Vice spins out Amuse as title for affluent, young explorers

April 25, 2018

Amuse: Showcasing experiences bar none. Image credit: Amuse

Amuse, a digital lifestyle title born three years ago out of i-D, has cut the umbilical cord to create a new independent luxury identity that sufficiently piqued the interest of leather goods and fashion giant Hermès as its charter advertiser.

The spinoff at amuse.co was the result of a realization that Amuse’s affluent young audience of explorers sought an adventurous life with unique experiences. The mix of articles, images and films will include writing and editing by Amuse executive editor Michael Polsinelli, editor at large David de Rothschild and writer Tristan Kennedy.

“Travel is an essential part of their lifestyle and mindset. Amuse speaks directly to this growing and extremely valuable audience,” said Tammy Smulders, London-based president of Vice’s fashion and luxury group.

In this Q&A, Ms. Smulders shares Vice’s focus for Amuse, audience make-up, the go-to-market strategy, advertising appeal, competition in the travel media space, content generation and goals. Please read on:

What is Amuse's focus and its target market?

I-D remains the most important progressive fashion lifestyle title in the world, published in 13 markets and nine languages.

Three years ago, Amuse was born as an offshoot lifestyle title by i-D. We are now growing Amuse into a new, luxury entity with an audience that's independent from i-D.

When we were developing Amuse, we noticed that there is a sizable population of affluent, young, global explorers who live an active and adventurous life and crave unique experiences. They love adrenaline, they appreciate adventure and they reward themselves with personal luxuries.

Travel is an essential part of their lifestyle and mindset. Amuse speaks directly to this growing and extremely valuable audience.

Amuse is a source of inspiration, full of ideas on where to go, what to do and how to find the right style accompaniments.

These stories will be told through the eyes of likeminded and respected personalities and appeal to adventurous men and women.

Tammy Smulders

How unique will the content be? Who are the primary generators of content and where will their content reside within Amuse and the wider Vice family?

We have a diverse and highly experienced editorial team on Amuse, who have journalistic backgrounds in luxury, adventure and exploration, art and electronic music.

In addition to knowledge of their fields, the team have great relationships in these fields, which allows us to cover a wide range of topics through the eyes of interesting personalities.

Athletes, chefs, artists, DJs and more are sharing with us their favorite insider tips and places to go in their home cities and around the world. We are also prioritizing video content and are currently working on some amazing films that we're very excited about.

Our content will sit first and foremost on Amuse, but when appropriate, we will cross-promote our stories with other Vice properties.

Vice has hundreds of millions of people visiting its sites globally each month, so we see this as a huge opportunity to invite people to explore Amuse.

The travel journalism market is crowded with digital media and established print titles such as Departure, Condè Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. What will Amuse offer that these publications do not?

Amuse is a lifestyle play. We have created a publication for affluent people with a younger mindset for whom travel, as well as experiences in their home market, is a way of life.

We will be exploring topics like offshoots from Burning Man, alternatives to Soho Farmhouse, and the coolest mezcal bars in New York.

Our mantra is “to be an explorer, not a tourist.”

Grin and bear. Image credit: Amuse

Amuse's debut, it would seem, ties in with this whole consumer shift towards experiences. Does it?

People are increasingly creating a sort of personal resume based on their life experiences.

The advent of social media in recent years has underpinned a shift toward experiences, providing an outlet for people to showcase where they have been and what they are doing. Amuse will be working in this space.

Hermès is the charter advertiser. What does it get in return for its sponsorship?

We are delighted to have Hermès on Amuse. It is an iconic luxury brand that is very much associated with exceptional product stories and experiences, and with which our audience has a strong affinity.

Hermès plays cool on Amuse. Image credit: Amuse

What is the advertising appeal of the Amuse platform? What will advertisers be able to leverage?

Advertisers will have access to a young and highly affluent audience who are coming to Amuse for inspiration.

Amuse is a special and stimulating world, and we welcome like-minded brands into the Amuse environment.

What types of messages or categories are expected to resonate on Amuse? Will it be a branding play for advertisers or direct response?

Our navigation bar has five categories: Adventure, Antidote (wellness), Appetite, Apparel and Agenda.

Amuse offers both brand positioning and lifestyle alignment with global explorers within the core Amuse environment, as well as further opportunities to enhance direct response campaigns. It depends on the brand and the campaign.

We are fortunate that via Vice’s audience targeting tools we can deliver performance campaigns with extensive reach by accessing specific like-minded audiences across Vice’s platforms.

Advertising-supported digital media are being given a run for their money by media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Google. How will Amuse compete with those platforms in terms of reach and responsiveness?

Amuse offers brands a context — a cultivated and aspirational environment in which to present their campaigns and content.

Undoubtedly social and search will continue to be important components of a brand’s media mix. However, prestige environments such as Amuse provide compelling content that can't be found anywhere else.

What are your first-year goals for Amuse in terms of audience reach and advertisers?

We want to create content that is both inspiring and useful.

We are excited to have an extremely high-end advertiser line-up and have our first few months already fully booked. And we've set ambitious audience and traffic targets that we're confident we can reach.

Will Greenwood’s Arctic adventure with Amuse | Episode 1

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