Branding and Advertainment: ShopVogueTV

We’ve watched online entertainment and marketing become nearly interchangeable, and now we’re witnessing the next incarnation of branded entertainment which combines all elements of consumerism.  

ShopVogue.TV, which launched today, features a variety of video programs including “60 Seconds to Chic,” “Behind the Lens,” and “Trend Watch

.”  Vogue’s PR department is quick to point out that this “channel” is entertainment “not an advertorial,” but the line is fading fast.

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I have suggested that established media would develop a presence online with highly-branded, user-guided experiences that combine elements of interactivity with traditional TV.  Video is no longer the entertainment end-product; it’s a component of an experience that puts users in control. 

We’ve seen many innovative interactive elements emerge: the storyline of iChannel is crafted by comments, Something to be Desired (Tilzy Page) collects story ideas from a wiki, JetSet (Tilzy Page) has an engaged community connected by a micro social network, Mix.  Some of us have anxiously awaited the day when we could click to buy a sweater shown on the soap opera before us.  We’re close.

The video content on ShopVogue.TV is engaging, informed, well-produced and easy on the eyes–of course–but what I find most interesting is that users can click “Shop the Video” to find information, pricing and even links to retailers of the products featured within.

According to the New York Times, Vogue expects to draw about half a million visitors to the channel in the first few months, or first “season.” The channel will be advertised on fashion Web sites, on the sides of 270 Manhattan buses, and, of course, in the print pages of September’s Vogue.