HIGHSNOBIETY AND MONOCLE - TRANSFORMING A PUBLISHING BUSINESS AND BLOG INTO A CONTENT COMMERCE EMPIRE
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Every major publisher has been through some kind of transformation in recent years – whether a print-to-digital transformation or vice versa, a revenue-model transformation, or horizontal as well as vertical expansion of the business model. While Highsnobiety’s origins sit in the digital world, Monocle is deliberately not developing a dedicated digital format for the iconic Monocle magazine.
Since Monocle’s inception almost 13 years ago, the Monocle brand has grown into a rare global media entity focused on quality print products combined with podcasts, short video, retail and selected online content. The magazine was launched to provide a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design with the belief that there was a globally minded audience of readers who were hungry for opportunities and experiences beyond their national borders.
Similar to Monocle, Highsnobiety is focused on covering niche sectors ranging from interior design to sneakers. When David Fischer’s blog first went live nearly 15 years ago, it was a project run out of a student dorm room. Deeply rooted in a passion for great product, limited streetwear, and highly sought-after sneakers, today Highsnobiety inspires the next generation of tastemakers. Highsnobiety has become one of the world’s top destinations for daily curated content on fashion, music, the arts and culture. In fact, Highsnobiety is helping brands connect with today’s youth in ways that drive culture forward.
Moncle’s founder Tyler Brûlé said as independent publishers they have had the freedom to decide what they do, and especially what they do not do, such as focusing on print and not running any form of programmatic advertising on their digital products or producing a tablet friendly versions of their magazine. Their digital advertising is confined to “special collaborations” with brands and their content is not available in a digital format. This is because they believe the quality of a magazine printed on good stock paper with great design and photography “cannot be replicated in a digital format”.
Nevertheless, Brûlé’s business has ventured into new market segments diversifying their revenue streams, while staying true to its brand values. Other sources of income include four special editions a year geared towards deep dives into readers’ interests attracting specialized advertising, 35 radio shows a week, most of which are sponsored, special edition newspapers, hardback books, travel guides and events such as sponsored conferences and summits. Newsletters now also provide income through clearly identified native advertising content and the podcast that has been run for almost ten years is now starting to become a profitable business.
Analogous to Monocle, Highsnobiety has started to expand their content offering including the launch of a magazine, podcast and video production. In their latest move, Highsnobiety joined the ranks of Glossier and Goop by beginning to monetize their following and selling branded products. In the case of Glossier, it was a direct-to-consumer beauty line and Goop’s multi-brand shop now also carries a significant number of its own private label supplements and skincare goods. Fusing their passion to observe, research, and tell stories about people and product, it only seemed as Highsnobiety’s logical next step to expand into selling the products they care so deeply about. Yet, the company clearly differentiates itself from a regular online shop by focusing on a single drop at a time. After covering product drops for the last 15 years, David Fischer and his team believe that focusing on individual releases instead of following typical retail strategies allow fusing storytelling and shopping. Each drop will be available worldwide, for a limited amount of time, and only while stock lasts. The goal is to achieve a new dynamic and unique experience for the highly dedicated and passionate consumer, as well as the community Highsnobiety has been building and feeding with the latest news over the last decade. While the company’s first drop was a collaboration with Prada, in the long run private label will also become a part of Highsnobiety’s e-commerce strategy. Leveraging a direct-to-consumer approach enables the site to identify what to bring to market based on the demands of its community and ensure that they own every customer touchpoint.
Talking about the consumer experience, Brûlé has identified huge potential to improve the environment, where their followers can purchase their printed news and magazine products. “We have seen an incredible evolution of retail spaces featuring great quality of design,” says the Monocle founder, but, this evolution did not happen for magazine and book retail. In fact, looking at the major places where Monocle sells their magazines and products, at international airports and major train stations, these outlets have nothing to do with magazines or books. So, to counter this trend, Monocle has started to design and open their own physical environments as well as collaborate with selected spaces, e.g. the Hong Kong Airport, to position their products.
After all, it is about offering a fully integrated and emotional experience of the brand and the product, paying particular attention to their loyal community giving them a feeling of belonging. Highsnobiety and Monocle have proven that it is key to put the customer first and build a vertically integrated ecosystem around them.