Teen Vogue background and textual analysis and Industry and social media

OSP: Teen Vogue - background and textual analysis

Our first Online, Social and Participatory CSP is Teen Vogue - the former print magazine turned online sensation.

25 Marks… this will be a big one!

Teen Vogue has generated a huge amount of coverage (and attracted a significant audience) by re-positioning the magazine as a socially conscious political hub for young women.

Notes from the lesson

Teen Vogue: background

Teen Vogue was launched in 2003 as a print magazine ‘little sister’ title to US Vogue. It focused on fashion and celebrity and was a conventional magazine aimed at teenage girls.

In 2015, in response to declining sales, the magazine cut back its print distribution and focused on digital content. After single-copy sales dropped 50% in the first six months of 2016 alone, the magazine went quarterly (four issues a year) before announcing the closure of the print magazine completely in November 2017.

Online growth

Led by digital director Phillip Picardi, the Teen Vogue website grew substantially as the print magazine declined.

Between January 2016 and 2017, Teen Vogue’s online traffic rocketed from 2.9m US visitors to 7.9m. The magazine then surpassed 10m unique users later in 2017. In addition, the magazine has 6m Facebook likes, 3.5m Twitter followers and a huge following on Snapchat.

Evolution and activism

The spectacular digital growth of Teen Vogue has been credited to the editor Elaine Welteroth and digital guru Picardi leading the magazine in a radically different direction to traditional teenage magazines.

Focusing on politics, activism and feminism, the magazine has developed a reputation for high-quality journalism while recruiting millions of socially-conscious, educated readers.

'Woke'

Teen Vogue considers itself a ‘woke’ brand.

Woke definition: a political term of African American origin that refers to an awareness of issues concerning social justice.

This means Teen Vogue covers issues of politics, racism and gender identity… and amazingly has expanded the appeal and reach of the brand while doing do.

https://youtu.be/00d4P_dCLhg

Teen Vogue: background reading and textual analysis blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your first case study on Teen Vogue.

Teen Vogue: background reading

Read this Guardian feature from 2017 on Teen Vogue and answer the following questions.

1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?

 The article about Donald Trump gas lighting America

2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?

 Teen Vogue was originally launched in 2003, and its content included: fashion and celebrity gossip.

3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?

 Welteroth decided it was more appropriate for the modernday teenage audience to be informed about things like politics and moving forward in life, i.e. things like college. 

4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?

 The team of editors will publish 50-70 stories a day. These will range from politics, to fashion, to lifestyle.

5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?

6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?

 Teen Vogues demographic is ages 18-24 females, and the word "woke" refers to being socially conscious 

7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?

8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?

 Gevinson suggests that the internet has changed the way audiences react to things, which links to "End of an Audience" as it shows the audience of the modern cultures doing more than just reading/viewing the media product as they are now trying to make change with things that are perhaps wrong.

9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?

 "Trump Gaslighting America"-Trump telling lies to put himself in a better position for the vote.

10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?

 Teen Vogue reader love the website as at a womens parade the editor, Elaine Welteroth had seen a sign taying that "Teen Vogue will save us all," therefore this reader is clearly portraying her love for the website.

Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of the Teen Vogue website and read notable Teen Vogue articles to refer to in exam answers.

Homepage analysis

Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:

1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?

• the menu icon
• category bar along the top
• logo
• images
• social media references
• articles
• click bait titles
• continuous scrolling feeling

2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?

 The home page encourages audience interaction through social media, as well as through the titles which through the titles make it seem like the writer is talking to the audience, asking them a question of sorts and encouraging thoughts.

3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?

4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?

• News and Politics
• Fashion
• Entertainment
• Beauty
• Lifestyle
• Wellness
• Homecoming

5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?

  The homepage goes as far as 5 different categories, all with different things to offer, the first being the editors pick of sorts, displaying a range of different important stories, the next being the trending subheading, showing relevant topics their target audience may be stereo typically interested in. After that we are met with more stories, displayed in a list format, some of which include ones from the top of the homepage. Next is the Teen Vogue 21 under 21, which portray successful young women.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?

Tech

Campus Life

Careers

Decorating Ideas

Food

2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.

 The titles if the articles have quite a personal tone to them, allowing audiences to feel more enticed to click them, pretty much click bait titles. These make it seem as the reader is having a conversation with the writer of the article. In addition to this, the use if GIFs to evoke a sense of humor, one of which being Rachel from friends with a turkey on her head. Also, because this page is formatted in a list, it entices the readers to continue scrolling in a way.

