Cosmopolitan, the fashion and beauty magazine, is using technology such as augmented reality to help connect with young readers on mobile.
Jessica Pels, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, highlighted the subject during a session held by Living in Digital Times at CES 2019.
She also reported that the title, owned by Hearst Communications, is being accessed by young women who are typically using, or at least holding, a cellphone.
“That's critical, because my reader is a millennial,” Pels said. “She’s a young woman who, when she has the magazine in her hand, also has her phone in her hand.” (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: Cosmopolitan brings print to life with AR.)
In response to this trend, Pels has a clear objective. “My goal is to bring those two things together, and to bring the magazine to life through the phone as much as possible,” she said.
As an example, the publisher has partnered with YouCam, an augmented-reality (AR) app for cosmetics. This technology allows consumers to use their smartphone camera to virtually apply make-up to their faces.
It also updates, in real time, as the user switches between, say, different shades of lipstick and eye shadow, or moves her head to the left or right.
The Cosmo/YouCam pairing was activated in an eight-page native content spread in the October 2018 print issue of the magazine.
More specifically, the piece highlighted a beauty “look” crafted by the magazine’s editors and Juicy Couture, the cosmetics manufacturer.
Readers interested in experimenting with this proposed “look” scanned a QR code with their phones and were immediately transported to a dedicated section of Cosmopolitan.com.
Here they could digitally explore the suggested beauty solution – and even buy the featured products.
“We’re constantly trying to bring the print magazine to life through technological partnerships like ours with YouCam,” said Pels.
Jessica Pels, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, highlighted the subject during a session held by Living in Digital Times at CES 2019.
She also reported that the title, owned by Hearst Communications, is being accessed by young women who are typically using, or at least holding, a cellphone.
“That's critical, because my reader is a millennial,” Pels said. “She’s a young woman who, when she has the magazine in her hand, also has her phone in her hand.” (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: Cosmopolitan brings print to life with AR.)
In response to this trend, Pels has a clear objective. “My goal is to bring those two things together, and to bring the magazine to life through the phone as much as possible,” she said.
As an example, the publisher has partnered with YouCam, an augmented-reality (AR) app for cosmetics. This technology allows consumers to use their smartphone camera to virtually apply make-up to their faces.
It also updates, in real time, as the user switches between, say, different shades of lipstick and eye shadow, or moves her head to the left or right.
The Cosmo/YouCam pairing was activated in an eight-page native content spread in the October 2018 print issue of the magazine.
More specifically, the piece highlighted a beauty “look” crafted by the magazine’s editors and Juicy Couture, the cosmetics manufacturer.
Readers interested in experimenting with this proposed “look” scanned a QR code with their phones and were immediately transported to a dedicated section of Cosmopolitan.com.
Here they could digitally explore the suggested beauty solution – and even buy the featured products.
“We’re constantly trying to bring the print magazine to life through technological partnerships like ours with YouCam,” said Pels.
Sourced from WARC
