were the first on the market to had this
opportunity. Hence, they are able to settle a long-term strategy for their expansion and to decide
themselves on their strategic positions.

Vogue India was able to win leadership on the Indian market because they adapted their global
strategy locally. Before entering the market, they pursued many market researches in order to
clearly identify their potential customers. In other countries, they target women who are from
the middle to upper class, trendy, elegant and smart. They analyzed whether such a target existed
in India and what were their habits concerning print magazines. Hence, the Indian edition is a
clever hybrid between western fashion and Indian style. It appeals to Indian women and they
recognize themselves in it.

This value proposition is their positioning on the market, and it brings to their target a premium
content. It is also enhanced by the variety of supplements they published, in order to provide a
various set of subjects. Indeed, they have a large portfolio with Casa Vogue, The Vogue
Wedding Book and so on. They were able to expand to vary their content and satisfy their target.
They also developed the magazine on different platforms: from print to digital. They have a
strong presence on social medias, apps, and their website attracts many visitors. It enables them
to enlarge their readers’ profile by targeting millennials and younger women that can become
monthly readers.

All this expansion strategy enables the brand to enhance its presence, and also to provide various
content in order to satisfy the always changing interests of today’s readers.
Portfolio

Print Edition
Print edition of Vogue magazine is circulated monthly. Excellent content and quality has made
the magazine one of the top seller in the fashion and lifestyle market

Digital Edition
Vogue India’s official website is http://www.vogue.in that includes latest news on fashion and
lifestyle trends. A digital version of the magazine is available online. Online version was
launched in 2010 and has 270000 visitors
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

ELLE

Elle is one of the major competitor of Vogue India. Let’s see how they are doing compare to the
leader of the market.

When Vogue India was launched in 2007, Elle was published locally under license and did not
benefit from a full ownership. Elle India is owned by Ogaan Media, an Indian fashion designer.
The first issue was in 1996, they had 10 years of advance compare to Vogue. They first priced
their issue RS50 and increased to RS75. They position themselves as a premium magazine, for
upper class women that are also attracted by fashion brands, new trends. They publish 81,000
copies by month, more than Vogue. When they came in the Indian market, there were no
magazines dedicated to fashion and lifestyle, they were kind of pioneer. But they quickly faced
fierce competition.

Elle’s strategy is to retain strong partners like Chanel, Clinique, Louis Vuitton and they often
propose to the readers free trials or gifts. The advertising in the magazine costs 30 to 40% less
than in Vogue.

Elle has also a digital presence with a website and social media. Their community is less
important than Vogue: 1M likes on Facebook, 1,3M followers on Twitter, 565k followers on
Instagram and 38k of YouTube subscribers.

Elle has a smaller portfolio and provides only one other magazine, Elle Décor. They sometimes
launch special events in order to promote the magazine and some brands.
To conclude, Elle India has a close positioning compare to Vogue. It targets the same kind of
women, but capitalizes more on the quality of the content and on the partnerships with famous
brands. Vogue India is more expanded and positions itself as a more premium brand, with a
higher pricing. They seem to have better understood that digital was critical and their strategy is
more developed than Elle.in.

COSMOPOLITAN

It is an international fashion magazine whose headquarter is based in USA. Currently it is printed

in 35 different language and is distributed in 110 countries. It started as a family magazine in
USA in 1886 and soon changed into a literary one. In late 1960’s it turned into a woman’s
fashion magazine. It contains various topics like woman’s health, relationship, sex, health,
Careers e.t.c. The tagline of Cosmopolitan “Fun, Fearless, Female.” The USP of Cosmopolitan
is that it is one of the oldest woman’s magazine and it talks about every aspect of womanhood.
The target group of this magazine is Housewives and working woman of upper middle class.
Unlike Vogue, in India Cosmopolitan is not published locally under license.

FAMINA

Famina was first printed in July 1959. The parent company of Famina is The Times Group. The
segment in which Famina claims to opearate is modern and progressive Indian women and it
doesn’t matter which part of society they belong to. Like Cosmopolitan, Famina also touches
upon every aspect of womanhood. Their tagline is “ For all the woman you are, Believe.”

Published in 1959, it is one of the longest running magazine of women fashion in India. It is a
joint venture of Times group and BBC group and backed up by the heavy pockets which makes
Famina a very strong competitor in media segment. It can be also observed in the fact that
Famina sponsors the Miss India pageant. These kind of events has increased the brand value of
Famina and also has made it a household name. The brand’s website, since its launch has tried to
attract the increasing number of net savvy women customers. Also, through aggressive
marketing and promotional strategies the magazine can increase its circulation.
CUSTOMER PERCEPTION
Below data are taken from a market research are extracted from a research project done on the
topic of extent of readership of Vogue India.

Chart 1
Chart 2

Chart 3
Chart 4

Chart 5
Chart 6

Chart 7
 Chart 8

Analysis

Analyzing the above data, we can say that Vogue India is the most preferred magazine among
Indian fashion magazine. Even though readers still prefer print version over digital version,
Vogue’s marketing strategies are effective enough in creating aware regarding digital version
and website of Vogue. The price of Vogue is also justified according to its readers. Also,
according to chart 5. Brand is the most important criteria which influence the buying decision of
a reader. Readers go for brand and the brand perception in the minds of customer/readers must
be highly positive for a magazine to sell. In chart 7 we can see that Vogue is the most preferred
brand among the customers with 55% preference. Hence, we can conclude that brand perception
of Vogue India among it’s customer is really positive.
REFERENCES:

http://www.condenast.com/about/

http://www.condenastinternational.com/country/india/vogue/

http://www.afaqs.com/interviews/index.html?id=449_Vogue-Empowerment-was-never-a-brand-
campaign-Oona-Dhabhar-Conde-Nast-India

https://arcgate.com/blog/indian-magazine-market-overview

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/20/pressandpublishing.fashion

http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/25736_Whats-Elles-contribution-in-making-Indian-metro-
women-more-fashion-conscious

http://elle.in/

http://elle.in.websiteoutlook.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_India

https://www.vogue.in/

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwiwhrCwoMTZA
hXFPI8KHWNbA8IQFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2F14.139.111.26%2Fjspui%2Fbitstream%2F1%2F206%
2F1%2FTo%2520Determine%2520the%2520reasons%2520for%2520the%2520decline%2520in%2520th
e%2520readership%2520of%2520Vogue%2520India%2520Magazine%2520%2528Print%2520Edition%2
529%2520through%2520Market%2520Research.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0lRMj6Npdch9hcrU5LpcCV

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/20/pressandpublishing.fashion

https://vijaybhabhor.com/fashion/best-fashion-magazines-india/

https://www.slideshare.net/omsoni/final-report-on-marketing-research-on-readership-of-femina-
filmfare

https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/media-and-entertainment/3333-femina-india.html

https://www.scribd.com/doc/302208695/Cosmopolitan-Magazine-Analysis