3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?

4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?

 This tell us that Teen Vogues audience is on the older side of the spectrum of teenagers, meaning that it focuses on more mature topics, like politics, and preparing for university. In addition, this tells us that the psycographics of the Teen Vogue readers would be: Aspirers/Reformers as TV readers want to change the world, and aspirers because of the themes the website focuses on, like beauty and fashion.

5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – why do they fit the Teen Vogue brand?

• 7 Things you should do when applying to colleges - Teen Vogue readers are likley to be either in college or applying, therefore there is appeal straight away.
• 3 Reasons the XR should be your next phone - TV readers may be interested in new technology, meaning that not only will they know about the Iphone XR, but may be considering buying a new phone, therefore this article 
• Starbucks is selling a "Snowy Cheese Latte" - T.V readers may go to Starbucks and may therefore be interested in a new flavour coffee that they are bringing out

Five key articles

Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below for EACH feature.

Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America

The new face of teen activism

Black Teens Have Been Fighting for Gun Reform for Years

Netflix and strong female leads

How to Break Away From the Gender Binary

For each article:

Trump Gaslighting America:

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Lauren Duca is the writer of this article and it is about Trump telling lies to america, so much so that he begins to really believe the lies that he is telling.

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

This article uses narrative to portray the binary opposition between republicans and democrats, clearly portrayed simply through the writers viewpoints. Also, the Propp's character types, as Trump is clearly portrayed as the villain, and the writer as the hero/donor of sorts as she gives us useful information.

3) Why is this article significant?

This article is significant because it was the first of many articles that put Teen Vogue into the limelight for being a mature magazine/website aimed at young people, that talked about political issues, such as Trump etc.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

This article reflects the values of a modern day Teen Vogue due to the fact that it clearly has left wing ideologies, as it villainizes Trump and debunks a lot of the lies that he has told.

The New Face Of Teen Activism

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Alexis Manrodt is the writer of this article and it is about activism online and how it can be more impactful than initially thought out to be.

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

This article portrays the internet as the donor to the people who are using it, this is due to the fact that the writer says that the internet provided a safe place for people to have open discussions and talk about feminist issues.

Black Teens have been fighting for gun reform for years

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Lincoln Anthony Blades is the writer of this article and it is about black teenagers, that were in some way or another affected by the Parkland Shooting in Florida nearly a year ago, and how they have been against societies like the NRA in trying to limit gun control.

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

This article uses narrative to portray the people fighting as underdogs of sorts as they try fight for what they believe in, meaning that they know the journey to tighter gun laws will be tough but they are willing to take it in order to change the world.

3) Why is this article significant?

This article is significant due to the fact that it features names like Oprah Winfrey supporting the cause of the teenagers as well as the Clooneys, who also donated money in support of these teens.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

This article reflects the left wing ideologies of Teen Vogue clearly, in that the democratic view on gun control is that it should be put in place, in more of an extent.

3) Why is this article significant?

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

This reflects the ideologies of Teen Vogue due to the fact that it is has feminist qualities and can be said to be quite gender fluid therefore supporting the LGBTQ community

Netflix and Strong Female Leads

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

De Elizabeth is the writer of this article and it talks about female stars that are in Netflix originals.

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

It is clear that the women featured in this article are portrayed as the heroes as they are all central protagonists in the article, as well as in their respected series.

3) Why is this article significant?

This article is significant as perhaps 40 years ago we wouldn't be seeing as many strong female leads in mainstream media, now there is thousands, some of which being highlighted in this article.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

This article strongly reflects the strong feminist view of Teen Vogue, as being a woman is celebrated through the article talking about these successful women.

How to Break away from gender binary

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Samantha Reidel is the writer of this article and its about stopping people assuming everyone's pronouns based on their gender performance.

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

3) Why is this article significant?

this article is significant as many people where killed for not being straight and now having people that can learn to understand that some people may not want to be a he/she pronouns then others should learn to accept that. 

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

this article reflects the values of teen vogue as it is bringing empowerment to not only women but others as well.

Industry is the final key concept to address in this in-depth study. It's important to remember that the exam question could cover anything from how Teen Vogue makes money to what attracts audiences to their social media pages. This means we need comprehensive knowledge across the board.

Notes from the lesson

Industry: Conde Nast

Teen Vogue is owned and published by Condé Nast, an American media organisation that publishes around 20 magazines including Vogue, GQ and Wired. The company targets a wide range of different audiences – 164 million consumers across its brands.

