Lucky is a popular magazine about shopping and style that aims to be — according to its mission statement – “the voice of your most in-the-know friend.” And what better way to get that advice than from something that’s constantly with you – your phone?
Like other publications, Lucky is exploring using 2D barcodes to send readers to content on its website. In the December 201o issue, it promises, if you scan the Microsoft Tag, that “you’ll be able to watch every page of Lucky come to life in video.”
Scanning the barcode opened a page with dozens of videos. A video interview with cover girl Diane Kruger interspersed footage of her modeling gorgeous outfits for the cover shoot with her talking about how her style has evolved. It made me realize how limited print is for fashion. It’s an art best experienced in person but few people get to see a runway show or watch celebrities walking the red carpet. So video is the next best thing.
Most of the other videos were of staff editors offering how-to’s or style advice. In one video an editor talked about how how to shop for the right handbag. Another editor showed how to put on eyeliner, and still another suggested different ways to pair a tuxedo jacket. Some editors were more natural on camera than others, but that was OK. It made the videos feel intimate and not overproduced, like these were just friends giving advice.
You can watch these videos on Lucky’s website, but the phone seems the more natural place. How often do you read a magazine in front of a computer? For me, never. But how frequently do you read one on the couch or at a café, with your phone nearby? All the time.
I’m impressed with how Lucky has used a Microsoft Tag to extend its content onto the mobile phone. The tag isn’t just a gimmick — the videos make editorial sense. By making the videos feel like a personal interaction between the editor and the viewer, Lucky helps give its viewers more confidence in trying out new looks and styles.
So, what might I do differently?
1) Make it easier to find the relevant video for an article, perhaps by adding the page number to the video or having a tag per page so you could look up the videos individually. Right now, the videos seem to be loosely in order on the web page, but they were hard to find because of the extras thrown in.
2) It’s a shopping mag, so make it easy to shop for the things shown by adding links directly next to the video.
Nice. I love it when a company gets it right. Great suggestions for improvements, too. I’m actually a little envious that you had such a good experience; it seems like so many of the ones I’ve tried are just ‘meh’!