I’m a fashion person. So I don’t read Glamour Magazine for style inspiration. For that, I read Paris Vogue and Purple and V. But you know what? None of that matters, because a significant number of smart, capable women do read Glamour. And they’ve made it the most popular–and arguably the most influential–women’s magazine in the US. A big part of that influence stems from the fact that, unlike a lot of style books, Glamour has adapted with the times. Rather than sit back and let their lunch get eaten by smart blogs like ours, Glamour is taking the web seriously.
No doubt some industry insiders were shocked when the 71-year-old publication won Magazine of the Year at last week’s National Magazine Awards. The magazine was the only glossy nominated for the new award, which according to the American Society of Magazine Editors website “honors publications that successfully use both print and digital media in fulfilling the editorial mission.” And it represented a victory for hair removal and sundresses over the far weightier issues covered in the likes of The Atlantic, Fast Company, Men’s Health and New York. (Well, maybe count Men’s Health out of the weighty class.)
But Glamour, as well as its editor-in-chief Cindi Leive, deserved the recognition. In a business that uses three prototypes–the sexy girl; the affluent homemaker; the shopping-obsessed careerist–to woo readers, Glamour actually writes and reports compelling stories. And the editors do it in a positive voice that most can’t help but appreciate. Unlike its biggest competitors, Glamour doesn’t make its readers feel bad about themselves. And it doesn’t talk down to them, either. Most recently, Leive has vowed to incorporate more normal-sized and plus-sized models into her fashion spreads. And that means regularly–not as some one-off gimmick.
Another major difference from competitors is that Glamour invests in digital. It works online because it has a full staff dedicated to the Web product. Plus, they’ve got content partnership deals with portals like AOL, and everyone from Editor-in-Chief Cindy Leive down is participating. And they’ve been doing it like this for years. Some magazine sites still only have one dedicated staff member and that person is merely formatting the mag content for the web.
Glamour‘s presence on the Web is unparalleled in the fashion industry, clocking over 1 million unique users in February 2010, according to Compete. Marie Claire, its closest competitor in terms of the topics covered, brought in 266,273.
That’s why, when I put together a list of the country’s most powerful fashion editors for Forbes.com in 2008, Leive naturally rose to the top. The methodology, which included everything from advertising pages to unique users online to press mentions, proved that Leive, while maybe not the most fashionable person in the world, was someone consumers listened to.
Fashion industry types questioned my methodology, given the fact that American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is undoubtedly the most powerful figure in the fashion business. Wintour can make or break a designer’s career with an endorsement. She has also spearheaded plenty of memorable marketing campaigns, from Vogue‘s initial participation in Fashion Rocks to Fashion’s Night Out, which has thus far proved incredibly successful.
But does Wintour’s magazine do as much for women every month as Leive’s? That’s hard to prove. More women read Glamour, and more advertisers look to it. Glamour‘s current circulation is 2.5 million, and it charges $200,491 for a full page, four-color ad. Vogue‘s circulation is 1.2 million, and it sells a full page, four-color ad for $151,133.
As online publishing continues to usurp print in both readership and influence, Glamour is in a better position than the others to weather it. Smart editors and smart content equal happy, devoted readers, regardless of the topic covered. And that’s why Glamour‘s win is well-earned.
Lauren Sherman is editor of Fashionista.com, a Breaking Media site.
