Ad Week reports that Wired, the tech magazine that has "branched out into conferences, cultivated fashion and lifestyle advertisers," now has made a deal with Target, which will feature in its stores products curated by the Wired editorial staff ... The promotion will last for 12 weeks, just in time for the dads-and-grads season. If it goes well, there's the potential for it to expand to other shopping seasons."
According to the story, "Wired will get an undisclosed share of the revenue, but if the history of such deals is a guide, it won't likely reap a lot of money from the sales of products. It is, though, a way for the Condé Nast brand to further test the retail waters, establish itself with a trendy retailer that’s had partnerships with the likes of Neiman Marcus and Missoni, and get exposed to a huge audience of potential new readers."
According to the story, "Wired will get an undisclosed share of the revenue, but if the history of such deals is a guide, it won't likely reap a lot of money from the sales of products. It is, though, a way for the Condé Nast brand to further test the retail waters, establish itself with a trendy retailer that’s had partnerships with the likes of Neiman Marcus and Missoni, and get exposed to a huge audience of potential new readers."
- KC's View:
-
And Target, in making the deal, gets an exclusive promotional approach to products that may be sold elsewhere, but now will be getting the Wired imprimatur.
I think that's enormously effective, when retailers actually find ways to define certain products as being better, as having a kind of seal of approval. The curation effect is one of the hot trends at the moment, and I believe that when retailers do this, even though they are making deals with the manufacturers, they become an agent for the consumer and not just a sales tool for the manufacturer.