In March 2018, Condé Nast announced the launch of Influencer Platform Next Gen, a digital campaign that links advertisers and content creation. The goal is to “connect to a new generation of audience”.

Income sources

Teen Vogue’s main source of income is through selling advertising space online – adverts that are targeted using browsing history.

However, they also monetise their customer data and loyalty, encouraging readers to register online for updates, offers and access to the ‘Insider’ area of the website. This data can then be sold to other companies or used to attract ‘advertorial’ or sponsored content.

Teen Vogue also makes money through YouTube with plenty of 1m+ views on their video content. This is an example of digital convergence – a traditionally print-based product moving into multimedia and accessible on one device.

Finally, they run events such as the Teen Vogue summit and US tour.

Teen Vogue: fashion industry player

Although Teen Vogue has been creating headlines for its political content in recent years, it is also an important part of the fashion industry. Both editorial content and advertising is designed to create a strong desire in their audience for products featured. This links to Condé Nast’s role as a major media company interested in maximising profit.

Some argue that Teen Vogue’s more diverse coverage offers a form of public service through its political coverage. But are features criticising capitalism hypocritical when the brand is owned by a media giant like Condé Nast?

Teen Vogue: Industry and social media blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Teen Vogue Industry and social media' and work through the following tasks to complete the final aspects of your Teen Vogue case study:

Industry: Condé Nast

1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year?

 Some of the other newspapers that Conde Nast publish are: Allure, Architectural Digest, Ars Technica, Backchannel, Bon Appétit,Brides, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, Golf Digest, GQ, Pitchfork,Self, Teen Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, W and Wired.

2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income?

 These include advertising on the website and tickets for their Teen Vogue Summits. Other sources include: revenue through you tube 

3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams?

 Through the summits which fans of the website can buy tickets for and attend.

4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry?

 This is because it can generate important revenue for things like magazines and websites in advertising fees. Also, it can generate huge buzz for the brand advertised if the website/magazine has a large readership as more people will be aware of the brand.

5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit?

 In a away, it is a public service as it is providing important information to their target audience, this information includes things like university information, under the "Campus Life," as well as political information. Although it can be argued that Conde Nast are just doing this for more clicks, the same way Teen Vogue write their titles in a specific way, for more clicks.

Closure of print edition research

Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below:

BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers?

New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run

Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong

1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”?

 This is because of their large social media followings with three and a half million Twitter followers and 6 million Facebook likes.

2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?

 This is because the titles are concise and relatable.

3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine?

 Their audience is using the digital content more than the paid for magazines. This is also because people want their content for free, rather than paying for it.

4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it?

 go website only you lose the brand values as well as what the brand actually stands for, meaning that you "are just another website."

5) How do online-only publications make money?

 This is through advertising on the website and talking about specific products in dedicated articles, which companies would pay for them to do. In addition to this, there will be advertising slots on the website which companies can also pay for to get that slot.

6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z?

 Penny says "Print is a very difficult medium to sustain," which may be because Gen Z has grown up with the digital presence, therefore they're more likely to use that medium rather than print.

7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for?

 NYTimes says that Conde Nast  is known for rich, glossy magazines.

8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much?

 This is by $100 million

9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach.

 The amount of people that went to the Teen Vogue website increased to nearly 9million, from 2 million.

10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design.

Social media analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence:

1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have?

 3.3 million followers.

2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website?

 The first 20 tweets would come under these categories:

TV
Lifestyle
Mental Health
Celebrity
Music
Fashion
Health

3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait?

 The tweets are written in a serious tone and an example of click bait is "An allergic reaction to hair dye reportdedly caused this women's head to swell in size."

4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images?

 There is an image with every tweet, possibly to provide something for their followers to look at, giving them an idea of what kind of content they would find on the website.

5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have?

 Their Facebook page has 5.9 million likes

6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed?

 This part of the facebook page includes interview style videos, all of which tackle important topics which the Teen Vogue audience can relate to in some way.

7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand?

 The Teen Vogue facebook Events tab is mostly just the Teen Vogue Summits, which suggests that the audience is quite passionate about the Teen Vogue brand.

8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram?

 Their Instagram page has 2.4 million followers

9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels?

 This page will have a lot of pop culture references, whereas the twitter page will be more news and website oriented, the Instagram page acts like it's own brand which is heavily celebrity oriented. 

10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).

The you tube channel refers heavily to celebrities as that is clearly what the audience wants as each of their recent videos have over a million views, so they are clearly popular.