How Teen Vogue captured Generation Z in a failing teen magazine market
In 2016, Teen Vogue announced a new team of editors and directors of equal stature, that would be headlining changes within the magazine. Having moved to solely digital content, by 2018 they had achieved 10 million monthly page views and 12 million followers on social media (Roberts, Kessel, Dawson, Louszko and Valiente, 2018). With its new team in place, Teen Vogue went from a failing teen magazine to an online sensation capturing Generation Z and young Millennials.
The main factor of Teen Vogue’s success is down to the team they put in place in 2016. Anna Wintour placed Elaine Welteroth as Editor, Philip Picardi as Digital Editorial Director and Marie Suter as Creative Director, this team of equal stature led the movement that has made Teen Vogue the success it is today. Each of these people brought something different to the brand, Elaine was the youngest and first black editor in chief at the company. Philip fights hard for LGBTQ rights and Marie is known for her activism. By putting this team in place, members of minority groups felt represented in the leadership of the magazine. By changing the leadership and the structure of a traditional magazine, it shows that the brand represents cooperation and compromise. This team was in tune with the voices of their readers and understood the change in the teenagers of today. Anna Wintour states “There’s a fearlessness to them that I feel is very much a part of their generation and the girls that they’re talking to,” (Sherman, 2016).
Teen Vogue switched their content from not only speaking about fashion and entertainment news, to discussing politics and current affairs. This change in content reflects the backgrounds and the beliefs of its directors and also what the teenagers of today are interested in. The teenager of today is no longer “2D”, they are much more involved in social activism and politics than ever before. This is supported by the views on their website, politics proving more popular with hits than entertainment for the first time and engagement growing from 2.9 million visitors in 2016 to 7.9 million visitors in 2017 (Lucy, 2018). Generation Z have proven themselves to be more ethically diverse than any generation gone before them. This needed to be reflected in the way in which magazines approached their audiences and this is why Teen Vogue has achieved the success that they have.
In 2017, Teen Vogue launched its first ever summit. This summit brought teens together with a number of different people from celebrities to social activists. The summits follow three themes: activism, innovation and creation and includes “live interviews, panels, performances, and workshops with some of the leaders in entertainment, activism, fashion, tech, wellness, and more” (Teen Vogue, 2017). This type of innovation is what is speaking to Generation Z and aiding their success. The summit also reflects the new content being covered by Teen Vogue and the beliefs of its directors.
Teen Vogue quote themselves as being a “young person’s guide to saving the world. We aim to educate, enlighten, and empower our audience to create a more inclusive environment — both on- and offline — by amplifying the voices of the unheard, telling stories that normally go untold, and providing resources for young people looking to make a tangible impact in their communities.” (Oelkers, 2016). This statement truly embodies the Teen Vogue movement that is happening today. This team of people have captured the attention of Generation Z, and are seeing the success of their strategy changes in their ongoing increasing numbers of engagement and social media followers. By changing leadership from a dictatorship to a team of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, this sends a different message to the readers and can also be interesting in terms of leadership demographics, not only in publishing but in other industries also.
Condé Nast. 2018. Teen Vogue Announces the 2018 Teen Vogue Summit Los Angeles Set for November 30 and December 1 at 72andSunny.4th October. Condé Nast. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.condenast.com/press/teen-vogue-announces-the-2018-teen-vogue-summit-los-angeles-set-for-november-30-and-december-1-at-72andsunny/
Lucy. 2018. HOW TEEN VOGUE WENT FROM ACNE TO ACTIVISM. 24th October. Hook Research. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.hookresearch.co.uk/teen-vogue/
Oelkers, A. 2016. Condé Nast Reimagines Teen Vogue As Digital, Video and Socially-Led Brand and Introduces Larger Collectible Quarterly Print Issues Pegged To Key Audience Moments. 7th November. Condé Nast. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.condenast.com/press/conde-nast-reimagines-teen-vogue-as-digital-video-and-socially-led-brand-and-introduces-larger-collectible-quarterly-print-issues-pegged-to-key-audience-moments/
Roberts, D., Kessel, M., Dawson, D., Louszko, A. and Valiente, A. 2018. Teen Vogue’s evolution from high-fashion magazine to a community of activism. 3rd January. ABC News. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/teen-vogues-evolution-high-fashion-magazine-community-activism/story?id=52104594
Sherman, L. 2016. Inside the New Teen Vogue Can a team of Millennials, led by Anna Wintour, win over Gen Z?. 4th August. Business of Fashion. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/new-teen-vogue-millenials-generation-z-anna-wintour
Steigrad, A. 2017. Teen Vogue Makes It Official, Appoints Elaine Welteroth Editor in Chief. 27th April. WWD. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://wwd.com/business-news/media/teen-vogue-appoints-elaine-welteroth-editor-in-chief-10876348/
Teen Vogue. 2017. What to Know About the First-Ever Teen Vogue Summit. 20th September. Teen Vogue. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/teen-vogue-summit-announcement
Teen Vogue. 2018. Teenvoguecom. [Online]. [4 March 2019]. Available from: https://summit.teenvogue.com/faq/
