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When the Elliman brand does make an appearance on the pages, it’s to reveal an oth-
erwise untold part of the company story.
My recent favourite example of this approach has been The Karl Daily, a newspaper
produced by fashion design icon Karl Lagerfeld.
Think of it as Vogue meets The Onion. From the first issue in September 2014 with
its debut headline, “Haute off the press,” The Karl Daily has entertained its readers with
clever content (even Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette, has a column). Over the top and self-in-
dulgent, yes, but then that is the aura of Karl.
The publication is a fantastic way for fans to engage with one of fashion’s most iconic
figures, outside of the retail environment. But, of course, the idea is to eventually convince
people to buy and that’s where building brand engagement through storytelling comes in.
Luxury mall Bal Harbour Shops in Miami (A.K.A. America’s most expensive retail
square footage) does this with the print-digital one-two punch of a weekly e-newsletter
and monthly magazine.
These aren’t glorified brochures, but thoughtful pieces of content that stand up to any
consumer publication.
Think designer interviews, social pages, fashion-world news and beautifully displayed
pieces (jewelry, clutches, shoes) that single out the spectacular.
That they all have a link to the mall is a mere footnote, but one that’s compelling
enough to build ongoing engagement and encourage repeat shopping trips.
Net-a-Porter's
Porter
magazine is a
great example
of the digital-
to-print trend
in luxury
shopping.
Reach out and touch someone
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from the top: elliman magazine speaks to
luxury real estate buyers, sellers and renters
in meaningful ways that illustrate markets
from a lifestyle perspective.
The Karl Daily is a newspaper produced by
fashion design icon Karl Lagerfield.
Pineapple, air bnb's travel mag, is another
example of the digital-to-print model.
www.gonpta.com
The luxury brands turning to print are also coming from an unlikely place: The web.
Print’s tangibility is being sought by strictly online businesses as a way of lending a
physical component – a body – to their brand. A great example of the digital-to-print trend
is luxury shopping site Net-a-Porter’s Porter magazine, launched last spring.
The beautiful fashion and lifestyle glossy is headed up by Editor-In-Chief Lucy Yeo-
mans, formerly of Harper’s Bazaar U.K., who according to Women’s Wear Daily, promised:
The power, expertise and reach of Net-a-Porter will also offer [a woman] the expe-
rience and service that she has come to expect, turning inspiration from the page into
accessibility within seconds.
And, indeed, one can pick up the magazine from a newsstand or by a subscription and
shop directly from its fashion spreads with a page-scanning app.
The digital-to-print model is one being picked up across the board. One has only to
look at Airbnb’s November 2014 launch of travel mag Pineapple and Etsy’s printed holiday
“magalogue” to see how brands are using print to help turn the incorporeal into something
you can touch. PW!
This article originally appeared in Sparksheet.