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Vogue Australia revamps subscription offering with Vogue VIP loyalty program

Luxury fashion magazine Vogue Australia has launched a new bid to entice subscribers, with a loyalty program that rewards readers using exclusive experiences and events, special content and premium partnerships.

Vogue VIP is being billed as the publication’s biggest ever consumer-facing launch and will provide loyal subscribers with the ability to redeem offers and experiences across a range of categories. There will be no additional cost for subscribers and the launch price is $6.50 per month.

Editor-in-chief Edwina McCann said the launch formed part of the next stage in Vogue Australia’s business plan.

“As we celebrate Vogue Australia’s 60th birthday this year we wanted to show our appreciation to our most dedicated readers. Vogue VIP is a personalised membership loyalty program rewarding subscribers and offering rarefied access into the world of Vogue, it’s also our biggest ever consumer facing launch,” said McCann.

“The members-only experience is a really exciting transformation of the business and I’m confident we will be successful because we are investing in the future of our brand, our content and importantly our customers.

“The brand new Vogue VIP website is now live and allows subscribers to redeem offers and experiences they consider valuable. It has been designed to align with the Vogue Australia website redesign launching later this year.

“We’re thrilled to be launching the Vogue VIP program and taking our most valued readers along for the ride, and there’s a lot more to come.”

News Corp Australia has turned its focus to building its subscriber base over the last few years, with The Australian sitting at the forefront of that push. In July, the title reported hitting 145,000 digital subscribers, more than its peak print weekday sales of 140,000.

The launch of Vogue VIP will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign across News Corp Australia’s print and digital network. The Vogue VIP launch follows a similar launch in the US in 2016 which offered readers access to a Facebook group for exclusive content and benefits from brands.

The Australian, NSW and prestige titles managing director Nicholas Gray said: “Subscriptions are important to our business and improving the Vogue Australia customer experience and rewarding brand loyalists is imperative to building engagement, growing and retaining subscribers.

“We have applied many of the lessons from the successful growth of The Australian’s multi-platform subscription audience adding to the strategic vision for Vogue VIP.”

Through Vogue VIP, subscribers will receive a subscription to the print title and access to a digital version, the opportunity to join Vogue Australia as a guest at national events, including pre-sale ticket access, exclusive parties and shopping nights, offers and discounts from Vogue Australia’s luxury partners and exclusive behind the scenes access and content.

To celebrate the launch of Vogue VIP, subscribers will be able to access the Vogue VIP Members Lounge at Vogue American Express Fashion’s Night Out in Melbourne on August 29 and Sydney on September 5. The access will give subscribers complimentary food, drinks and live music, as well as the chance to meet Vogue editors and influences and receive a The Daily Edited tote filled with gifts.

Vogue Australia marketing director Diana Kay said: “Vogue VIP was created to deliver a direct-to-customer, personalised membership experience. It’s a strong value proposition for our partners and streamlines the distribution of our products to ensure a frictionless customer journey from engagement and acquisition to retention and transaction.

“As a category first loyalty program we did extensive research to tightly map our consumer needs and wants. Through this process it became very clear that readers value more access to the brand and that a rewards program would positively impact their consideration to subscribe. It also gave us our name with half of those surveyed saying they preferred Vogue VIP.”

NEWS

News Corp launches The Newcastle News, the next title in its digital-only masthead strategy

After launching four digital-only mastheads since September 2018, News Corp is continuing to push towards its goal of 17 titles by the end of the year with the launch of The Newcastle News.

Amy Ziniak will be the lead journalist on the title, having lived in the region for more than 12 years, reporting across TV, radio and digital.

Ziniak at Nobby’s Beach. Picture by Peter Lorimer

The publisher is throwing its weight behind the digital-only strategy, particularly in regional areas where News Corp may not have previously been active, which sees a journalist set up in their local region and report on matters specific to that area, including crime, property, health and local politics. Subscribers to the masthead then have access to the full range of journalism from the Daily Telegraph, which News Local publisher John McGourty hopes will provide them with the value they want in a news subscription. Subscribers also get access to +Rewards, News Corp’s exclusive rewards and benefits site for members.

“The Newcastle region has been a gap for us, and it has long been our ambition to bring our brand of high-quality local news to the local community, by writing the sorts of stories that reflect their everyday lives, ambitions and concerns,” said McGourty.

“Our story selection will be based on feedback from our army of community readers who tell us what matters most to them. I’m confident our new readers in Newcastle will enjoy a new voice in their community.”

News Corp has so far launched in Wollongong, Canberra, St George and revamped its offering in Central Sydney, closing the print publication in favour of the digital-only subscription model. News Corp is currently eyeing up other parts of New South Wales where it hasn’t previously had a presence for its next title.

Launch edition stories in The Newcastle News include rugby league legend Matty Johns picking his Top 20 Newcastle Knights of all time; the story of a local 15-year old football player and her Jets fairytale following a road accident which almost left her crippled; Newcastle’s love of music festivals which reveals a rise in the local drug culture; confessions of an Uber driver sharing stories about late-night harassment, intimidation and assaults; and a story on police and teens working together to drive down gang violence and youth crime in a pioneering new project.

The Mumbrella Publish conference on September 19 will feature News Corp’s general manager of digital consumer revenue, Brendan Collogan in a session titled ‘What is the value of a reader? The art of attracting and engaging loyal audiences’. Nicholas Gray is also appearing in the leaders hotseat session, where nothing is off limits. Tickets are available here. 

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