How Vogue Hong Kong reinvented a legacy media brand

Vogue Hong Kong has been voted number one for both print and digital in luxury media in the Media Spend Benchmarking Survey by Marketing magazine. Given Vogue Hong Kong’s launch a mere one and a half years ago during tumultuous and uncertain times, this is certainly an impressive feat. It is always a challenge for legacy media brands to break into saturated markets, but Vogue Hong Kong successfully launched by creating an integrated and relevant platform and bringing excitement to the audience of legacy media. In just this past year alone, Vogue Hong Kong has grown immensely, bringing curated premiums and renowned video content to their platform.

"Our goal has always been to make Vogue Hong Kong modern and relevant. It’s important to bring out the value of the brand in 'best in class' experiences — whether in a magazine, online, event, and merchandise," says Desiree Au, founding publisher of Vogue Hong Kong. "Legacy media has a rich history and a clear brand image but we ensure we continue to engage our audience in a relevant and refreshing way.”

Vogue Hong Kong has surpassed all expectations, releasing pioneering video coverage with the help of Kat Yeung, who was promoted from Digital Director to Editorial Director over a year ago and now drives Vogue Hong Kong’s expanding digital presence.

"Video is a compelling way of storytelling, and it's where our team of editors and producers are at their most creative," says Yeung. "We are constantly finding new ways of sharing content through our social media platforms, and bridging them with our print product and website.”

Thus, Vogue Hong Kong was able to create a space where print and digital transition seamlessly between one another, allowing for the publication to achieve top standings of both in tandem, an uncommon and admirable achievement.

Vogue Hong Kong has connected with a global audience by strategically casting high-profile celebrities, including Rihanna, Naomi Campbell, Zendaya, Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, Lalisa, Sammi Cheng and Song Hye-Kyo, and was able to tap into their combined following of over 500 million followers. Additionally, a combination of established and up-and-coming photographers including Hanna Moon, Nick Knight, Chen Man and Greg Swales amplified Vogue Hong Kong’s reach with groundbreaking, creative results.

With the challenge of COVID-19 and social distancing, it was harder to have in-person events for clients and readers. To keep in touch with Vogue Hong Kong’s readership, partners, celebrities and influencers were engaged through curated premiums in order to remain top-of-mind, with a range of covetable branded merchandise including Vogue Water, mask holders, mooncakes, tote bags and more. The Vogue branded products went on to become trending on social media, spreading the Vogue brand image whilst sparking discussions around Vogue Hong Kong.

Vogue Hong Kong has also been actively contributing to the wider community in the fields of fashion, sustainability and art. Desiree Au reaffirmed Vogue Hong Kong’s commitment toward sustainability in the fashion industry by sitting on the judging panel for the Redress Design Award 2020. Vogue Hong Kong was also a media partner in collaboration with First Initiative Foundation to celebrate the opening of the Botticelli exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, where 42 artworks from The Uffizi Galleries were transported to Hong Kong for the exhibition, ‘The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Botticelli and His Times – Masterworks from the Uffizi’.

"Clients these days are not just looking for one thing, they look for multiple touchpoints and they trust a brand like Vogue because we provide a consistent product across all platforms," says Rachel Choy, associate publisher. "We treat our clients as our close partners and grow with them, one campaign at a time.”

Vogue Hong Kong will also be expanding next year with the addition of Vogue Man Hong Kong, a biannual media title launching in April 2021, joining a series of other Vogue Man titles around the world including Vogue Hommes in France, L’Uomo Vogue in Italy, and Vogue Man in Arabia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. The publication aims to provide a fresh perspective to a saturated industry, promoting values of inclusivity and fluidity whilst doing their best to eradicate toxic masculinity and other outdated tropes and stereotypes.

Brought to you by Vogue Hong Kong.

Related articles

Media Report results unveiled